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tampere: general info
· city links
· history
· getting there
· getting around
things to do
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TAMPERE
Calling Code: +358 3
Tampere (Swedish: Tammerfors) is a town of around 207,000 inhabitants situated on the shore of Lake Näsijärvi, some 170 km north of
Helsinki, Finland. Tampere is the biggest inland town in the Nordic region.
The city of Tampere lies on an isthmus situated between Lake Näsijärvi, which reaches far to the north, and Lake Pyhäjärvi in the south. The Tammerkoski rapids
that run through Tampere connect the two lakes with a fall of 18 metres. In the 7th century population started to gather to this connecting point of two waterways,
and in the 18th century people started to understand the importance of the rapids as a way of making hydropower. So it came to be that Tampere was officially founded
in the 1st of October in 1779 by Gustav III of Sweden.
During the 19th century Tampere grew rapidly to be an industrial center, and in the latter part of the century the town had almost half of Finland's industrial
labour, earning it the nickname Manchester of the North — which still lives on in the city's nickname Manse. Most of the industry was centered around the rapids,
with the textile and paper industries particularly important.
During the Finnish Civil War (1918) Tampere was one of the Red (Communist) strongholds, and it was supposed to be the country's next capital. However, in April 1918
the victorious White forces captured the town after a large battle and seized 10,000 prisoners.
In 1927 the first of the factories stopped industrial operations, and city offices later moved into the empty buildings. After 1960 most of the factories started to
cease operations, but the buildings were kept. Nowadays central Tampere is characterized by these old red-brick industrial buildings, most of them housing offices,
restaurants, and cultural activities.
If there's a place you've stayed or something you've done, but we haven't listed, review it for us!
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