Lempäälä

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Lempäälä
Municipality
Lempäälän kunta Lempäälä kommun
Aerial view of Lempäälä
Coat of arms
Location of Lempäälä in Finland
Coordinates: 61°19′N 023°45′E / 61.317°N 23.750°E / 61.317; 23.750
Country	Finland
Region	Pirkanmaa
Sub-region	Tampere sub-region
Metropolitan area	Tampere metropolitan area
Charter	1866
Government
• Municipality manager	Heidi Rämö
Area  (2018-01-01)[1]
• Total	307.06 km2 (118.56 sq mi)
• Land	269.58 km2 (104.09 sq mi)
• Water	37.51 km2 (14.48 sq mi)
• Rank	241st largest in Finland
Population  (2024-08-31)[2]
• Total	24,838
• Rank	41st largest in Finland
• Density	92.14/km2 (238.6/sq mi)
Population by native language [3]
• Finnish	96.5% (official)
• Swedish	0.3%
• Others	3.2%
Population by age [4]
• 0 to 14	22.3%
• 15 to 64	60.8%
• 65 or older	16.9%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Website	www.lempaala.fi

Lempäälä (Finnish: [ˈlempæːlæ]) is a municipality in Finland, located in the Pirkanmaa region. It lies south of the regional capital, Tampere. The population of Lempäälä is approximately 25,000, while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 421,000. It is the 41st most populous municipality in Finland.

The municipality covers an area of 307.06 square kilometres (118.56 sq mi) of which 37.51 km² (14.48 sq mi) is water.^[1] The population density is 92.14 inhabitants per square kilometre (238.6/sq mi).

The centre of Lempäälä lies on an isthmus between Lakes Vanajavesi and Pyhäjärvi, which are connected by the Kuokkalankoski Rapids and the Lempäälä Canal, which was built in the 1870s and is still in use.

The first written reference to the parish of Lempäälä dates from 1430. The oldest building in the town is a medieval church named after Saint Birgitta, built in 1504.^[6] The only surviving item from the Middle Ages in the church is a wooden crucifix carved from birch.

Finnish writer Yrjö Kokko lived in Lempäälä and is buried in the cemetery.

Ideapark, the second largest shopping centre in the Nordic countries, is located in Lempäälä along the Helsinki-Tampere motorway (E12).

Kuokkala is a neighbourhood to the north of Lempäälä town which houses a ’museoraitti’ (museum trail). Several buildings now house collections of historical items, including a shop museum (also a shop and information office), hairdressers & barbers, cobblers, WW2 memorabilia, household equipment, blacksmiths, carpenters, a 19th-century Finnish dwelling, and a special exhibit relating to the ex-Finnish region of Sakkola.^[7]

In the 2023 parliamentary elections, Lempäälä voted as such:^[8]

• National Coalition Party - 26.0%
• Finns Party - 22.0%
• Social Democratic Party - 21.8%
• Centre Party - 7.4%
• Green League - 6.6%
• Christian Democrats - 6.3%
• Left Alliance - 4.4%
• Movement Now - 3.1%
• Freedom Alliance - 1.0%

Lempäälä is twinned with:

• Ulricehamn, Sweden
• Øvre Eiker, Norway
• Kerteminde, Denmark
• Tapolca, Hungary

• Aimala

• Nokia, Finland
• Pirkkala
• Puntala-rock, a punk rock festival

Media related to Lempäälä at Wikimedia Commons

• Municipality of Lempäälä – Official site