Tampere
Tampere ( TAM-pər-ay, US also TAM-pər-ə, TAHM-pər-ay, Finnish: [ˈtɑmpere] ; Swedish: Tammerfors, Finland Swedish: [tɑmærˈforsː] ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 254,198; the urban area has a population of 341,696; and the metropolitan area, also known as the Tampere sub-region, has a population of 415,496 in an area of 4,970 km2 (1,920 sq mi). Tampere is the second largest urban area and the third most populous single municipality in Finland, after the cities of Helsinki and Espoo, and the most populous Finnish city outside the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Today, Tampere is one of the most important urban, economic and cultural centres in the entire inland region.Tampere and its surroundings are part of the historic province of Satakunta. The area belonged to the province of Häme from 1831 to 1997; over time, it has often been considered a province of Tavastia. For example, in Uusi tietosanakirja, published in the 1960s, the Tampere sub-region is presented as part of the then province of Tavastia. Around the 1950s, Tampere and its surroundings began to establish themselves as a separate province of Pirkanmaa. Tampere became the centre of Pirkanmaa, and Tammermaa was also used several times in the early days of the province, for example in the Suomi-käsikirja published in 1968.Tampere is wedged between two lakes, Lake Näsijärvi and Lake Pyhäjärvi, with an 18 m (59 ft) difference in water level, and the rapids that connect them, Tammerkoski, have been an important source of power throughout history, most recently for generating electricity. Tampere is known as the "Manchester of the North" because of its past as a centre of Finnish industry, which has given rise to its Finnish nickname "Manse" and terms such as "Manserock". Tampere has also been officially declared the "Sauna Capital of the World" because it has the most public saunas in the world.Helsinki is about 160 km (100 mi) south of Tampere and can be reached by Pendolino high-speed train in 1 hour 31 minutes and by car in 2 hours. The distance to Turku is about the same. The Tampere–Pirkkala Airport is the eighth busiest airport in Finland, with more than 230,000 passengers using it in 2017. Tampere is also an important transit route for three Finnish highways: Highway 3 (E12), Highway 9 (E63) and Highway 12. The Tampere light rail had two lines when it started operating in 2021.Tampere is ranked 26th in the list of 446 hipster cities in the world and is often rated as the most popular city in Finland. The positive development of Tampere and the Tampere metropolitan area has continued into the 21st century, largely due to the fact that Tampere is one of the most attractive cities in Finland.
