Heraldry

First coat of arms of Tampere (1839–1960)

The first coat of arms of Tampere was designed by Arvid von Cederwald in 1838,^[42][43][44] while the current coat of arms created in 1960 and currently in use was designed by Olof Eriksson.^[42] Changing the coat of arms was a controversial act, and the restoration of the old coat of arms has from time to time been demanded even after the change.^[45] The new coat of arms has also been called Soviet-style in letters to the editor because of its colours.^[46]

The blazon of the old coat of arms has either not survived or has never been done,^[47] but the description of the current coat of arms is explained as follows: "In the red field, a corrugated counter-bar, above which is accompanied by a piled hammer, and below, a Caduceus; all gold". The colors of the coat of arms are the same as in the coat of arms of Pirkanmaa. The hammer, which looks like the first letter of the city's name T, symbolizes Tampere's early industry,^[45] Caduceus its trading activities^[45] and the corrugated counter-bar represents the Tammerkoski rapids, which divides Tampere's industrial and commercial areas.^[48]

The city received its first seal in 1803, which depicted the city's buildings of that time and Tammerkoski.^[49]

Early history

Messukylä Old Church, built between 1510 and 1530

The earliest known permanent settlements around Tammerkoski were established in 7th century, when settlers from the west of the region started farming land in Takahuhti.^[50] The area was largely inhabited by the Tavastian tribes.^[51] For many centuries, the population remained low. By the 16th century, the villages of Messukylä and Takahuhti had grown to be the largest settlements in the region. Other villages nearby were Laiskola, Pyynikkälä and Hatanpää.^[50] At that time, there had been a market place in the Pispala area for centuries, where the bourgeoisies from Turku in particular traded.^[52] In 1638, Governor-General Per Brahe the Younger ordered that two markets be held in Tammerkoski each year, the autumn market on every Peter's Day in August and the winter market on Mati Day in February. In 1708 the market was moved from the edge of Tammerkoski to Harju and from there in 1758 to Pispala.^[53]: 16 The early industries in the Pirkanmaa region in the 17th century were mainly watermills and sawmills, while in the 18th century other production began to emerge, as several small-scale ironworks, Tammerkoski distillery and Otavala spinning school were founded.^[54]

Founding and industrialization

Tampere seen from the Messukylä side of Tammerkoski in the 1837 artwork by Pehr Adolf Kruskopf

Before the founding of the city of Tampere, its neighboring municipality of Pirkkala (according to which the current Pirkanmaa region got its name) was the most administratively significant parish in the area throughout the Middle Ages.^[55] This all changed in the 18th century when Erik Edner, a Finnish pastor,^[56] proposed the establishment of a city of Tampere on the banks of the Tammerkoski channel in 1771–1772;^[57] it was officially founded as a market place^{[lower-alpha 2]} in 1775 by Gustav III of Sweden and four years later, 1 October 1779,^[58] Tampere was granted full city rights. At this time, it was a rather small town, founded on the lands belonging to Tammerkoski manor, while its inhabitants were still mainly farmers. As farming on the city's premises was forbidden, the inhabitants began to rely on other methods of securing a livelihood, primarily trade and handicraft.^[50] When Finland became part of the Russian Empire as the Grand Duchy of Finland in 1809, Tampere still had less than a thousand inhabitants.^[50]

The Renaissance Revival Raatihuone (City Hall), 1890; the Red Declaration was read from its balcony in 1905.^[59]

The old Tampella factory in Tampere

Tampere grew as a major market town and industrial centre in the 19th century;^[60] the industrialization of Tampere was greatly influenced by the Finlayson textile factory, founded in 1820 by the Scottish industrialist James Finlayson.^[12] By the year 1850, the factory employed around 2000 people, while the population of the city had increased to 4000 inhabitants. Other notable industrial establishments that followed Finlayson's success in the 1800s were the Tampella blast furnace, machine factory and flax mill, the Frenckell paper mill, and the Tampere broadcloth factory.^[50] Tampere's population grew rapidly at the end of the 19th century, from about 7,000 in 1870 to 36,000 in 1900. At the beginning of the 20th century, Tampere was a city of workers and women, with a third of the population being factory workers and more than half women.^[50] At the same time, the city's area increased almost sevenfold and impressive apartment buildings were built in the center of Tampere among modest wooden houses. The stone houses shaped Tampere in a modern direction. The construction of the sewerage and water supply network and the establishment of electric lighting were further steps towards modernisation;^[50] regarding the latter, Tampere was the first Nordic city to introduce electric lights for general use in 1882.^[61][62] The railway connection to Tampere from the extension of the Helsinki–Hämeenlinna line section (today part of the Main Line) via Toijala was opened to public traffic on 22 June 1876.^[63]: 173

The world-famous Nokia Corporation, a multinational telecommunication company, also had its beginnings in the Tammerkoski area;^[64] the company's history dates from 1865, when the Finnish-Swedish mining engineer Fredrik Idestam (1838–1916) established a pulp mill on the shores of the rapids^[64] and after that, a second pulp mill was opened in 1868 near the neighboring town of Nokia, where there were better hydropower resources.^[64]

Geopolitical significance

Painting of Stalin and Lenin at the 1905 Tampere Conference

The city after the Battle of Tampere during the 1918 Civil War

Tampere was the centre of many important political events in the early 20th century; for example, the 1905 conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), led by Vladimir Lenin, was held at the Tampere Workers' Hall, where it was decided, among other things, to launch an armed uprising, which eventually led to the October 1917 revolution in the Russian Empire.^[12][65][66] Also, on 1 November 1905, during the general strike, the famous Red Declaration was proclaimed on Keskustori.^[59][67] In 1918, after Finland had gained independence, Tampere played a major role, being one of the strategically important sites for the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (FSWR) during the Civil War in Finland (28 January–15 May 1918); the city was the most important industrial city in Finland at the beginning of the 20th century, marked by a huge working population.^{[68]: 13–14} Tampere was a Red stronghold during the war, with Hugo Salmela in command. White forces, led by General Mannerheim, captured the town after the Battle of Tampere, seizing about 10,000 Red prisoners on 6 April 1918.^[69][70]

During the Winter War, Tampere was bombed by the Soviet Union several times.^[71] The reason for the bombing of Tampere was that the city was an important railway junction, and also housed the State Aircraft Factory and the Tampella factory, which manufactured munitions and weapons, including grenade launchers. The most devastating bombings were on 2 March 1940, killing nine and wounding 30 city residents. In addition, ten buildings were destroyed and 30 were damaged that day.^[72]

Post-war period and modern day

The Social University moves to Tampere in 1960.

Prevalent in Tampere's post-World War II municipal politics was the Brothers-in-Arms Axis (aseveliakseli), which mostly consisted of the National Coalition Party and the Social Democrats. While the Centre Party was the largest political force in the Finnish countryside, it had no practical relevance in Tampere.^[73]

Tamvisio's camera operators film a television program at Frenckell's studio on 2 January 1965 in Tampere.

After World War II, Tampere was enlarged by joining some neighbouring areas. Messukylä was incorporated in 1947, Lielahti in 1950, Aitolahti in 1966 and finally Teisko in 1972. The limit of 100,000 inhabitants was crossed in Tampere in 1950.^[74] Tampere was long known for its textile and metal industries, but these have been largely replaced by information technology and telecommunications during the 1990s. The technology centre Hermia in Hervanta is home to many companies in these fields.^[75][76] Yleisradio started broadcasting its second television channel, Yle TV2, in Ristimäki, Tampere in 1965,^[77][78] as a result of which Finland was the first of the Nordic countries to receive a second television channel, after Sweden's SVT2 started broadcasting only four years later. Tampere became a university city when the Social University moved from Helsinki to Tampere in 1960 and became the University of Tampere in 1966.^[79] In 1979, Tampere-Pirkkala Airport was opened 13 km (8.1 mi) from the center of Tampere on the side of the Pirkkala municipality.^[80][81]

At the turn of the 1990s, Tampere's industry underwent a major structural change, as the production of Tampella's and Tampere's textile industry in particular was heavily focused on bilateral trade with the Soviet Union, but when it collapsed in 1991 the companies lost their main customers.^[19] As a result of the sudden change and the depression of the early 1990s, Finlayson and the Suomen trikoo had to reduce their operations sharply. Tampella went bankrupt.^[19] But although the change left a huge amount of vacant industrial space in the city center, in the early 2000s it was gradually put to other uses, with the current Tampere cityscape being characterized above all by strong IT companies, most notably Nokia's Tampere R&D units.^[82]

Neighbourhoods and other subdivisions

The city of Tampere is divided into seven subdivisions, each of which includes the many districts and their suburbs. There are a total of 111 statistical areas in Tampere. However, the statistical areas made for Tampere's statistics do not fully correspond to the Tampere district division or the residents' perception of the districts, as the Amuri, Kyttälä and Tammela districts, for example, are divided into two parts corresponding to the official district division, and in addition to this, Liisankallio and Kalevanrinne are often considered to belong to the Kaleva district.^[91]

Climate

Tampere has a humid continental climate Dfb with the four seasons clearly outlined. The climate of the Tampere–Pirkkala Airport, which is located away from the city center, borders the subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dfc) climate zone. Winters are cold and the average temperature from December to February is below −3 °C (27 °F). Summers are cool to warm. On average, snow cover lasts 4–5 months from late November to early April. Given the rather high latitude and inland location, winters are, on average, quite mild for the latitude, as is the annual mean temperature.

Revival and nationalism

Näsilinna, the Baroque Revival palace

Tampere has buildings from many architectural periods. Only the old stone church of Messukylä represents medieval building culture.^[95] Early 19th century neoclassicism, in turn, is represented by the Tampere Old Church and its belfry. The Gothic Revival buildings in Tampere that emerged from neoclassicism are the new Messukylä Church and the Alexander Church, and the Renaissance Revival buildings are the Hatanpää Manor, the Tampere City Hall,^[59] the Ruuskanen House and Näsilinna. The romantic nationalism design can be seen in the Commerce House, the Tirkkonen House, the Palander House, the Tampere Cathedral, the Tampere Central Fire Station and the National Bank Building in Tampere.^[91] At an early stage, the use of red brick as a material in the industrial buildings along Tammerkoski, such as the Finlayson and Tampella factories, has left a strong imaginary mark on the city.^[96][97]

Functionalism and modernism

Post-Art Nouveau classicism was largely Nordic,^[98] during which the Laikku Culture House, Hotel Tammer, the Tuulensuu House and the Viinikka Church were built in Tampere. After functionalism became the prevailing style in the 1930s, the Tampere Central Station, the Tempo House, a bus station and the Kauppi Hospital were built in Tampere. There is no single accepted designation for the post-war style, but the key representatives of the reconstruction period are the Bank of Finland House, the Amurinlinna House and the Pyynikki Swimming Hall. The rationalist buildings of the modernist period are represented by the University of Tampere, the Tampere Central Hospital, Sampola, the School of Economics, Ratina Stadium and the Kaleva Church.^[98] After this, diverse modernism will be represented by, among others, the Metso Main Library, the Hervanta Operations Center, the Tampere Hall, the university extension and Nokia's office building in Hatanpää.^[91]

The city center of Tampere and also its western parts have been developed in a more modern direction since the 2010s,^[99] and the city aims to get the center to take on its future form by the 2030s.^[100] Plans have been drawn up for the Central Station area in particular in the form of the "Tampere Deck" project, in connection with which a new multi-purpose arena and high-rise buildings have been sent to the area.^[101][102] A light rail network has also been recently built in the downtown area. Artificial island projects are planned on the shores of the lakes, which would create new residential areas for several thousand inhabitants.^[102] The projects are estimated to cost several billion euros.^{[100][101][102]}

Population

The city of Tampere has shown strong growth in recent years.^[102] The "Tampere Deck" and its new multi-purpose arena in November 2021.

The city of Tampere has 254,198 inhabitants, making it the 3rd most populous municipality in Finland and the tenth in the Nordics. The Tampere region, with 415,496 people, is the second largest after the Helsinki region. Tampere is home to 5% of Finland's population. 9.5% of the population has a foreign background, which is above the national average. However, it is lower than in the major Finnish cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa or Turku.^[118]

The demographic structure of Tampere shows that the city is a very popular place to study, as the number of young adults is significantly higher than in other municipalities in the region. At the end of 2012, the old-age dependency ratio was 45. Approximately 17.3% of the population was over the age of 65.^[85]: 13 Just over half of the population is female, as in the country as a whole. The population is fairly well educated, with two-thirds of those over 15 having completed post-primary education.^[119]

At the end of 2018, there were a total of 140,039 dwellings in Tampere, of which 127,639 were permanently occupied and 12,400 were not permanently occupied.^[120] Of these, 74% were apartment buildings, 14% were detached houses, 10% were terraced houses, and 2% were other residential buildings. Between 2002 and 2020, more than 40,000 new dwellings will be completed in Tampere.^[121] Living space has been growing for a long time, although after 2008 growth came to a virtual standstill. The average living space at the end of 2012 was about 36.8 m² per inhabitant, compared with about 19.2 m² in 1970 and about 31.8 m² in 1990. The average dwelling had about 1.8 inhabitants in 2012.^[85]: 13

For more than ten years, Tampere has been one of the most migratory municipalities, as more than 1,930 new residents moved to Tampere in January–September 2021. Nokia, Kangasala and Lempäälä, which are among Tampere's neighbouring municipalities, have also been identified as the most migratory municipalities, rising to the list of the 20 most attractive municipalities.^[34][35] Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tampere has become Finland's most attractive area for internal migration, as Tampere gained the most migration gains in 2020.^[122]

Languages

Tampere is the largest monolingual municipality in Finland. The majority of the population - 224,266 people or 90.1% - speak Finnish as their first language. In Tampere, 1,333 people, or 0.5% of the population, speak Swedish. This is the second largest number of Swedish speakers in monolingual Finnish-speaking municipalities after Kaarina. Kaarina and Tampere are also the only monolingual Finnish-speaking municipalities with a separate Swedish-speaking community. In 1900, Swedish speakers made up more than six per cent of Tampere's population, and less than two per cent in 1950.^[123]

As English and Swedish are compulsory school subjects, functional bilingualism or trilingualism acquired through language studies is not uncommon. At least 160 different languages are spoken in Tampere. The most widely spoken foreign languages are Russian (1.4%), Arabic (1.0%), Farsi (0.8%) and English (0.7%).^[118]

Immigration

Population by country of birth (2022)[118]
Nationality	Population	%
Finland	226,644	91.0
Soviet Union	2,197	0.9
Iraq	1,252	0.5
Afghanistan	1,182	0.5
Sweden	1,181	0.5
Estonia	1,090	0.4
Russia	873	0.4
Iran	870	0.3
China	846	0.3
India	833	0.3
Turkey	564	0.2

In 2022, there were 23,561 people with a migrant background living in Tampere, or 9.5% of the population.^{[note 1]} There were 22,365 residents who were born abroad, or 9% of the population. The number of foreign citizens in Tampere was 14,758.^[125] Most foreign-born citizens came from the former Soviet Union, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sweden, and Estonia.^[118]

The relative share of immigrants in the population of Tampere is slightly above the national average.^[118] Tampere attracts more migration from within Finland than directly from abroad. Nevertheless, the city's new residents are increasingly of foreign origin. This will increase the proportion of foreign residents in the coming years.

Urban areas

In 2019, out of the total population of 238,140, 231,648 people lived in urban areas and 3,132 in sparsely populated areas, while the coordinates of 3,360 people were unknown. This made Tampere's degree of urbanization 98.7%.^[126] The urban population in the municipality was divided between three statistical urban areas as follows:^[127]

Religion

In 2022, the Evangelical Lutheran Church was the largest religious group with 58% of the population of Tampere. Other religious groups accounted for 3.2% of the population. 38.8% of the population had no religious affiliation.^[118]

Media

An office building of Aamulehti newspaper in the Nalkala district

Tampere is a strong media city, as the television center in Tohloppi and Ristimäki districts has had a nationwide Yle TV2 television channel since the 1970s,^[91] and Finnish radio, for example, began in Tampere when Arvi Hauvonen founded the first broadcasting station in 1923.^[91] Yle TV2 has its roots in Tamvisio, which was transferred to Yleisradio in 1964. Kakkoskanava ("Channel 2") has been a major influence in Tampere, and several well-known television programs and series have been shot in the city,^[91] such as TV comedies Tankki täyteen, Reinikainen and Kummeli. The Ruutu+ streaming service's popular crime drama television series Lakeside Murders (Finnish: Koskinen), based on the Koskinen book series by Seppo Jokinen, is also produced and filmed in Tampere.^[135][136]

The Tampere Film Festival, an annual international short film event, is held every March.^[137] Tampere has also served as a filming location for international film productions, most notably the 1993 British comedy film The Big Freeze^[138] and the 2022 American sci-fi film Dual.^[139][140]

In 2014, Aamulehti, which was published in Tampere and was founded in 1881,^[141][142] was the third largest newspaper in Finland in terms of circulation, after Helsingin Sanomat and Ilta-Sanomat. The circulation of the magazine was 106,842 (2014).^[143] In addition, a free city newspaper Tamperelainen (literally translated "Tamperean", meaning person who live in Tampere) will be published in the city.^[91] In November 2016, the Tamperelainen was awarded the second best city newspaper in Finland.^[144]

The city is also known as the home of the popular Hydraulic Press Channel on YouTube, which originates from a machine shop owned by Lauri Vuohensilta.^[145]

Food

Mustamakkara ("black sausage"), a speciality food from Tampere, is typically consumed with lingonberry jam.

Tampere claims to be the "wings capital of Finland", consuming almost half of the hot wings in Finland. The restaurant chain Siipiweikot originates from Tampere. Almost half of the chicken wings sold in Finland are eaten exclusively in Pirkanmaa.^[146]

A local food speciality is mustamakkara, which resembles the black pudding of northern England. It is a black sausage made by mixing pork, pig's blood and crushed rye and flour and is stuffed into the intestines of an animal. It is commonly eaten with lingonberry sauce. Especially Tammelantori square in the district of Tammela is known for its mustamakkara kiosks.^[147]

A newer Tampere tradition are munkki, fresh sugary doughnuts that are sold in several cafés around Tampere, but most traditionally in Pyynikki observation tower.^[148]

One of the specialties of Tampere's local barbecue dishes include the peremech (Finnish: pärämätsi) based on traditional Tatar food. It is a pie reminiscent of Karelian pasty with seasoned ground meat inside.^[149][150]

In the 1980s, in addition to mustamakkara and barley bread, the old parish dish of Tampere was also called a potato soup, home-made small beer (kotikalja), a sweetened lingonberry porridge and a sweetened potato casserole (Imelletty perunalaatikko).^[151]

Since 1991, the two-day fish market event (Tampereen kalamarkkinat) in Laukontori attracts as many as 80,000–100,000 visitors in year, and is held both in the spring on vappu and in the autumn on Tampere Day.^[152][153]

Music

Judas Priest performing as one of the headliners at the 2011 Sauna Open Air Metal Festival

Tampere is home to the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra (Tampere Filharmonia), which is one of only two full-sized symphony orchestras in Finland; the other one is located in Helsinki. The orchestra's home venue is the Tampere Hall,^[12] and their concerts include classical, popular, and film music. Tampere Music Festivals organises three international music events: The Tampere Jazz Happening each November, and in alternate years The Tampere Vocal Music Festival and the Tampere Biennale. Professional education in many fields of classical music, including performing arts, pedagogic arts, and composition, is provided by Tampere University of Applied Sciences and Tampere Conservatoire.

Tammerfest, Tampere's urban rock festival, is held every July.^[154] The Blockfest, which also takes place in Tampere during the summer months,^[154] is the largest hip hop event in the Nordic countries.^[155] The Tampere Floral Festival is an annual event, held each Summer.

Manserock became a general term for rock music from Tampere, which was essentially rock music with Finnish lyrics. Manserock was especially popular during the 1970s and 1980s, and its most popular artists included Juice Leskinen, Virtanen, Kaseva, Popeda, and Eppu Normaali. In 1977, Poko Rekords, the first record company in Tampere, was founded.^[156]

In the 2010s, there has been a lot of popular musical activity in Tampere, particularly in the fields of rock and heavy/black metal; one of the most important metal music events in Tampere is the Sauna Open Air Metal Festival.^[157] Some of the most popular bands based in Tampere include Negative, Uniklubi, and Lovex. Tampere also has an active electronic music scene. Tampere hosts an annual World of Tango Festival (Maailmantango),^[158] which is one of the most significant tango events in Finland next to the Tangomarkkinat of Seinäjoki.

Theatre

The Tampere Theatre (Finnish: Tampereen Teatteri)

Tampere has a lengthy tradition of theater, with established institutions such as Tampereen Työväen Teatteri, Tampereen Teatteri, and Pyynikin Kesäteatteri, which is an open-air theatre with the oldest revolving auditorium in Europe. The longest-running directors of the Tampereen Teatteri include Eino Salmelainen and Rauli Lehtonen, and the Tampereen Työväen Teatteri has Kosti Elo, Eino Salmelainen and Lasse Pöysti.^[91] The Tampere Theatre Festival (Tampereen teatterikesä) is an international theatre festival held in the city each August. Tampere also has the Tampere Opera, founded in 1946.^[159]

Tampere's other professional theaters are Teatteri Siperia; restaurant theater Teatteripalatsi; Teatteri Telakka, known for its artistic experiments; Ahaa Teatteri, which specializes in children's and young people's plays; puppet theater Teatteri Mukamas, and Tanssiteatteri MD, specializes in contemporary dance performances.^[160] In addition, there are also three cinemas in Tampere: two Finnkino's theaters, Cine Atlas and Plevna,^[161][162] and private Arthouse Cinema Niagara,^[163] which serves as the main venue for the Cinemadrome Festival, which presents horror, action, sci-fi, trash, and other cult films.^[164] Local cinemas also included the historic Imatra, formerly located in the Kyttälä district, which was completely destroyed on a fire in the midst of a 1924 film Wages of Virtue on 23 October 1927, killing 21 people.^[165]

Religious activities

Cathedral of Tampere in the Jussinkylä district, designed by Finnish architect Lars Sonck

The Old Church (Vanha kirkko) on the edge of the Tampere Central Square

As is the case with most of the rest of Finland, most Tampere citizens belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. One Lutheran church in Tampere is Finlayson Church in the district by the same name. Tampere also has a variety of other religious services spanning from traditional to charismatic. There are also some English speaking services, such as the Tampere English Service, an international community affiliated with the Tampere Pentecostal Church (Tampereen helluntaiseurakunta).^[166][167] English services of the International Congregation of Christ the King (ICCK) are organized by the Anglican Church in Finland and the Lutheran Parishes of Tampere. The Catholic parish of the Holy Cross^[168] also offers services in Finnish, Polish and English. Other churches may also have English speaking ministries. Tampere is the center of a LDS stake (diocese). Other churches in Tampere are the Baptist Church, the Evangelical Free Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, the Finnish Orthodox Church and the Nokia Revival.

There was an organized Jewish community until 1981. Though a small number of Jews remain in Tampere, organized communal life ended at that time.^[169]

There are three registered Muslim communities in Tampere. The biggest of them being Tampere Islam Society with over 1500 members.^[170]

City rivalry with Turku

Tampere ostensibly has a long-standing mutual feud with the city of Turku,^[171] the first capital of Finland, and they tend to compete for the title of being the "second grand city of Finland" after Helsinki.^[172][173] This rivalry is largely expressed in jokes in one city about the other; prominent targets are the traditional Tampere food, mustamakkara, the state of the Aura River in Turku, and the regional accents. Tampere is well known as a food destination because of its food culture. Since 1997, students at Tampere have made annual excursions to Turku to jump on the market square, doing their part to undo the post-glacial rebound and push the city back into the Baltic Sea.^[174][175]

Pispala

Pispala is a ridge located between the two lakes. It is divided into Ylä-Pispala ("Upper Pispala") and Ala-Pispala ("Lower Pispala"). It's the highest gravel ridge in the world, raising 80 m (260 ft) above Lake Pyhäjärvi and around 160 m (520 ft) above sea level. It was used to house the majority of industrial labour in the late 19th and early 20th century, when it was part of Suur-Pirkkala and its successor Pohjois-Pirkkala. It was a free area to be built upon by the working-class people working in Tampere factories. It joined Tampere in 1937. Currently it is a residential area undergoing significant redevelopment and together with neighbouring Pyynikki it forms an important historical area of Tampere.^[12]

Sports

Ice hockey

Opening game of Nokia Arena: Tappara vs Ilves

Official Fan Zone in Tampere during the 2022 IIHF World Championship

Tampere's sporting scene is mainly driven by ice hockey.^[185] The first Finnish ice hockey match was played in Tampere, on the ice of Pyhäjärvi. Tampere is nicknamed the hometown of Finnish ice hockey. Three exceptional ice hockey teams come from Tampere: Tappara, Ilves and KOOVEE. Especially both Tappara and Ilves have had a great impact on Finnish ice hockey culture and are among the most successful teams in Finland;^[185][186] of these, Ilves was the first Tampere-based hockey team to win the 1935-1936 Finnish championship.^[185] The Finnish ice hockey museum, and the first ice hockey arena to be built in Finland, the Hakametsä arena, are both located in Tampere.^[102] Construction of a new main ice hockey arena, Tampere Deck Arena,^[187] began in 2018, and was first opened to the public on 3 December 2021, although the official opening date was on 15 December.^{[188][189][190][191]} The name of the new arena was supposed to be UROS LIVE,^[192] but due to the financial difficulties of the sponsor behind it, the name was abandoned.^[193] After that, Nokia Corporation was chosen as the new sponsor on 19 November 2021, and the arena was renamed as Nokia Arena.^[194] The arena served as one of the host cities for the 1965 World Ice Hockey Championships,^[185][195] the 2022 IIHF World Championship and the 2023 IIHF World Championship.^{[185][196][197][198]}

Concerts

Ratina Stadium of Tampere, in the district by the same name, has served as the venue for many of the most significant concerts, most notably in connection with the Endless Forms Most Beautiful World Tour in 2015 by the band Nightwish.^[209][210] Other noteworthy tours from other bands held at Ratina Stadium include Iron Maiden (Somewhere Back in Time World Tour, 2008), Bruce Springsteen (Working on a Dream Tour, 2009), AC/DC (Black Ice World Tour, 2010), Red Hot Chili Peppers (I'm with You World Tour, 2012), Bon Jovi (Because We Can World Tour, 2013), Robbie Williams (The Heavy Entertainment Show Tour, 2017) and Rammstein (Rammstein Stadium Tour, 2019).

Distances to other cities

Mayors over time

• Kaarle Nordlund 1929–1943
• Sulo Typpö 1943–1957
• Erkki Lindfors 1957–1969
• Pekka Paavola 1969–1985
• Jarmo Rantanen 1985–2007
• Timo P. Nieminen (kok.) 2007–2012
• Anna-Kaisa Ikonen (kok.) 2013–2017
• Lauri Lyly (sd.) 2017–2021
• Anna-Kaisa Ikonen (kok.) 2021–2023
• Kalervo Kummola (kok.) 2023–present

Born before 1900

James Finlayson, Scottish Quaker and industrialist best known for founding the Finlayson company

J. K. Paasikivi, the Prime Minister of Finland and later the 7th President of Finland

• Emil Aaltonen (1869—1949), industrialist and philanthropist
• Emanuel Aromaa (1873—1933), politician
• Eero Berg (1898–1969), long-distance runner and Olympic gold medalist
• Minna Canth (1844–1897), author and social activist
• Rosa Clay (1875–1959), a Namibian-born Finnish American teacher, singer and choral conductor
• Minna Craucher (1891–1932), socialite and spy
• James Finlayson (1772–1852), Scottish Quaker and industrialist
• Väinö Hakkila (1882–1958), politician
• Gustaf Idman (1885–1961), diplomat and a non-partisan Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Alma Jokinen (1882–1939), politician
• Feliks Kellosalmi (1877–1939), politician
• Augusta Laine (1867–1949), teacher of home economics and politician
• Frans Oskar Lilius (1871–1928), politician
• Wivi Lönn (1872–1966), architect
• Kaapo Murros (1875–1951), journalist, lawyer, writer and politician
• Juho Kusti Paasikivi (1870–1956), the Prime Minister of Finland and the 7th President of Finland
• Aaro Pajari (1897–1949), Major General and the Knight of the Mannerheim Cross
• Arvo Pohjannoro (1893–1963), Lutheran clergyman and politician
• Anders Rajala (1891–1957), wrestler
• Julius Saaristo (1891–1969) track and field athlete and Olympic gold medalist
• Matti Schreck (1897–1946), banker and film producer
• Frans Eemil Sillanpää (1888–1964), author and Nobel laureate^[233]
• Bertel Strömmer (1890–1962), architect
• Vilho Tuulos (1895–1967), triple jumper, long jumper and Olympic gold medalist
• August Wesley (1887–?), journalist, trade unionist and revolutionary

Born after 1900

Aleksander Barkov, ice hockey player

Väinö Linna, author of The Unknown Soldier and Under the North Star trilogy

Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland from 2019 to 2023.

• Jonne Aaron (born 1983), singer
• Sinikka Antila (born 1960), lawyer and diplomat
• Aleksander Barkov (born 1995), Finnish-Russian professional ice hockey player
• Anu Bradford (born 1975), Finnish-American author and law professor
• Johanna Debreczeni (born 1980), singer
• Henrik Otto Donner (1939–2013), composer and music personality
• Anna Falchi (born 1972), Finnish-Italian model and film actress
• Mauri Favén (1920–2006), painter
• Jussi Halla-aho (born 1971), politician and former leader of the Finns Party
• Roope Hintz (born 1996), professional ice hockey player
• Anja Ignatius (1911–1995), violinist and music educator
• Seppo Jokinen (born 1949), author
• Viljo Kajava (1909–1998), author and poet
• Tapani Kalliomäki (born 1970), stage and film actor
• Glen Kamara (born 1995), professional footballer
• Jorma Karhunen (1913–2002), Finnish Air Force ace and the Knight of the Mannerheim Cross
• Leo Kinnunen (1943–2017), Formula One driver
• Urpo Lahtinen (1931–1994), journalist and magazine publisher, founder of Tamperelainen
• Kimmo Leinonen (born 1949), ice hockey executive and writer^[234]
• Mika Koivuniemi (born 1967), bowling coach and professional ten-pin bowler
• Kiira Korpi (born 1988), figure skater
• Patrik Laine (born 1998), professional ice hockey player
• Väinö Linna (1920–1992), author
• Jyrki Lumme (born 1966), professional hockey player
• Tiina Lymi (born 1971), actress, director, screenwriter and author
• Taru Mäkelä (born 1959), film director and screenwriter
• Eeva-Liisa Manner (1921–1995), poet, playwright and translator
• Sanna Marin (born 1985), Prime Minister of Finland (2019–2023)
• Sakari Mattila (born 1989), professional footballer
• Matthau Mikojan (born 1982), rock musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter
• Pate Mustajärvi (born 1956), rock singer
• Mikko Nousiainen (born 1975), actor
• Teppo Numminen (born 1968), professional ice hockey player
• Luka Nurmi (born 2004), racing driver
• Erno Paasilinna (1935–2000), author and journalist
• Pekka Paavola (born 1933), politician and Minister of Justice
• Tero Palmroth (born 1953), racing driver
• Oiva Paloheimo (1910–1973), author, poet and aphorist
• Veijo Pasanen (1930–1988), actor
• Aku Pellinen (born 1993), racing driver
• Sakari Puisto (born 1976), politician
• Raisa Räisänen (1983–?), still missing 16-year-old girl, who was declared dead in absentia in 2007
• Matti Ranin (1926–2013), actor
• Otto Räty (born 1992), ice hockey player
• Leo Riuttu (1913–1989), actor
• Seela Sella (born 1936), actress
• Heikki Silvennoinen (born 1954), musician and actor
• Kikka (1964–2005), pop and schlager singer
• Jukka Tapanimäki (1961–2000), software developer and game programmer
• Armi Toivanen (born 1980), actress
• Jussi Välimäki (born 1974), rally driver
• Lauri Viita (1916–1965), poet
• Sofia Vikman (born 1983), politician
• Olavi Virta (1915–1972), singer
• Juuso Walli (born 1996), professional ice hockey player^[235]
• Hans Wind (1919–1995), fighter pilot, flying ace and the Knight of the Mannerheim Cross
• Aki Yli-Salomäki (born 1972), composer, music critic and music journalist