Ikaalinen (Swedish: Ikalis) is a Finnish city located in the
province of Pirkanmaa. The municipality is home to 6,894 people and
covers an area of 843.40 km2, of which 92.99 km2 are water bodies.
The population density is 9.19 inhabitants / km2. The neighboring
municipalities of Ikaalinen are Hämeenkyrö, Jämijärvi, Kankaanpää,
Parkano, Sastamala and Ylöjärvi. The former neighboring
municipalities are Kuru, Suodenniemi and Viljakkala.
Ikaalinen uses the coat of arms of the former countryside. It was
designed by Pentti Papunen, and it was confirmed in 1956. The coat
of arms of the store, confirmed in 1961, was also written by
Papunen.
Ikaalinen is known for the Ikaalinen Spa, the
international summer Sata-Häme Soi festival and the once successful
Ikaalinen baseball team. Ikaalinen has been and still is a place of
education, trade and administration.
The Ikaalinen parish
belongs to the diocese of Tampere and the county of Hämeenkyrö.
Ikaalinen's city center, ie the former church
village and township, the current Vanhakauppala district, is located
on a peninsula on the shores of Lake Kyrösjärvi. The area of the
municipality extends in an east-west direction on both sides around
the northern end of the lake. Lake Kyrösjärvi as well as the entire
municipality is part of the Kokemäenjoki watershed. Most of
Ikaalinen belongs to the Kyrösjärvi water area, but some lakes in
the eastern part of the municipality flow into Lake Näsijärvi.
Ikaalinen is located in the middle of the old Upper Satakunta, and
for centuries, until the 1990s, it belonged to the province of
Satakunta and the provinces of Turku and Pori. In that case, due to
the growing influence of Tampere, the municipalities of Upper
Satakunta became part of the province of Pirkanmaa and the province
of Häme. Traffic in the area is mainly directed to Tampere, and
there is talk in the region of the Upper Satakunta dialect of the
Häme dialects. Among the neighboring municipalities of Ikaalinen are
also the northern Parkano and the western Kankaanpää, which belonged
to the former Suur-Ikaalinen. Other large neighboring municipalities
are southern Hämeenkyrö and eastern Ylöjärvi. It is more than 50
kilometers from Tampere to Ikaalinen.
Statistics Finland's
population forecast (new 9/2012):
2020: 7,173 as.
2030: 7 192
as.
2040: 7 189 as.
Seitseminen National Park extends to
the northern part of Ikaalinen from the Ylöjärvi (former Kuru) side.
The highest terrain in the city, almost 200 meters above sea level,
is located in the northeastern part of the village of Juhtimäki. The
southern part of Ikaalinen is dominated by the Hämeenkangas ridge
section, the highest point of which is the Vatulanharju, which
extends 188 meters above sea level. The ridge section continues west
to Kankaanpää and east to Hämeenkyrö.