Mänttä-Vilppula is a city born around the forest industry in
Upper Pirkanmaa, on the border with the province of Central Finland.
The neighboring municipalities of Mänttä-Vilppula are Keuruu,
Juupajoki, Jämsä, Ruovesi and Virrat. The city has an official area
of 657.08 km², of which 534.85 km² is land, and a population of
9,813 inhabitants.
The closest of the large cities to
Mänttä-Vilppula are Jyväskylä (distance approx. 80 km) and Tampere
(90 km).
In 2007, a municipal and service structure survey
was launched in Upper Pirkanmaa between the cities of Mänttä and
Virta and the municipalities of Ruovesi and Vilppula. In the end,
Ruovesi and Virrat dropped out of the municipal union preparations
and the city of Mänttä-Vilppula was created when Mänttä and Vilppula
merged on 1 January 2009.
The new city kept the coat of arms
of Vilppula, but the seat of the administration became Mänttä city
center. In fact, the agglomeration also covers the Vilppula station
area, which previously formed its own agglomeration, but strictly
speaking, the center is the center of the former city of Mänttä.
Mänttä-Vilppula is known above all as an art city and one of the
historical keepers of the Finnish paper and forest industry. Both
are strongly influenced by the Serlachius family.
The coat of
arms of the city of Mänttä-Vilppula was designed by Olof Eriksson.
Old Vilppula is in the western part of the city, in
the eastern part of Mänttä. The center of Mänttä is located on the
isthmus between Keurusselä and Lake Kuorevesi, across which the
waters of the Keuruu route flow towards Ruovet. Mänttä's most famous
natural attraction is Mäntänvuori, which extends 190 meters above
sea level to the southeast of the city center. The Vilppula area is
mainly located at an altitude of 100–150 m above sea level and only
a few small areas on the western and south-western border of the
former municipality exceed the level of 150 m. The highest terrain
is Kankaanpäänvuori, which reaches a height of 214 meters. In
general, the landscape of Vilppula is quite hilly. The waters of the
Keuruu route, which belongs to the headwaters of the Kokemäenjoki
watershed, divide Vilppula into two parts, and in the deep river
basin near the church village there is Vilppulankoski, which has a
fall height of 2.3 meters.
The city has a total of 136 lakes,
the largest of which are Keurusselkä-Ukonselkä, Ruovesi and
Tarjanne.
Mänttä-Vilppula's Natura sites are the rugged humus
lake Tarjannevesi, and the sites of old forests are Riihijärvi,
Lanutjärvi, Elämänmäki and Mäntänvuori.
Villages and other
agglomerations
The Kolho agglomeration is located in the northern
parts of the city, on the shores of Pohjanlahti Tarjannevesi.
Other villages in Old Vilppula were Ajostaipale, Elämätaipale,
Huhtijärvi, Huopioniemi, Kurkijärvi, Leppäkoski, Loila, Maakasperä,
Suluslahti, Tyynysniemi, Vitsakoski.
Mänttä had Alaranta,
Aravala, Asemankulma, Isoniemi, Joenniemi, Juhola, Keikanniemi,
Keskikauppala, Koskela, Kukkarokivi, Köörinniemi, Länsi-Koskela,
Moisio, Monhanrinne, Mustalahti, Mäkikylä, Pättiniemi, Savo,
Riem-aho, Tammikangas, Tammiranta, Vuohijoki, Vuohimetsä,
Vuorenalusta.