Valkeakoski is a city of about 21,000 inhabitants, located 35
kilometers south of Tampere. It belongs to the province of Pirkanmaa
and the region of South Pirkanmaa.
Valkeakoski is especially
known for the paper industry and as a diverse city of culture and
sports. The neighboring municipalities of Valkeakoski are Akaa,
Hattula, Hämeenlinna, Kangasala, Lempäälä and Pälkäne.
Valkeakoski is located in the middle of the Lake Häme lake landscape
at the confluence of Mallasvesi and Vanajavesi. Water dominates the
cityscape of the center in the form of a canal passing through it.
The electrical energy obtained from the harnessed power of the
rapids between Maltasvesi and Vanajavesi was at one time the enabler
of the establishment of one of Finland's first paper mills, the
Myllysaari paper mill.
The Myllysaari paper mill has already
been closed and now houses a museum.
UPM-Kymmene
Corporation's Tervasaari paper mill right next to Myllysaari
continues the traditions of the paper industry in the area.
The Tervasaari paper mill produces label paper with two paper
machines. The mill is currently a smaller paper mill with an annual
production of 350,000 tons. Tervasaari produces the most label
background paper in the world.
At the beginning of the 20th
century, a narrow-gauge 600 mm gauge Valkeakoski factory track ran
between the factories and the log plan of Hakala beach.
Valkeakoski Day is October 27.
Valkeakoski has a hotel and a camping area, which are open all year
round.
Proceedings
Valkeakoski's biggest annual cultural event
is the Workers' Music Festival, which in 2010 was attended by more than
35,000 people. In Säaksmäki, even today, a traditional fire festival is
celebrated in the spring. It is the only one of its kind in Finland.
The first Onni Rock was organized in Valkeakoski in 2007, when Ari
Koivunen was the main performer. In 2008, it was called Onni Pop and the
main performer was Anna Abreu. In 2009 and 2010, the event operated
under the name Onnirokki. In 2009 the performer was Apulanta and in 2010
Fintelligens and Pete Parkkonen. Concerts are also organized in the
local shopping center Koskikara. Among others, Anna Abreu, Cheek and
Hevisaurus have performed in Koskikara.
Valkeakoski's several
cultural museums (Finnish Football Museum, Myllysaari Museum, Voipaala
Art Center, Emil Wikström Museum and Kari Pavilion) are an important
part of tourism in Valkeakoski. In the summer, tourism is increased by
Haka's matches in the Veikkausliiga soccer league and the summer theater
built in 2010. In 2010, the musical Pirkko & Åke was performed at the
summer theater, which told the story of the romance between Pirkko
Mannola and Åke Lindman. Ilkka Koivula and Iina Kuustonen were seen in
the main roles. More than 20,000 people came to see the play.
Housing fair
In 2009, the Housing Fair was organized in Valkeakoski's
Lintula. A total of 42 apartments were built, of which 40 were
exhibition sites. The theme of the fair, which ended on August 9, was
energy-efficient living. There were a total of 142,386 visitors at the
fair, which met the organizers' expectations.
In 2017, a house
exhibition was organized in Valkeakoski's Länsi-Lintula, next to the
former housing fair area. More than 10,000 visitors visited the
exhibition, which exceeded the organizers' expectations.
Food
culture
In the 1980s, Valkeakoski's signature dishes were cobbler's
salmon, potato mokko, or mashed potatoes, and sourdough bread.
Valkeakoski's name comes from Valkeakoski, which was located there
(pronounced in the local dialect also valkeoski, valkiakoski). There are
different ideas about the origin of the name. It could have referred
either to a sparkling lake or to bonfires on the shores. Nomenclature
researcher Timo Alanen has considered the first mentioned explanation to
be correct. Locals - like those living in nearby municipalities - use
the shorter name "Koski" for Valkeakoski; if you travel by bus to
Valkeakoski, it is normal to indicate "Koski" as the destination.
In the early 2000s, Valkeakoski was marketed as Mansikkapaikka.
Prehistory
Farming began in the Sydän-Häme area around 1500 BC.
Before this, the settlement had been fragmented. There is no certain
information about the construction date of the nearby ancient castle of
Rapola (located on Sääksmäki, which was joined to Valkeakoski in 1973),
but it has protected its inhabitants from invaders in the first
millennium.
Suur-Sääksmäki
Suur-Sääksmäki's magnate was
mentioned for the first time in writings in 1340. It was found in the
pannabulla proclaimed by Pope Benedict XII, which was issued for
refusing to pay taxes.
At the turn of the 15th and 16th
centuries, Sääksmäki church was built in the area. Around the same time,
many mansions were completed in the Sääksmäki area. In the Middle Ages,
Valkeakoski was a well-known mill village, where people came from long
distances in boats to grind grain.
The canal completed in
Valkeakoski in 1869 drew the eyes of businessmen to Valkeakoski. A wood
mill and a paper factory were first built on the beach, and in 1880
Finland's first cellulose factory was started. Valkeakoski started to
change from a mill village to an industrial center, even though the
hard-hit civil war stopped the growth for years.
From a mill
village to an industrial area
At the confluence of Vanajavesi and
Mallasvesi, mills slowly began to accumulate, where grain was ground by
water. Development was relatively slow until the Valkeakoski canal was
built in 1869. The paper mill and wood grinder built in the following
decade were joined in the 1880s by the first cellulose factory in
Finland. An industrial agglomeration began to emerge as factories
attracted rural residents.
For a long time, the "mill village" of
Valkeakoski relied on the spiritual services of Sääksmäki. In 1883, when
the population of the village of Valkeakoski already rose to a third of
the entire holding, the factory's public school was built there, but
only in 1910 a wooden prayer room or church. Valkeakoski only got its
own priest after the establishment of the independent municipality.
Valkeakoski quickly developed separately from Säaksmäki, which made the
administration of the area difficult.
The civil war was
devastating in Valkeakoski, due to the political confrontation. Relative
to the population, the most people died because of the war from all the
municipalities in Finland. Because of this, the industry was in great
trouble for a long time.
City
The social upheaval and rapid
population growth brought great social contradictions and even
difficulties to the village of Valkeakoski and the entire Sääksmäki.
They were also reflected in various areas of administration and social
activities and led in 1922 to the establishment of Valkeakoski township.
At that time, the populations of Sääksmäki and Valkeakoski were already
the same. After Säaksmäki's medieval church was destroyed in a fire in
1929, the people of Valkeakoski demanded a new church to be built in the
village. When Sääksmäki decided to rebuild its historic sanctuary, the
separation of congregations also became relevant. After the Second World
War, Valkeakoski's economy grew and the population multiplied. In the
1950s–1970s, Valkeakoski's leading figures included Juuso Walden, during
which time factory life improved and football changed more in the
direction of professional sports. During Juuso Walden's time,
Valkeakoskea was built with close cooperation between the paper company
and the city. During Walden, Valkeakoski made headlines e.g. by
receiving numerous state guests. During his time, the level of education
also rose with new school buildings. An example of these is Tyry's
school, which was founded on the initiative of Walden and his wife.
After the war, the population of Valkeakoski, in particular, grew
rapidly thanks to industry and partly the Karelian emigrant population.
In the 1950s, Valkeakoski's site plan was drastically modernized.
The 1,000-seat Valkeakoski church, designed by architect Veikko
Larkas, was completed in 1969. Valkeakoski received city rights six
years earlier, in 1963. In 1973, the parent company Sääksmäki was
incorporated into Valkeakoski, and in 1975 the village of Paino, which
was formerly part of Pälkäne, and its surroundings, located north of the
city. In 1978, a partial merger was carried out between Hattula and
Valkeakoski, when some of the villages of Tyrvännö municipality, which
had been merged with Hattula seven years earlier, were merged with
Valkeakoski. The annexed villages are Uskila, Mälkiäinen and Tykölä.
At the turn of the 1980s, the growth that had continued strong for
decades folded. Despite the gradual decrease in industrial jobs,
Valkeakoski is still one of the most industrialized cities in Finland.
The drastic structural change that befell the city continues even in the
2010s. This has only been attempted by supporting a diverse business
life and by increasing the educational offer.
The unemployment rate in Valkeakoski was 12.2% on average in 2011. In
2009, Valkeakoski's workplace self-sufficiency was 94.0%. Valkeakoski's
unemployment was boosted by Avilon Oy, which started operations in
January 2011. During the fall of 2010, Avilon hired 200 employees out of
about 1,500 applicants, but ended up going bankrupt in March 2013.
According to estimates, the Kesko business center opened in the city
center in October 2012 employs 120–140 people.
Valkeakoski's
largest employers on December 31, 2015:
City of Valkeakoski 1445
(working years)
Saarioinen Oy 386
UPM-Kymmene Oyj 360 (Tervasaari
paper mill)
Amcor Oy 292
Valkeakoski Regional Hospital 226
Walki Oy 177
Valkeakoski vocational and adult college 143
Adara
Pakkaus Oy 138
VaBe Oy 101
Valmet technologies Oy 90
There are two shopping centers in the center of Valkeakoski,
Koskikara and Torikeskus.
Shopping center Koskikara is home to
the city's largest grocery store S-market Valkeakoski. In addition,
Koskikara is home to, for example, Alko, Koskikara Kenkä, Valkeakoski
Osuuspankki, Silmäasema and other shops that are part of basic services.
There are 36 shops under the roof of Koskikara.
Yhteistalo is
home to, among other things, Fitness center Kanava, which started
operations in 2009, R-kioski, Yhteitalon Kukka and Beauty Flames. Bar
Panama can be found on the ground floor of the building right on the
canal bank.
In 2008, Lidl opened in Valkeakoski. Valkeakoski's
largest grocery stores are Torikeskus' K-citymarket and Koskikara's
S-market. In addition, Valkeakoski has four K-Markets, S-market Superi
and Sale. Valkeakoski also has numerous kiosks, three of which are
R-kiosks. In addition to this, Valkeakoski has a few village shops.
The main street of Valkeakoski is Valtakatu. Shops and services such
as Säästöpankki, Suomen Terveystalo and Nordea are located on Valtakatu.
The Koskikara shopping center is also located along Valtakatu.
Other important streets in the center are Seurahuonenkatu,
Valkeakoskenkatu, Torikatu, Kauppatori and Apiankatu. The youth cafe
Barbaari and Pohjantähti (an insurance company) are located along
Seurahuone street. It is a one-way street facing north. The Valkeakoski
city theater and a few shops are located along Valkeakoskenkatu. From
Torikatu you can reach the shopping center Koskikara, and when the
shopping center is closed, the restaurant Stella and Hesburger, which
are located on the street level of the shopping center. There are also a
few shops along the street, such as SPR-Kirppis and Antikvariaatti
Willen Wanhat. There are several shops on the edges of the market
square, such as Instrumentarium, Info-book center, Valkeakoski's music
and Specsavers optician. Apiankatu, on the other hand, is located on the
south side of the Valkeakoski canal. Apiankatu is home to the shopping
center Yhteitalo, K-Market, Valkeakoski bus station, Matkahuolto, as
well as numerous cafes, restaurants and specialty shops.
Basic education
Valkeakoski has 9 primary schools, 6 of which are
traditional primary schools including grades 1–6 (Kärjenniemi, Leppälä,
Rauhala, Sorrila and Tarttila schools). Of these, Kärjenniemi and
Sorrila schools are the largest. Tietola's school has basic education
for grades 1–6 as well as small classes and advanced education.
Tietola's apprenticeship training is also used by some of the
neighboring municipalities. In addition, Valkeakoski has a Sassi school
where teaching is only available in the first and second grades.
Valkeakoski has one middle school, Naaka school, and Rouko unified
school for grades 1-9. In the center of Valkeakoski, Apia middle school
and high school operated for a long time, but the school was closed when
the construction of the new Tietotie high school began. Middle school
students were transferred to middle schools in Tyry and Naaka, and high
school students were evacuated to the facilities of Häme University of
Applied Sciences. This caused a lot of criticism towards the city of
Valkeakoski, because initially the city had promised that the students
would be allowed to study at the school until the completion of the new
high school, but nevertheless sent the students to the evacuation center
ahead of time for the demolition of the school. However, the school
stood empty due to several years of delays in the business center
project. Complaints have been submitted to the city of Valkeakoski about
the condition of several schools, and some of the schools have been
banned to some extent.
other education
Valkeakoski also has a
municipal music college and the Valkeakoski college, which offers
courses in languages and expressive skills. In addition, Päivölä College
operates in Sääksmäki in Valkeakoski.
Valkeakoski Campus
Valkeakoski Campus is a school cluster located north of the city center.
The campus includes Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK)
Valkeakoski teaching center, Tietotie high school and Valkeakoski
vocational and adult college (VAAO). Student dormitories and Lotila
Business Garden are also planned for the campus.
Valkeakoski's
new, Tietotie high school opened its doors to students for the first
time in the fall of 2009. The high school has about 400 students. The
new high school was built largely on the basis of modern technology, and
the high school uses, for example, smart boards and video recording of
lessons. Students can watch the lessons again as videos. The high school
cooperates with HAMK. Jaana Leppä is the principal of Tietotie high
school.
In the semester 2010–2011, the Valkeakoski teaching
center of Häme University of Applied Sciences operates three education
programs: Automation Engineering, Industrial Management and "Degree
Program in International Business". Many foreign students study at HAMK.
HAMK cooperates with Haka in addition to Tietotie high school.
The largest educational institution on the campus is Valkeakoski
Vocational and Adult College, where approximately 1,400 students study
annually. In 2010, VAAO built a new part of its school after the
department of trade and administration moved from the center to the
campus. In the semester 2011–2012, the following professional training
programs will start:
Merkonomy
Merchandiser of international trade
Datanom
Machine fitter
Machinist
Automation installer
Electrician
Housebuilder
Plumber
Process manager
Painter
Vehicle fitter
Barber-hairdresser
Beautician
Cook
Practical
nurse
Valkeakoski vocational school has a lot of students from
outside the area. In addition to Valkeakoski, the largest number of
students come from Tampere, Kangasa, Akaa, Kylmäkoski and Pälkänee.
You can drive the highway from Valkeakoski to Helsinki in an hour and
a half, and to Tampere or Hämeenlinna in half an hour.
Seututie
130, which is the former Valtatie 3, passes next to the center of
Valkeakoski. Valtatie 3 also runs from Valkeakoski in two places. From
the center of Valkeakoski, take Route 304 to Valtatie 3. At the end of
Route 304, turn into local road 3044, which leads to Toijala. At
Kärjenniemi, the local road to Lempäälä turns from Seututie 304. From
the center of Valkeakoski, you can take Seututie 307 to Pälkäne, and
Seututie 310 leads to Kangasa. From the southern part of the Valkeakoski
settlement, you can also take the local road to Huittula, Sääksmäki.
From Säaksmäki you can also take local road 3071 to Haukila and from
there all the way to Pohjois Hattula.
About 65% of the express
bus services between Helsinki and Tampere stop at Valkeakoski. There are
about 20 direct express trains to Tampere and Helsinki every day in each
direction. Travel time for Helsinki varies by two hours both ways.
Between Valkeakoski and Tampere, there are about 30 regular services in
each direction from Monday to Friday. The number of shifts on Saturdays
is about half of this and on Sundays a third. Travel time to Tampere is
around half an hour on standard and express trains.
There is a
railway connection to Valkeakoski from Toijala. The track was completed
in 1938, and it only has freight traffic, except when Haka plays in the
final of the Finnish Cup. In this case, a traditional cup train leaves
the station.
With the train-bus connection via Toijala, the
travel time between Valkeakoski and Helsinki and between Valkeakoski and
Turku is about two hours at its fastest. The trip between Valkeakoski
and Tampere takes about an hour on this route. Between Valkeakoski and
Toijala, there are about 15 standard bus routes per direction from
Monday to Friday. On weekends, the amount is about a third of this.
Regular direct services are also operated from Valkeakoski to
Kangasa, Akaase, Urjala, Hauho and Pälkäne.
Valkeakoski is along
the lake roads and the canal there connects Mallasvesi and Vanajavesi.
There are several active sports clubs in Valkeakoski, the most famous
of which is the general club Valkeakoski Haka. Haka, a soccer club
belonging to the "Haka family" separated from Haka in Valkeakoski, plays
its Veikkausliiga home matches on Tehtaa's field. Valkeakoski's Haka ski
division is one of Finland's most successful ski clubs. FC Haka's junior
teams used to play in Valkeakoski's Nappulaliiga, which was founded in
1960.
Valkeakoski's Isku-Veikot played in the Volleyball
Championship League for the first time in the seasons 1964–1965 and
1965–1967, after which the team returned to the divisions, playing in
them for 40 years. At the end of the 2006–2007 season, Isku-Veikot moved
up to the SM league by beating Keski-Savo Pater by one point. However,
Isku-Veikot was relegated from the SM league at the end of the 2009–2010
season, when Isku-Veikot's representative team was terminated. Nowadays,
Isku-Veikoi only has hobby activities. The team played their home match
at the Apia sports hall in Valkeakoski.
Valkeakoski has a
successful futsal team Mad Max, which plays in the Futsal league. MadMax
has won the Finnish championship in the 2005–2006 season. In
Valkeakoski, the sports clubs Valkeakoski Koskenpojat, Pallo-Sepot 44,
Valkeakoski swimming club and the ice hockey team Kiekko-Ahmat, which
plays in the Finnish II division in the Häme area, are also influential.
Säaksmäki Sopu is a soccer team from Säaksmäki, founded in 1960. In
the 2010 season, its representation played in the IV division of the
Tampere district.
Koski-Petankki, founded in 1991, is a petanque
club in Valkeakoski. The club plays in the women's and veterans' SM
series, as well as in the I division of the general series. The club is
a member of the Finnish Pétanque Association and has championships in
various veteran competitions.
Valkeakoski has two dance clubs
with activities: Rocking Flames and Tanssiseura Marimba. Dance club
Marimba has been successful in rock 'n' roll dance. The couples of the
club have won the Finnish championship in 2005, 2008, 2010-2015 and
2017. Finnish rock 'n' roll dance champions from Valkeakoski are Jani
Lähdesmäki, Anne-Maria Rantala, Jori Huovinen, Heidi Huovinen, Laura
Hell, Hanna Lähdesmäki and Niklas Hagel . In addition, the club pairs
have won numerous medals in the Nordic championships. The junior
category medalists are Mikko Vihervä, Sanni Mäkinen, Niklas Hagel and
Salla Nikkanen. In the adult series, the pairs Jani Lähdesmäki and Hanna
Lähdesmäki and Jori Huovinen and Laura Hell have reached the medals.
Sports club Valkeakoski Gymnasts (VaVo) started its operations in
August 2019. VaVo was born when the sports club Haka Gym ry and
Valkeakoski's Koskenpoikien Voimistelujaosto combined their resources.
The club's sports include, among others, team gymnastics (both
competitive and hobby level), competitive aerobics and free gym.
In 2021, Valkeakoski's Haka ry organized a youth orienteering event,
Youth Jukola, at the Korkeakanga sports center. The event gathered
around 3,000 guests in Valkeakoski for the weekend and the event was
considered a great success. The orienteering division of Valkeakoski
Haka was responsible for the arrangements. A live broadcast of the
competition was produced, which attracted up to 15,000 viewers.