Virrat (Finnish: [ˈʋirːɑt]; Swedish: Virdois) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region, and it is located 104 kilometres (65 mi) north of Tampere and 113 kilometres (70 mi) west of Jyväskylä. The distance between Virrat and Helsinki is 285 kilometres (177 mi). The town has a population of 6,275(31 December 2023)[2] and covers an area of 1,299.07 square kilometres (501.57 sq mi) ofwhich 136.73 km2 (52.79 sq mi)is water.[1] The population density is5.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (14/sq mi). The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
Virrat Virdois | |
|---|---|
Town | |
| Virtain kaupunki Virdois stad | |
 An intersection of Virtaintie and Leivontie streets in Virrat | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Virrat in Finland | |
| Coordinates: 62°15′N 023°46′E / 62.250°N 23.767°E | |
| Country |  Finland |
| Region | Pirkanmaa |
| Sub-region | Upper Pirkanmaa sub-region |
| Charter | 1868 |
| Government | |
| • Town manager | Henna Viitanen |
| Area (2018-01-01)[1] | |
| • Total | 1,299.07 km2 (501.57 sq mi) |
| • Land | 1,162.63 km2 (448.89 sq mi) |
| • Water | 136.73 km2 (52.79 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 63rd largest in Finland |
| Population (2023-12-31)[2] | |
| • Total | 6,275 |
| • Rank | 150th largest in Finland |
| • Density | 5.4/km2 (14/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 96.4% (official) |
| • Swedish | 0.1% |
| • Others | 3.4% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 11.7% |
| • 15 to 64 | 50.7% |
| • 65 or older | 37.6% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | www |
The town grew rapidly in the middle years of the twentieth century, and by 1950 the population reached more than 12,000. Virrat acquired town status in 1977, although it had received the right to hold markets three years earlier, in 1974. More recently the population level has been adversely impacted by the drift of employment opportunities and people to the larger towns. Apart from the town of Virrat itself, the administratively defined municipality is largely rural, and includes the villages of Äijänneva, Härkönen Jäähdyspohja, Killinkoski, Koro, Kotala, Kurjenkylä, Liedenpohja, Ohtola, Vaskuu, and Vaskivesi.
Major lakes in the area are Lake Toisvesi, beside which the town of Virrat is located, and Lake Tarjanne at the border of the municipalities of Virrat, Mänttä-Vilppula, and Ruovesi.
Virrat crater on Mars is named after it.
Climate
Virrat has a subarctic climate (Dfc). Diurnal air temperature variation is higher than in other parts of Pirkanmaa.
| Climate data for Virrat Äijänneva (1991-2020 normals, extremes 1993-present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 7.6 (45.7) | 8.6 (47.5) | 14.8 (58.6) | 22.9 (73.2) | 28.2 (82.8) | 31.0 (87.8) | 32.9 (91.2) | 30.7 (87.3) | 23.1 (73.6) | 19.5 (67.1) | 13.0 (55.4) | 9.4 (48.9) | 32.9 (91.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −3.6 (25.5) | −3.3 (26.1) | 1.1 (34.0) | 7.9 (46.2) | 14.6 (58.3) | 18.9 (66.0) | 21.6 (70.9) | 19.9 (67.8) | 14.2 (57.6) | 7.0 (44.6) | 1.6 (34.9) | −1.7 (28.9) | 8.2 (46.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −6.5 (20.3) | −6.9 (19.6) | −3.3 (26.1) | 2.7 (36.9) | 8.8 (47.8) | 13.4 (56.1) | 16.0 (60.8) | 14.1 (57.4) | 9.3 (48.7) | 3.7 (38.7) | −0.6 (30.9) | −4.0 (24.8) | 3.9 (39.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −10.3 (13.5) | −11.2 (11.8) | −8.4 (16.9) | −2.2 (28.0) | 2.0 (35.6) | 6.7 (44.1) | 9.7 (49.5) | 8.1 (46.6) | 4.4 (39.9) | 0.8 (33.4) | −2.9 (26.8) | −7.2 (19.0) | −0.9 (30.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −36.2 (−33.2) | −37.5 (−35.5) | −33.7 (−28.7) | −19.6 (−3.3) | −9.0 (15.8) | −5.4 (22.3) | −1.1 (30.0) | −2.4 (27.7) | −7.1 (19.2) | −18.3 (−0.9) | −26.9 (−16.4) | −34.2 (−29.6) | −37.5 (−35.5) |
| Source 1: https://www.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/ilmastollinen-vertailukausi | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: https://kilotavu.com/asema-taulukko.php?asema=101310 | |||||||||||||
Notable people
- Seppo Hovinen (born 1951), a Finnish javelin thrower
- I. K. Inha (1865–1930), a Finnish photographer, author, translator, and journalist
- Antti Lieroinen (?–1643), a famous Finnish cunning man and death-sentenced for witchcraft
- Vesa Rantanen (born 1975), a Finnish pole vaulter
- Tom Sukanen (1873–1943), a Finnish-born Canadian sailor and farmer
Gallery
Virrat Town Hall
Virrat Church
Virrat Library
A beach at the Kalettomanlahti Bay in Virrat
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See also
References
External links
Media related to Virrat at Wikimedia Commons
- Town of Virrat – Official site (in Finnish, English, and German)