Varkaus

 ( Cities And Towns In Finland ) 

Varkaus, before 1929 known as Warkaus, is a Middle-Savonian industrial town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the former province of Eastern Finland and is part of the North Savo region, between the city of Kuopio and the town of Savonlinna.

The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .

The municipality is unilingually Finnish language. In old Finnish 'Varkaus' meant strait, and this city is located in the lake district on straits between two parts of Lake Saimaa. An extension of the Saimaa Canal passes through the town.

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History Varkaus was born in the late 19th century as an industrial community of the A. Ahlström paper mills. It was a part of the municipalities of Leppävirta and Joroinen until 1929 when Varkaus became a market town. During the Finnish Civil War in 1918 the town was taken over by the Reds, but because of its isolated location in rural Finland, it was soon taken by the Whites on the Battle of Varkaus 19–21 February. The whites proceeded to execute every tenth Red soldier.

The municipality of Kangaslampi was consolidated to Varkaus on 1 January 2005.

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Sport The bandy team Warkauden Pallo-35, or just WP-35, plays in the highest division, Bandyliiga, and has become Finnish champions 16 times.

Varkaus Speedway Stadion is a motorcycle speedway on the northern outskirts of the town off the Tykkitie road, adjacent to the motorcycle racing and karting facilities. The Speedway circuit is one of the oldest in Finland and held the final of the Finnish Individual Speedway Championship three times.

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Notable people

• Onni Hiltunen (1895–1971), politician
• Jukka Keskisalo (born 1981), steeplechaser
• Antti Kupiainen (born 1954), mathematical physicist
• Esa Pakarinen (1911–1989), actor and musician
• Esa Pakarinen Junior (born 1947), actor
• Piia Pantsu (born 1971), equestrian rider
• Lassi Parkkinen (1917–1994), speed skater
• Erkki Pulliainen (born 1938), biologist and politician
• Pekka Siitoin (1944–2003), occultist and neo-Nazi
• Petri Varis (born 1969), ice hockey forward

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Parts of the town of Varkaus

• Kaura-aho
• Käpykangas
• Kuoppakangas
• Kosulanniemi
• Lehtoniemi
• Puurtila
• Taipale
• Luttila
• Könönpelto
• Kangaslampi
• Kurola
• Hasinmäki
• Häyrilä
• Päiviönsaari
• Peltola

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Twin towns — sister cities Varkaus is Town twinning with:

Lu'an, China Nakskov, Denmark Rjukan, Norway Sandviken, Sweden | valign="top"

Petrozavodsk, Russia Rüsselsheim, Germany Pirna, Germany Zalaegerszeg, Hungary

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See also

• Soisalo

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External links

• Town of Varkaus – Official website

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