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Tampere
KNOWLEDGE OF Tampere
Founded in 1779, Tampere is a relatively young city, but it has been proven that the narrow isthmus of Tammerkoski was first inhabited as early as eight thousand years ago. A tool part from that era has been found in Pispala. The first inhabitants, however, could not admire the rapids now flowing through the heart of the city; for them, the present-day city centre was nothing but sea bottom. After the Ice Age, the surface of the ancient sea of Yoldia had settled high up the slopes of Pyynikki Ridge. The bedrock under Tampere used to belong to the oldest mountain range in the world, formed more than a billion years ago.
At the end of the Middle Ages, a village named aptly as Koski (Rapids) appeared by the flowing waters. The first mill dams were built across the rapids in the 15th century, probably providing the rapids and the future town with their names. In old Swedish, damber meant dam and tamber referred to taming. By the end of the century, the names of the village (Tambere) and the rapids (Tamberkoski) already carried a close resemblance to the present ones. The first plan for a town was presented in the 1640s on the grounds that the location served as a lively market venue, but serious proposals were not put forward until the parliament of 1771-72, when the head of Lempäälä Congregation, Erik Edner, brought up the idea. The rapids, at the time belonging to the estate of Tammerkoski in the municipality of Messukylä, interested Edner especially as a future industrial site providing natural waterpower.
It was indeed in the lands of Tammerkoski Manor that the town was eventually founded, once King Gustav III of Sweden had first visited the site himself. The King signed the official founding papers in 1779, when a newly-built distillery already attracted people to the banks of Tammerkoski. What followed, however, can hardly be called a migration rush; in 1800 there were still fewer than 500 inhabitants in the new town. Well into the 19th century, Tampere had the appearance of a rural village. Domestic animals wandered freely on the hilly streets lined by little cottages. In 1808, the war between Sweden and Russia reached Tampere, and in March Russian troops quickly took over the area. In the peace treaty ratified the next year, the whole of Finland became part of Russia, but Tsar Alexander I immediately granted Finland autonomy, validating all existing laws from the Swedish era.
Although the original scenario only aimed at a few hundred inhabitants, the migration of industries into the area was expected to result in an international community. The first city plan featured sites for as many as four different churches, meant for different religious groups, but only the (Lutheran) Old Church was ever built. At the time, the Old Messukylä Church, located approximately five kilometres from the Central Square, was already 300 years old. This originally Catholic monument, dedicated to St. Michael, is by far the oldest building in the city of Tampere today.
At the end of the Middle Ages, a village named aptly as Koski (Rapids) appeared by the flowing waters. The first mill dams were built across the rapids in the 15th century, probably providing the rapids and the future town with their names. In old Swedish, damber meant dam and tamber referred to taming. By the end of the century, the names of the village (Tambere) and the rapids (Tamberkoski) already carried a close resemblance to the present ones. The first plan for a town was presented in the 1640s on the grounds that the location served as a lively market venue, but serious proposals were not put forward until the parliament of 1771-72, when the head of Lempäälä Congregation, Erik Edner, brought up the idea. The rapids, at the time belonging to the estate of Tammerkoski in the municipality of Messukylä, interested Edner especially as a future industrial site providing natural waterpower.
It was indeed in the lands of Tammerkoski Manor that the town was eventually founded, once King Gustav III of Sweden had first visited the site himself. The King signed the official founding papers in 1779, when a newly-built distillery already attracted people to the banks of Tammerkoski. What followed, however, can hardly be called a migration rush; in 1800 there were still fewer than 500 inhabitants in the new town. Well into the 19th century, Tampere had the appearance of a rural village. Domestic animals wandered freely on the hilly streets lined by little cottages. In 1808, the war between Sweden and Russia reached Tampere, and in March Russian troops quickly took over the area. In the peace treaty ratified the next year, the whole of Finland became part of Russia, but Tsar Alexander I immediately granted Finland autonomy, validating all existing laws from the Swedish era.
Although the original scenario only aimed at a few hundred inhabitants, the migration of industries into the area was expected to result in an international community. The first city plan featured sites for as many as four different churches, meant for different religious groups, but only the (Lutheran) Old Church was ever built. At the time, the Old Messukylä Church, located approximately five kilometres from the Central Square, was already 300 years old. This originally Catholic monument, dedicated to St. Michael, is by far the oldest building in the city of Tampere today.
Chapi