Pirkanmaa

Pirkanmaa is the lake district of western Finland, and at its center lies Tampere, a former factory town between two large lakes that today is considered the sauna capital of the world. A vacation in Pirkanmaa combines industrial heritage, wooden churches, Moomins, and lookout towers above endless forests.

Land of Lakes and Eskers

The landscape lies in the heart of western Finland, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) north of Helsinki. Hundreds of lakes, including Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi, shape the scenery; they are linked by rapids and canals. The Ice Age left behind long gravel ridges known as eskers, such as Pyynikki in Tampere, where pine forests grow. Around 540,000 people live in Pirkanmaa, more than half of them in the Tampere region, which includes Nokia, Ylöjärvi, Pirkkala, Lempäälä, and Kangasala. To the south you will find Valkeakoski with its paper industry and Sastamala with its old churches.

Tampere: the Manchester of Finland

Tampere grew up around the Tammerkoski rapids, which drop about 18 meters (59 feet) between the two lakes. In the 19th century, the Scotsman James Finlayson harnessed the water power for a cotton mill, and Tampere soon became the country's largest industrial city. The red-brick factories along the river now house museums, cinemas, restaurants, and shops. In the Finlayson area, the Werstas Workers' Museum tells the story of industry, and the Vapriikki museum center includes an ice hockey museum and a games museum, among others. The Lenin Museum recalls that Lenin met Stalin here in 1905; it has been reworked into a museum of Finnish-Russian history. Tampere Cathedral, built in the early 20th century, is a masterpiece of Finnish National Romanticism, with frescoes by Hugo Simberg. From the Näsinneula observation tower you can survey the city and the lakes, and on the Pyynikki ridge a tower with a café draws visitors for its famous doughnuts. In the Tampere Hall convention center, the Moomin Museum displays original drawings and miniature worlds by Tove Jansson, and the wooden-house district of Pispala, on the steep slope between the lakes, preserves the charm of an old working-class neighborhood.

Saunas and Lakes in Pirkanmaa

Tampere calls itself the sauna capital of the world. The Rajaportti public smoke sauna in Pispala is the oldest public sauna in Finland still in operation, and on the shore of Näsijärvi the saunas at Rauhaniemi and Kaupinoja invite you to take an ice-water dip. In summer, steamships cross Näsijärvi to Virrat, and the Silverline runs across Pyhäjärvi to Hämeenlinna. Near Kangasala, a scenic trail leads along the esker between two lakes, celebrated in a well-known Finnish poem. The stone church of Sastamala is among the oldest in the country, and Nokia, known as the origin of the telephone company, has a spa.

Food, Getting There, and the Best Time to Visit

Tampere's specialty is mustamakkara, a black blood sausage that you eat with lingonberry jam at Laukontori market. It is traditionally washed down with a glass of milk or buttermilk. The lakes supply perch and whitefish. You can reach Tampere by train from Helsinki in about an hour and a half; Tampere-Pirkkala Airport (TMP) has only a few connections. A tram has been running in Tampere since 2021. The best time to visit is June through August, when the steamships operate and the Tammerfest festival takes place. In winter, the combination of sauna and ice hole is the big draw.