Tampere - City of Finland

Tampere is a city in southern Finland located between two lakes, Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. Since the two lakes differ in level by 18 metres, the rapids linking them, Tammerkoski, has been an important power source throughout history, most recently for generating electricity. Tampere is dubbed the "Manchester of Finland" for its industrial past.

Tampere was founded as a market place on the banks of the Tammerkoski channel in 1775 by Gustav III of Sweden and four years later, 1779, it was granted full township status. At this time Tampere was a rather small town, consisting of only a few square kilometers of land around the Tammerkoski.

Tampere grew as a major market town and industrial centre in the 19th century. During the latter half of 19th century Tampere had almost half of Finland's industrial labour. The town's industrial nature in the 19th and 20th centuries gave it the nickname "Manchester of the North", Manse for short.

After World War II, Tampere was enlarged by joining some neighbouring areas. Messukylä was incorporated in 1947, Lielahti in 1950, Aitolahti in 1966 and finally Teisko in 1972. Tampere was known for its textile and metal industries, but these have been largely replaced by information technology and telecommunications during the 1990s. The technology centre Hermia in Hervanta is home to many companies in these fields.

There are four universities in the Tampere area: the University of Tampere , Tampere University of Technology , located in Hervanta, TAMK University of Applied Sciences and PIRAMK University of Applied Sciences .

Tampere is known for its active cultural life. Some of the most popular writers in Finland, such as Väinö Linna, Kalle Päätalo and Hannu Salama, hail from Tampere. These are all known as writers depicting the lives of working class people. Also from a working class background was the famous poet Lauri Viita of the Pispala district . Tampere also has old theatre traditions, with such established institutions as Tampereen Työväen Teatteri, Tampereen Teatteri and Pyynikin Kesäteatteri, which is an open-air theatre with the oldest revolving auditorium in Europe. Tampereen Teatterikesä or Tampere Theatre Festival is an international theatre festival held in Tampere every August.

Tampere is also known for its Tampere Art Museum, Tampere, Finland which featured American artist Richard Humann in 2004, for his exhibition entitled, Delicate Monster.

Tampere Film Festival, an international short film festival, is held every March. Tammerfest is Tampere's urban rock festival held every July.

Tampere has a variety of different religious services spanning from traditional to charismatic. There are also some English speaking services. Tampere English Service is an international community affiliated with the Tampere Pentecostal Church. English services of the International Congregation of Christ the King are organized by the Anglican Church in Finland and the Lutheran Parishes of Tampere. Other churches may also have English speaking ministries. Other notable churches in Tampere are Nokia Revival, Finnish Orthodox Church, Evangelical Free Church, and Baptist Church.