Tampere History Facts and Timeline

(Tampere, Pirkanmaa, Western Finland, Finland)

Scandinavia's most populated city located away from the coast is Tampere, an industrial powerhouse situated between two of Finland's largest lakes, namely Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. Locals often refer to this city as Manse, harking back in history to its glory days as Finland's industrial heart.

Today, the city generates electricity for Finland, although still retains an industrial edge that complements its gritty artistic side expressed in the popular Tampere Film Festival and Tammerfest rock music event.

A Rowdy Tribe

In its Middle Ages period of history, Tampere was rather infamous in the Nordic region as the home of privateer guilds of Swedish hunters. Mainly part of the Pirkka tribe, these rowdy men were notorious for the taxes they imposed (and ruthlessly collected) from people as far away as Lapland. During these early centuries, a number of Swedish estates were located around the two lakes and in the forests that surround modern-day Tampere.

The Foundation of the City

It wasn't until 1775 that the contemporary history of Tampere really started. This was the year that Swedish King Gustav III ordered a market town to be established along the banks of the Tammerkoski Rapids channel that connects Lake Pyhäjärvi and Lake Näsijärvi. The king wanted to gain better control over the Pirkka tribal clans that ran the trade in the region. A few years later, on 1st October 1779, the king granted Tampere full city status.

Industrial Times Arrive

When it was first given city status, Tampere was a fairly small town covering just a couple of square kilometres on either side of the Tammerkoski Rapids. In 1809, it became a part of the Grand Duchy of Finland, a Russian principality ruled by the Tsar.

The city quickly embraced industrialisation in the 19th century, especially the textile industry for which it first became famous. Both Finns and foreign businessmen set up factories and trading companies here, including well-known figures of the Industrial Revolution such as James Finlayson, an entrepreneurial Scot who established the city's first cotton mill in the year of 1820.

By the end of the 1800s, Tampere was producing half of Finland's industrial output and hosting most of its labour force. Such was the prevalence of factories in Tampere during the 19th and 20th centuries that the city acquired the nickname 'Manchester of Finland', or Manse as it was known in Finnish.

Revolutionary History

As the 20th century dawned over Finland, the history of Tampere was punctuated by several major political events in the country. The rights of workers became a powerful issue, and in 1905 the city expressed its dissatisfaction with factory conditions in the Red Declaration that was read out on the Keskustori, the city's main square. This action had positive consequences, leading to far greater freedoms for Finns, including the right to vote.

Tampere also played an important part in Finland's independence from Tsarist Russia, sparked in large part by the 1917 Russian Revolution. Socialism became the new movement among the city's huge working class, and the city emerged as the de facto capital of the Red Party during Finland's Civil War in 1918.

Modern-Day Times in the City

In the wake of WWII, Tampere expanded outwards, incorporating several adjoining districts such as those of Lielahti, Messukyla and Teisko.

In recent decades, the traditional textile industry has been replaced by the telecommunications and information technology sector. Tampere has also harnessed the power of the Tammerkoski Rapids to generate electricity for Finland.