Seinäjoki
—  City  —
Seinäjoen kaupunki
Lakeuden Risti Church
Coat of arms
Location of Seinäjoki in Finland
Coordinates: 62°47.5′N 022°50.5′E / 62.7917°N 22.8417°E / 62.7917; 22.8417Coordinates: 62°47.5′N 022°50.5′E / 62.7917°N 22.8417°E / 62.7917; 22.8417
Country	Finland
Province	Western Finland
Region	Southern Ostrobothnia
Sub-region	Seinäjoki sub-region
Charter	1868
Market town	1931
Town	1960
Government
- City manager	Jorma Rasinmäki
Area (2009-01-01)[1]
- Total	1,469.32 km2 (567.3 sq mi)
- Land	1,431.48 km2 (552.7 sq mi)
- Water	37.84 km2 (14.6 sq mi)
Area rank	65th largest in Finland
Population (2009-06-30)[2]
- Total	56,578
- Density	39.52/km2 (102.4/sq mi)
Population rank	17th largest in Finland
Population by native language [3]
- Finnish	98.7% (official)
- Swedish	0.2%
- Others	1.1%
Population by age [4]
- 0 to 14	18.3%
- 15 to 64	66.8%
- 65 or older	15%
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Municipal tax rate[5]	19%
Website	www.seinajoki.fi

Seinäjoki is a city located in Southern Ostrobothnia, Finland. Seinäjoki originated around the Östermyra bruk iron and gunpowder factories founded in 1798. Seinäjoki became a municipality in 1868, market town in 1931 and town in 1960. In the beginning of 2009, the neighbouring municipalities of Nurmo and Ylistaro were consolidated with Seinäjoki.

The Town library, Lakeuden Risti church and central administrative buildings are designed by Alvar Aalto.

Seinäjoki is known for hosting three large summer events: "Tangomarkkinat", which is a tango festival attracting more than 100,000 visitors annually, Vauhtiajot, which is a motor racing event with music and Provinssirock, which is the biggest rock festival in Finland.

The asteroid 1521 Seinäjoki bears its name.

Seinäjoki was historically called Östermyra in Swedish. Today, this name is very seldom used even by Swedish speakers.

Seinäjoki Airport is located in the neighbouring municipality of Ilmajoki, 11 kilometres (10 mi) south of Seinäjoki city centre.

Contents 1 Sights 1.1 Other points of interest 1.2 Notable people 1.3 Statistics 2 International relations 2.1 Twin towns — Sister cities 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Sights

• Lakeuden Risti ("the cross of the plains")
• Alvar Aalto's cultural and administrative centre
• the Southern Ostrobothnia District Museum
• the Civil Guard and Lotta Svärd museum
• Törnävä church
• the railway exhibition

[edit] Other points of interest

• Törnävä tourist centre
• the Suviyö trotting-race
• the summer theatre
• the Jouppilanvuori winter sports centre
• the Seinäjoki City theatre
• Provinssirock
• Tangomarkkinat
• Vauhtiajot

[edit] Notable people

• Arto Saari, skateboarder
• Paula Koivuniemi, singer
• Jorma Ollila, businessman
• The Dudesons, aka Extreme Duudsonit
• Pekka Koskela, speed skater

[edit] Statistics

• Population: 31,696 (2003), 35,918 (2005 after consolidation with Peräseinäjoki) and 56,229 (2009 after consolidation with Nurmo and Ylistaro).
• Annual growth: 624

[edit] International relations

[edit] Twin towns — Sister cities

Seinäjoki is twinned with:

• Koszalin, Poland

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Media related to Seinäjoki at Wikimedia Commons
• Seinäjoki travel guide from Wikitravel
• Seinäjoki – Official website
• Provinssirock – rock festival
• Tangomarkkinat – tango festival

v • d • e Municipalities of Southern Ostrobothnia Municipalities Alajärvi · Alavus · Evijärvi · Ilmajoki · Isojoki · Jalasjärvi · Karijoki · Kauhajoki · Kauhava · Kuortane · Kurikka · Lappajärvi · Lapua · Seinäjoki · Soini · Teuva · Töysä · Vimpeli · Ähtäri Former municipalities Alahärmä · Jurva · Kortesjärvi · Lehtimäki · Nurmo · Peräseinäjoki · Ylihärmä · Ylistaro Southern Ostrobothnia · Western Finland · Finland