Ikaalinen

Ikaalinen (Swedish: Ikalis) is a town and municipality of Finland.

Ikaalinen Ikalis
Town
Ikaalisten kaupunki Ikalis stad
Ikaalinen Church
Coat of arms
Location of Ikaalinen in Finland
Coordinates: 61°46′N 023°04′E
Country	Finland
Region	Pirkanmaa
Sub-region	North Western Pirkanmaa
Charter	1858
City rights	1977
Government
• Town manager	Kari Tolonen
Area  (2018-01-01)[1]
• Total	843.40 km2 (325.64 sq mi)
• Land	750.30 km2 (289.69 sq mi)
• Water	93.16 km2 (35.97 sq mi)
Area rank	111th largest in Finland
Population  (2020-07-31)[2]
• Total	6,879
• Rank	137th largest in Finland
• Density	9.17/km2 (23.8/sq mi)
Population by native language [3]
• Finnish	99% (official)
• Swedish	0.1%
• Others	0.8%
Population by age [4]
• 0 to 14	14.2%
• 15 to 64	63.5%
• 65 or older	22.3%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Postal code	39500
Municipal tax rate[5]	19.75%
Website	www.ikaalinen.fi

It is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The town has a population of 6,879 (31 July 2020)[2] and covers an area of 843.40 square kilometres (325.64 sq mi) of which 93.16 km² (35.97 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 9.17 inhabitants per square kilometre (23.8/sq mi).

The municipalities next to it are Hämeenkyrö, Jämijärvi, Kankaanpää, Parkano, Sastamala and Ylöjärvi.

The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

The Seitseminen national park is partly located in the municipality.

Ikaalinen is an old tourist attraction in Finland. Its spa tradition dates back to the last century and folk music, especially accordion music is one of its traditions. Its beautiful landscape has always fascinated visitors.

During the last decades Ikaalinen developed into a versatile service centre with good business, educational and recreational facilities. Today about 55% of the population earns its living from the service sector and 15% from agriculture, which has always provided an important source of income.

S. Albert Kivinen, the associate professor of philosophy of the University of Helsinki, is the most famous living native of Ikaalinen, due to his tongue-in-the-cheek horror stories written in Lovecraftian style. His most famous fictional work, Keskiyön Mato Ikaalisissa ("The Midnight Worm in Ikaalinen"), is a Lovecraftian story set in his childhood surroundings in Ikaalinen.

Ikaalinen became an independent municipality in 1641. The associated market town was founded in 1858. The market town and the municipality were united in 1972 and Ikaalinen became a town in 1977.

The centre of Ikaalinen is on the beautiful lake Kyrösjärvi nearby the highway 3 (E12).

The biggest industrial plants are Upofloor, Georgia Pacific Paper, E Avenue and Katsa.