Kempele

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Municipality in North Ostrobothnia, Finland

Coat of arms

Location of Kempele in Finland

Coordinates: 64°54′45″N 025°30′30″E / 64.91250°N 25.50833°E / 64.91250; 25.50833Country

FinlandRegionNorth OstrobothniaSub-regionOuluCharter1867Government

• Municipality managerTuomas LohiArea

(2018-01-01)^[1]

• Total110.34 km² (42.60 sq mi) • Land110.14 km² (42.53 sq mi) • Water0.23 km² (0.09 sq mi) • Rank294th largest in FinlandPopulation

(2023-12-31)^[2]

• Total19,516 • Rank59th largest in Finland • Density177.19/km² (458.9/sq mi)Population by native language

^[3]

• Finnish98.4% (official) • Swedish0.2% • Sami0.1% • Others1.4%Population by age

^[4]

• 0 to 1423.9% • 15 to 6460.4% • 65 or older15.6%Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET) • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)Postal code

90440, 90450

Websitewww.kempele.fi

Kempele is a municipality 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) south of the city of Oulu and 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) south of the Oulu Airport in Northern Finland. Historically it was in the province of Oulu, but today it is in the region of North Ostrobothnia. The population of Kempele is 19,516 (31 December 2023) and the municipality covers an area of 110.32 square kilometres (42.59 sq mi) (excluding sea), of which 0.21 square kilometres (0.081 sq mi) is inland waters (2018-01-01). The population density is 177 inhabitants per square kilometre (460/sq mi) (31 December 2023). The municipality of Kempele was founded in 1867.

Kempele is the birthplace of former NHL goaltender Pekka Rinne.

The neighbouring municipalities are Liminka, Oulu and Tyrnävä.

History

Kempele was first permanently settled about 500 years ago, at a time when the coastline was closer than it is today. Kempele was considered part of Greater Liminka and consisted of only three houses in 1568, when it was called Kempele for the first time in official records. In 1774 full church privileges were granted to Kempele, which meant separation from Liminka and establishment as an autonomous parish. The municipal government was established in 1867.

Sights

The old church of Kempele, which was built between 1688 and 1691, is one of the oldest wooden churches in Finland. Kempele was granted the right to build a prayer room in 1688, but parishioners decided to construct a church with a steeple. Given the custom of burying local notables under the church, there are about 150 graves in the crypt, the last of them dating from 1796. The church includes decorations by the noted Finnish painter Mikael Toppelius.

The old church ceased to be in active use after a new church was built next to it in the 1990s, but some events are still held in it from time to time.

Kempele may be best known for being the headquarters of the world-famous heart rate monitor corporation Polar Electro, which first brought the device to market in 1978.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Elva, Estonia^[6]

References

^ "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
^ "Immigration record high in Finland in 2023". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
^ "Demographic Structure by area as of 31 December 2022". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
^ "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
^ "Välissuhted" (in Estonian). Elva linn. Archived from the original on 18 December 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2011.