Virrat is a town and municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region, and it is located 104 kilometres north of Tampere and 113 kilometres west of Jyväskylä. The distance between Virrat and Helsinki is 285 kilometres. The town has a population of 6,516 and covers an area of 1,299.07 square kilometres of which 136.73 km2 is water. The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
The town grew rapidly in the middle years of the twentieth century, and by 1950 the population reached more than 12,000. Virrat acquired town status in 1977, although it had received the right to hold markets three years earlier, in 1974. More recently the population level has been adversely impacted by the drift of employment opportunities and people to the larger towns. Apart from the town of Virrat itself, the administratively defined municipality is largely rural, and includes the villages of Äijänneva, Härkönen Jäähdyspohja, Killinkoski, Koro, Kotala, Kurjenkylä, Liedenpohja, Ohtola, Vaskuu and Vaskivesi.
Major lakes in the area are Lake Toisvesi, beside which the town of Virrat is located, and Lake Tarjanne at the border of the municipalities of Virrat, Mänttä-Vilppula and Ruovesi.
Livelihood and Industry
Streams is a structurally industrialized agricultural community. Virrat has a significant part of the economic structure in agriculture, but Virta also has a large-scale small-scale industry. Tourism is also a significant industry in Virra.
Transport and Tourism
The municipality has good road connections between Tampere, Pori and Jyväskylä. Near the center between the cross Pori and Jyväskylä highway 23 , Oriveden and Lapuanjoki between the road 66 , the Killinkoski Ähtäri and further Pietarsaari traveling the main road 68 from the west side and Tampere Näsijärvi main road 65 . The area is rich in small industries and shops. Tuuri village shop, Ähtäri Zoo, Herraskoski Canal and Perinnekylä are a short drive away.
The Haapamäki – Pori line , which was put into operation in 1938, passes through the city , most of which was discontinued in 1985. Passenger traffic was discontinued in 1981 and the last train passed through the city on 27 December 1984. Today, the nearest railway stations are located in the so-called. on the old Ostrobothnian line ( Haapamäki – Seinäjoki line ) in Haapamäki and Ähtäri . The ship route, the Poet’s Road , leads from Tampere to Virro .
Nature
In the landscape image of Virta, Central Finnish features can be seen with a few settlements, mainly concentrated on the shores of lakes, extensive forest areas and large differences in terrain elevation. The highest peaks of the mountains reach more than 200 meters above sea level. The large watershed Suomenselkä runs across the northwestern part of Virta. Indigenous forests, lakes and nature abound. A couple of kilometers from the center in the direction of Ruovesi, along the main road 66, are the Toriseva gorge lakes, known as natural attractions . There are a total of 269 lakes in the municipality and 10.5% of the municipality’s inland waters. The largest lakes are Vaskivesi – Visuvesi , Toisvesi and Seinäjärvi. Virtain lakes belong mainly to the top waters of the Kokemäenjoki watershed on the Ähtäri and Pihlajavesi routes . Lake Seinäjärvi in the northwest and its nearby lakes flow down the Seinäjoki River to the Kyrönjoki River , which in turn flows into the Gulf of Bothnia east of Vaasa . On the Palolammintie, there is a natural attraction, the deep Palolampi ravine with its rocks.
Midsummer Municipality
Virrat is Finland’s “official” Midsummer city – the trademark was registered on July 31, 2002. The Midsummer Declaration is sent from Virta every Midsummer Eve at 18.00. The poetic Midsummer declaration was written by Markku Sorvar from Virtuos. In previous years, the declaration has been heard on radio and in 2007 it was broadcast live on Yle TV2 . Virtain’s reputation as a versatile summer cottage community has grown with the title. A significant part of Pirkanmaa’s holiday homes is located in Virra. In 1984–1994, Virant also hosted Rantarock, which gathered a young audience for tens of thousands at Midsummer .
Food culture
Virtain pitäjäruoiksi was named in the 1980s boiled lantusta and herrings to block soup , rye imelletty lingonberry porridge or dessert Tirri and caraway flavored varilimppu .
The distances
Although Virtain’s location is central and transport links are good, the distances to the surrounding municipalities are long. Virrat is located in the area between Seinäjoki , Jyväskylä , Pori and Tampere . The nearest city center is Seinäjoki on the Southern Ostrobothnia side. Tuuri Tourist Center is 51 km away.
