Kempele facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kempele
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Municipality
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| Kempeleen kunta Kempele kommun |
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Holy Trinity Church, Kempele
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Location of Kempele in Finland
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| Country |  Finland |
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| Region | North Ostrobothnia | |
| Sub-region | Oulu | |
| Charter | 1867 | |
| Area
(2018-01-01)
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| • Total | 110.34 km2 (42.60 sq mi) | |
| • Land | 110.14 km2 (42.53 sq mi) | |
| • Water | 0.23 km2 (0.09 sq mi) | |
| Area rank | 294th largest in Finland | |
| Population
(2023-12-31)
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| • Total | 19,514 | |
| • Rank | 59th largest in Finland | |
| • Density | 177.17/km2 (458.9/sq mi) | |
| Population by native language | ||
| • Finnish | 98.4% (official) | |
| • Swedish | 0.1% | |
| • Sami | 0.1% | |
| • Others | 1.4% | |
| Population by age | ||
| • 0 to 14 | 23.9% | |
| • 15 to 64 | 60.4% | |
| • 65 or older | 15.6% | |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) | |
| Postal code |
90440, 90450
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Kempele is a lively municipality in Northern Finland. It is located about 11 kilometers (7 miles) south of the city of Oulu. You can also find it about 7 kilometers (4 miles) south of the Oulu Airport.
Kempele is part of the North Ostrobothnia region. It used to be in the old province of Oulu. The population of Kempele is around 19,514 people. The municipality covers an area of about 110.32 square kilometres (42.59 sq mi) (excluding sea). This includes 0.21 square kilometres (0.081 sq mi) of inland waters. Kempele was officially founded as a municipality in 1867.
Did you know that Pekka Rinne, a famous former NHL ice hockey goalie, was born in Kempele?
Kempele shares its borders with the nearby municipalities of Liminka, Oulu, and Tyrnävä.
Contents
Kempele's Past: A Brief History
Kempele has been settled for a very long time, about 500 years ago. Back then, the coastline was much closer to where Kempele is today. In 1568, Kempele was first mentioned in official records. At that time, it was just a small part of a larger area called Greater Liminka. It had only three houses!
In 1774, Kempele was given full church rights. This meant it could have its own church and was no longer part of Liminka. It became its own independent church parish. Later, in 1867, the local government for Kempele was officially set up.
Cool Places to See in Kempele
Kempele has some interesting spots to visit, especially if you like history or technology.
The Old Wooden Church
One of the oldest wooden churches in all of Finland is right here in Kempele. This beautiful old church was built between 1688 and 1691. People were first allowed to build a prayer room in 1688. But they decided to build a full church with a tall steeple instead!
It was a tradition to bury important local people under the church. Because of this, there are about 150 graves in the church's crypt (an underground room). The last burial there was in 1796. The church also has special decorations painted by a famous Finnish artist named Mikael Toppelius.
The old church isn't used for regular services anymore. A new church was built next to it in the 1990s. However, the old church still hosts special events sometimes.
Famous Companies from Kempele
Kempele is also known for being the home of Polar Electro. This company makes world-famous heart rate monitors. They were one of the first companies to sell these devices back in 1978.
Sports Fun in Kempele
If you like sports, you might be interested in Kempele's pesäpallo team. Pesäpallo is a sport that's a bit like baseball, but it's very popular in Finland. The men's team, called Kempeleen Kiri, plays in the top national league, called Superpesis. They play their games at Sarkkiranta Stadium.
Friends Around the World
Kempele has a special connection with another town far away. This is called a "twin town" or "sister city" relationship.
Twin Towns — Sister Cities
Elva, Estonia
See also
In Spanish: Kempele para niños
