Virrat
Virdois | |
|---|---|
Town | |
| Virtain kaupunki Virdois stad | |
 An intersection of Virtaintie and Leivontie streets in Virrat | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Virrat in Finland | |
| Coordinates: 62°15′N 023°46′E / 62.250°N 23.767°E | |
| Country |  Finland |
| Region | Pirkanmaa |
| Sub-region | Upper Pirkanmaa sub-region |
| Charter | 1868 |
| Government | |
| • Town manager | Henna Viitanen |
| Area (2018-01-01)[1] | |
| • Total | 1,299.07 km2 (501.57 sq mi) |
| • Land | 1,162.63 km2 (448.89 sq mi) |
| • Water | 136.73 km2 (52.79 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 63rd largest in Finland |
| Population (2023-12-31)[2] | |
| • Total | 6,274 |
| • Rank | 150th largest in Finland |
| • Density | 5.4/km2 (14/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 97.1% (official) |
| • Swedish | 0.1% |
| • Others | 2.7% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 11.7% |
| • 15 to 64 | 50.7% |
| • 65 or older | 37.6% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | www |
Virrat (Finnish: [ˈʋirːɑt]; Swedish: Virdois) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region, and it is located 104 kilometres (65 mi) north of Tampere and 113 kilometres (70 mi) west of Jyväskylä. The distance between Virrat and Helsinki is 285 kilometres (177 mi). The town has a population of 6,274 (31 December 2023)[2] and covers an area of 1,299.07 square kilometres (501.57 sq mi) of which 136.73 km2 (52.79 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 5.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (14/sq mi). 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.
Virrat crater on Mars is named after it.
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