Kempele

Kempele [ kɛmpɛlɛ ] is a municipality with 16,385 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2012) in northern Finland. It is located about 20 km south of the city of Oulu in Northern Ostrobothnia landscape. The community is only Finnish speakers.

The settlement Kempele originated in the 16th century. Since 1774 it is its own parish, since 1867 it is as local government unit. Although the community has a share in the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia, but are the settlement areas inland. In addition to the eponymous capital of Kempele the parish includes the villages Sarkkiranta, Santamäki, Honkanen, Kokkokangas and Ylikylä. Many settlements were established only in the 1990s. Kempele is the fastest growing municipality in Finland. Every year the population grows by about 4%; the average age is only 31.8 years. This growth is due to the fact that Kempele has established itself in recent years as a commercial, high technology and education site. More than 500 mostly medium-sized companies have settled here. The 1992 built on the state road 4 Zeppelin shopping center, with an area of around 27,000 square meters and more than 100 shops, the largest in northern Finland. Around this complex, a new urban center has developed since then, the so-called " South Centre " (Finnish Eteläkeskus ).

The policy is dominated by the Centre Party, which 17 of 35 members in the council provides (as of July 2006). Kempele maintains since 1989 a city partnership for Elva city in Estonia.

A prominent person from Kempele is the professional ice hockey goaltender Pekka channel ( b. 1982 ).

The Church of Kempele

The only notable attraction of Kempele is the built in 1688-91 wooden church, one of the oldest in Finland. The wooden bell tower was also built in 1789. Its interior is decorated very splendidly for Finnish- Protestant relations and decorated with paintings on wood.

Pulpit

Wood painting in the interior

Ceiling fresco in the nave