Founded in 1779 as an industrial settlement, Tampere is Finland's third largest town, but doesn't feel like a large urban center.
Description
It lies between two lakes: Näsijärvi, to the north, and Pyhäjärvi, to the south, which are linked by the Tammerkoski, a stretch of rapids nearly a kilometer long.
Along with its industry, Tampere is known for its active cultural life with an open-air theater and frequent festivals. These include the November Tampere Jazz Happening, a tradition now for more than 35 years, when world-renowned names in jazz perform throughout the city in small concert venues and clubs.
In the Vapriikki Museum, you'll find the Natural History Museum and other exhibitions. Three churches are of note: Tampere Cathedral is known for its unusual paintings and frescoes depicting skeletons in black hooded capes, created in the early 1900s by Finnish symbolist painter Hugo Simberg.
The Kaleva Church, a soaring concrete building constructed in the 1960s has a floor plan in the shape of a fish, an ancient Christian symbol. The green-domed brick Orthodox Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky and Saint Nicholas has a sumptuously decorated interior.
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