Tampere – Manse, Manchester of the North

With my first full day in Helsinki having started quite early to allow me to make the 0720 VR service from Helsinki to Tampere (read about that here), it was just before 0900 when I arrived into Finland’s second city. Just as the city was starting to open up and come alive, I was able to enjoy a short walk (less than 10 minutes) along one of the main streets to the river Tammerkoski and main square.

As with many cities, the main square is home to a number of Tampere’s important and historic buildings, including the City Hall and Tampere Old Church. The City Hall was constructed in 1890 and in 1905 the balcony of the palatial building was where the ‘Red Manifest’ was read from. Opposite the City Hall is Tampere Old Church, a wooden cross church completed in 1824, with a separate belfry that was completed four years later. The church and belfry are the oldest and second oldest buildings in Tampere city centre and are still in regular use by the Swedish-speaking Lutheran congregation.

After exploring the main square, I decided to take a walk along the Tammerkoski ‘river’ towards Näsinelka fjard, part of the Näsijärvi lake. The Tammerkoski is actually a set of rapids that brings water down the 18m altitude difference between the Näsijärvi to Pyhäjärvi lakes and has been key to Tampere’s industrial heritage. In the 2.5km of the Tammerkoski there are four hydroelectric power stations and three damns and the rapids previously powered the Finlayson Textile Mill and the Tampala Metal and Textile Factory. Owing to the city being a center of Industry, it has been known by the moniker ‘Manchester of the North’, leading to its Finnish nickname Manse.

My walk, via a slight diversion due to engineering work taking place on the rail bridge, took me to the shores of Näsinelka fjard, part of the Näsijärvi lake. At 256km², the lake is the largest in the Tampere region and is more than three and half times the size of any lake or loch in Great Britain, however doesn’t even make the list of Finland’s ten largest lakes! In the winter the lake is usually frozen in its entirety, however during my visit in May, the shore was a very pleasant place to sit and relax for a while and decompress.

My next stop was the Vapeiikki Museum Centre which is a complex of seven museums located in a former factory adjacent to the Tammerkoski. Entry is €15 and this allows entry to everything other than the temporary exhibition, including the Postal Museum, Finnish Ice Hockey Museum and Hockey Hall of Fame, an exhibition on Tampere’s major company, Finlayson and the Museum of Natural History. Unfortunately, my visit coincided with multiple school groups and so the complex was very busy and noisy, however I felt I was still able to get my money’s worth with what I did see.

My first stop was the Postal Museum, located on the Mezzanine near the café, which was more interesting than you’d necessarily think. Serving a country that is in parts very remote and has a climate that varies greatly between winter and summer, the Finnish Postal Service prides itself in being able to deliver to any resident of the country throughout the year and its history is fascinating. After the Postal Museum I was going to head upstairs to the Finnish Museum of Games, but this was seemingly where most of the school children had gathered and so I gave it a miss and headed to the Ice Hockey Museum and Hall of Fame. A highlight of this was seeing an Anaheim Ducks jersey amongst their collection, bringing back childhood memories of The Mighty Ducks (Flying V!).

After exploring the Ice Hockey Museum and Hall of Fame, I had a look around the Finlayson exhibition, although all of the displays were only in Finnish and the audio guide was quite droning so I didn’t stick with it for long. A quick visit to the shop ticked off my obligatory Finland sticker purchase, and after that I decided to continue on my wander around Tampere. A few minutes walk from the Vapeiikki Museum Centre, at the other end of the former factory complex, is Ravintola Tampella, a small restaurant next to the ‘river’ which offers a daily lunch menu for €12.70 (although it seems the price has increased to €13.50 since my visit).

Generally there’s a ‘Hot Dish’, a salad and a vegetarian option available for the headline price, aswell as a ‘Steak of the Day’ for €19.90. There’s also some fixed dishes such as Konepaja pepper steak or Fried Pikeperch available on the menu, however these cost upwards of €30. On the day of my visit the ‘Hot Dish’ was a Lamb steak stuffed with garlic-herb butter, baked potato stuffed with tzatziki, cucumber and feta and dark rosemary sauce, which both sounded delicious and tasted exquisite. There’s both indoor and outdoor seating available and with the gorgeous weather I decided to sit outside and enjoy the sound of the rapids whilst eating.

After lunch I continued to wander around the city, making my way slowly toward the main street and enjoying some more time relaxing in the numerous parks. I found Tampere a very nice city to visit, however there wasn’t loads to do and so I did end up back at the station a bit earlier than planned. I could have spent a lot longer at the museum complex but with the various school groups, it was a bit overcrowded for my liking, and there are a few other museums around the city which can be visited if you had more time. Tampere also has a theme park on the outskirts of the city next to the Näsijärvi lake, so you could make the most of a couple of days in the city, although a day trip from Helsinki is also sufficient to see and get a feel for the city.