Orivesi

Orivesi [ˈɔrivɛsi] is a town in western Finland with 9008 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2020). It is located about 40 km northeast of Tampere in the Pirkanmaa County.

Orivesi was first mentioned in church records in 1540, and the municipality was established in 1869. The municipality of Eräjärvi was incorporated into Orivesi in 1973, and Orivesi became a city in 1986. In 2007 the town area was enlarged by the incorporation of the western parts of the dissolved municipality of Längelmäki.

After the old wooden church burned down, the modern Kaarikirkko church was built in 1961. Its shape, which looks like a fish when seen from above, and its five arched large walls symbolize the biblical feeding miracle with the five loaves (= walls) and two fish (= roof and floor). Opposite the church stands the old steeple, which was spared from the fire. In the district of Eräjärvi there is a wooden church built in 1821.

A lake-side art museum, Purnu, is open during the summer season. There are over 220 lakes in Orivesi, the largest of which is Längelmävesi.

Annual cultural events include the Johan Willgren Festival of classical music. The "Oriveden Opisto" institute offers concerts, etc.

The VR-Yhtymä railway station is located about 5 kilometres from the city centre. There are direct train connections to Tampere, Jyväskylä, Helsinki, Haapamäki, Joensuu and Pieksämäki, among others. The train takes 24 minutes to the centre of Tampere. There are bus connections to many Finnish cities. The bus station is located in the city centre.