Sastamala

Sastamala (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈsɑstɑˌmɑlɑ]) is a town in Finland, located in the Pirkanmaa region. Sastamala lies on both sides of River Kokemäenjoki in the southwest corner of Pirkanmaa. The population of Sastamala is approximately 23,000, while the sub-region has a population of approximately 26,000. It is the 44th most populous municipality in Finland. Sastamala has an area of 1,531.75 square kilometres (591.41 sq mi) of which 96.14 km2 (37.12 sq mi) is water, making it the largest municipality in the Pirkanmaa region in terms of area. The population density is 16.33 inhabitants per square kilometre (42.3/sq mi). The municipality is officially unilingual in Finnish. Sastamala was created in 2009 when the municipalities of Vammala, Äetsä and Mouhijärvi were merged into a single town. Later, in 2013, Kiikoinen also joined Sastamala. Today, its neighbouring municipalities are Huittinen, Hämeenkyrö, Ikaalinen, Kankaanpää, Kokemäki, Lavia, Nokia, Punkalaidun, Ulvila, Urjala and Vesilahti. The city of Tampere is 51 kilometres (32 mi) from Sastamala. The administrative centre of Sastamala is Vammala, which had a population of about 10,000 in the 2011 census. Two highways pass through Sastamala: Highway 11 between Pori and Nokia, and Highway 12 between Rauma and Kouvola.