Virrat
town in the region of Pirkanmaa in Finland
Virrat (Finnish: [ˈʋirːɑt]; Swedish: Virdois) is a town and municipality of Finland. Part of the Pirkanmaa region, it is located 104 kilometres (65 mi) north of Tampere and 113 kilometres (70 mi) west of Jyväskylä. Virrat is 285 kilometres (177 mi) from Helsinki. The town has a population of 6,126
(31 December 2025) and covers an area of 1,299.07 square kilometres (501.57 sq mi) of
which 136.73 km2 (52.79 sq mi)
is water. The population density is
5.27 inhabitants per square kilometre (13.6/sq mi). The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
The town grew rapidly in the mid-20th century, and by 1950 the population reached more than 12,000. Virrat acquired town status in 1977, although it had received the right to hold markets three years earlier, in 1974. More recently the population level has been adversely impacted by the drift of employment opportunities and people to the larger towns. Apart from the town of Virrat itself, the administratively defined municipality is largely rural, and includes the villages of Äijänneva, Härkönen Jäähdyspohja, Killinkoski, Koro, Kotala, Kurjenkylä, Liedenpohja, Ohtola, Vaskuu, and Vaskivesi.
The public source identifies “Virrat” as town in the region of Pirkanmaa in Finland. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Virrat, town and region.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Virrat”, the useful work is to connect “town in the region of Pirkanmaa in Finland” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q938820. VIAF identifies the subject as 133669663. The Library of Congress control number is n78043587. Authority coordinates are 62.240, 23.771. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2025, 1950, 1977 and 1974.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Virrat”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Virrat primary sources, Virrat archive and Virrat research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Virrat”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Virrat” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.