Parkano is first mentioned to be inhabited in a Gustav Vasa era urbarium from the year 1540. At that time the village consisted of nine houses in the same general area.
During medieval times Parkano was the northmost village in the grand municipality of Kyrö. Permanent settlement to the area came mostly from the south. Parkano belonged to the municipality of Ikaalinen from 1640 up to the year 1867 when Parkano seceded and became a separate municipality. A municipal government and board were established. The Parkano town committee became active under a new municipal law in 1919, and its first task was to prepare the secession of Kihniö from Parkano.
The population of Parkano was at its highest in 1955 at 8962 people. Parkano became a market town at the start of 1972 and a city five years later.
65 percent of Parkano’s area is comprised of forest, which has provided excellent conditions for forest industries and wood processing. Indeed, the first sawmills in Parkano were established as early as the 19th century. Nowadays Parkano also acts as a centre for metal industry. The founding of Mekes Oy in 1962 can be considered the beginning of metal industry in Parkano.
Parkano took a significant step on its path to becoming an important hub of transportation in 1938 when the Pori-Haapamäki railroad track was opened for use. The main line between north and south was opened in 1971, and thanks to the determination of the municipal head the trains racing through it also took a stop in Parkano. The southern part of National road 3, a major highway connecting Helsinki, Tampere and Vaasa, was finished up to Parkano in 1965 and the final portion heading north in 1972. National road 23 from Pori to Parkano has been in operation since 1967 and from Parkano to Kihniö since 1971.
Until the start of 1993 Parkano was part of the Province of Turku and Pori, within which it was the largest municipality by area. Parkano was then transferred to the Province of Häme, but the significance of the shift remained minor, as the old provinces were abolished in the autumn of 1997. Parkano was also briefly part of the newly established Province of Western Finland, but on January 1st, 2010 the system of provinces was abolished entirely. Parkano remains part of the Pirkanmaa region.
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Coat of arms of Parkano The coat of arms of Parkano was made by an artist called Germund Paaer, and it was approved in 1950. The coat of arms contains golden pine tree with silvery barkless sides on top of a wavy golden fess and a blue background, accompanied by a seven-pointed silver star on each side of the top of the tree. |
Parkano Town Hall
Parkano Town Hall was finished in the year 1983. The building was designed by Arkkitehtitoimisto Veikko Voutilainen & Co.
