Every design for Valkeakoski

Valkeakoski grew up on the rapids between Lake Mallasvesi to the north and Lake Vanajavesi to the south, and its name means simply 'white rapids'. Paper made it a town. Once the canal opened, a groundwood mill and a paper mill rose on the banks, followed by Finland's first cellulose factory, and the paper industry is still what Valkeakoski is best known for, along with FC Haka, its hugely successful football club, and a skiing section that ranks among the best in the country.

Myllysaaren museo now fills the old Myllysaari paper mill, one of the first in Finland, built on power drawn from the rapids. The museum keeps the town's industrial and cultural history, and Kauppilanmäen museoalue adds an older layer. The statues of Juuso Walden and Rudolf Walden stand in town, and out in the former Sääksmäki countryside the ridges once carried the Rapola hill fort. Apianlahti opens the town to the lake.

Locals and neighbours alike just call it Koski, and for anyone from here that one word, and the sound of water by the mill island, means home.