Hämeenlinna

Hämeenlinna
Tavastehus
City
Hämeenlinnan kaupunki
Tavastehus stad
View of Lake Vanajavesi, next to Hämeenlinna. The castle is visible to the right.

Coat of arms

Location of Hämeenlinna in Finland
Coordinates: 60°59′40″N 24°28′00″E / 60.99444°N 24.46667°E / 60.99444; 24.46667Coordinates: 60°59′40″N 24°28′00″E / 60.99444°N 24.46667°E / 60.99444; 24.46667
Country  Finland
Region Tavastia Proper
Sub-region Hämeenlinna sub-region
Charter 1639
Government
 • City manager Timo Kenakkala
Area (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total 2,031.53 km2 (784.38 sq mi)
 • Land 1,785.76 km2 (689.49 sq mi)
 • Water 245.79 km2 (94.90 sq mi)
Area rank 34th largest in Finland
Population (2017-08-31)[2]
 • Total 67,601
 • Rank 14th largest in Finland
 • Density 37.86/km2 (98.1/sq mi)
Population by native language[3]
 • Finnish 97.5% (official)
 • Swedish 0.3%
 • Others 2.2%
Population by age[4]
 • 0 to 14 15.8%
 • 15 to 64 64.7%
 • 65 or older 19.5%
Time zone UTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+3 (EEST)
Municipal tax rate[5] 19%
Website www.hameenlinna.fi

Hämeenlinna (Swedish: Tavastehus) is a city and municipality of about 68,000 inhabitants[2] in the heart of the historical province of Häme in the south of Finland. Hämeenlinna is the oldest inland city of Finland and was one of the most important Finnish cities until the 19th century. It still remains an important regional center.

Hämeenlinna is the birthplace of composer Jean Sibelius. Today, it belongs to the region of Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), and before 2010 it was the residence city for the Governor of the province of Southern Finland. Nearby cities include the capital Helsinki (98 km or 61 mi), Tampere (73 km or 45 mi) and Lahti (72 km or 45 mi).

The medieval Häme Castle (Hämeen linna) is located in the city.

Hämeenlinna: Sibelius House

The municipalities of Hauho, Kalvola, Lammi, Renko and Tuulos were consolidated with Hämeenlinna on 1 January 2009.

History

There was a settlement called Vanaja by the lake Vanajavesi where the city now stands since the Viking Age. The castle was built in the late 13th century to secure Swedish power in central Finland. A village was established near Häme Castle to provide services and goods to its inhabitants.

The village was granted city rights in 1639 and soon after that the King of Sweden moved it one kilometre (0.6 miles) south to the hill on which it still stands.

The city is known for its schools and academies where many famous Finns have studied. Schools, government and the military have characterised Hämeenlinna's life throughout history.

Finland's first railway line opened between Hämeenlinna and Helsinki in 1862. The current Hämeenlinna railway station (Rautatieasema in Finnish) was built in 1921.

Notable persons

The composer Jean Sibelius was born and raised in Hämeenlinna. He graduated from Hämeenlinna Lyseo in 1885.

Poet Eino Leino graduated from Hämeenlinnan lyseon lukio.

Juho Kusti Paasikivi (seventh President of Finland) graduated from Hämeenlinnan lyseon lukio (Hämeenlinnan lyseon lukio is Hämeenlinna Lyseo Upper secondary school, roughly the equivalent of a US highschool).

The folk/Viking metal band Turisas was formed in Hämeenlinna in 1997 by Mathias Nygård and Jussi Wickström.

Antony Hämäläinen (vocalist for the Swedish Melodic Death Metal band Armageddon) was born in Hämeenlinna.

Strongman and actor Jouko Ahola was born in Hämeenlinna. He won the 1997 and 1999 World's Strongest Man, and now serves as one of the judges at the contest.

Former NHL player Antti Miettinen was born in Hämeenlinna in 1980 and returns there in the off-season. He won a bronze medal with Finland in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Kimi Räikkönen (Formula One driver) and Jenni Dahlman were married in 2004 in Hämeenlinna.

Economy

Largest employers (by number of employees) [6]

International relations

October sunset - Hämeenlinna

Twin towns — Sister cities

The castle

Hämeenlinna is twinned with:

Sport

  • Ice hockey team HPK
  • Football team FC Hämeenlinna
  • The city hosted the modern pentathlon competition for the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.
  • Hämeenlinna hosted the first round of the Underwater Rugby Euroleague in October 2012 and again in 2015.
  • The Ahvenisto race circuit, opened in 1967, hosts many motorsport happenings. Track has Fia Grade 4 license.

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Ennakkoväkiluku sukupuolen mukaan alueittain, elokuu 2017" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  3. ↑ "Population according to language and the number of foreigners and land area km2 by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  4. ↑ "Population according to age and gender by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
  5. ↑ "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2011". Tax Administration of Finland. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  6. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 December 2006. Retrieved 13 November 2006. Taskutietoa Hämeenlinnasta, a factbook published by the city of Hämeenlinna (pdf download, in Finnish)
  7. ↑ Hämeenlinna's official website: twin towns Archived 10 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ "Stadt Celle". www.celle.de. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  9. ↑ "Frederiksberg Municipality - Twin Towns" (in Danish). [[copyright|]]2007 -2009 Frederiksberg Municipality. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 2009-09-09. External link in |publisher= (help)
  10. ↑ "Miasta bliźniacze Torunia" [Toruń's twin towns]. Urząd Miasta Torunia [City of Toruń Council] (in Polish). Retrieved 2013-08-22.
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