Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a
city and
municipality of about inhabitants
in the heart of the historical province of
Tavastia and the modern province of
Kanta-Häme
Kanta-Häme (), sometimes referred to by the obsolete Tavastia Proper ( sv, Egentliga Tavastland) or as the Häme region, is a region ( / ) of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Pirkanmaa, Päijät-Häme, and Uusimaa.
Hämeenli ...
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 remains an important regional center. The
medieval Häme Castle
Tavastia Castle or Häme Castle ( fi, Hämeen linna, sv, Tavastehus slott) is a medieval castle in Tavastia Proper, Finland. It is located in Hämeenlinna, the city between Helsinki and Tampere. Originally located on an island, the castle now sit ...
(also ''Tavastia Castle''; fi, Hämeen linna) is located in the city.
Hämeenlinna is known as the birthplace of Finnish national 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 (),
Tampere () and
Lahti (), the regional center of
Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme).
The neighboring municipalities of Hämeenlinna are
Akaa,
Asikkala
Asikkala () is a municipality of Finland. Its seat is in Vääksy, at the shores of the Lake Päijänne. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. Asikkala's neighboring municipalities are H ...
,
Hattula
Hattula is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Tavastia Proper region and until 2010 it was located in the province of Southern Finland. Hattula is almost completely surrounded by Hämeenlinna, only in the north it shares the border wit ...
,
Hausjärvi
Hausjärvi is a municipality of Finland. Its seat is in Oitti.
It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Tavastia Proper region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The p ...
,
Hollola
Hollola () is a municipality of Finland, located in the western part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. The municipality is unilingually Finnish and has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
...
,
Janakkala
Janakkala () is a municipality of Finland. Its administrative centre is in Turenki, which is often erroneously shown on maps as being "Janakkala". Janakkala is located along the Highway 3 ( E12) in the province of Southern Finland and is part of ...
,
Loppi
Loppi (; Swedish also ) is a municipality in Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Tavastia Proper region, located about 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) south of the city of Hämeenlinna. Loppi was founded ...
,
Padasjoki
Padasjoki () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. It is from Padasjoki to Lahti and to Heinola. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area ...
,
Pälkäne
Pälkäne () is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which . The population density is . Onkkaala is the administrative center of the municipality. Tamper ...
,
Tammela,
Urjala
Urjala (; sv, Urjala, also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region, near the town of Forssa. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
Neighbouring m ...
and
Valkeakoski. The former municipalities,
Hauho
Hauho is a former municipality of Finland. It was situated in the province of Southern Finland and is today a part of the region of Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme / Egentliga Tavastland).
Hauho was amalgamated with the municipality of Hämeenlinn ...
,
Kalvola,
Lammi
Lammi ( sv, Lammi, also ) is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Hämeenlinna on 2009-01-01.
It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Tavastia Proper region. The municipality had a population o ...
,
Renko
Renko is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Hämeenlinna on 2009-01-01.
It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Tavastia Proper region. The municipality had a population of 2,378 (30 November ...
and
Tuulos
Tuulos ( sv, Tuulos, also ) is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Hämeenlinna on January 1, 2009. The administrative center of Tuulos was Syrjäntaka.
Neighbouring municipalities were Hauho, Hämeenlinna, Janakkala a ...
, were consolidated with Hämeenlinna on 1 January 2009; with these municipal associations, the Hattula municipality is almost completely surrounded by Hämeenlinna.
The
coat of arms of Hämeenlinna is based on the 17th-century
town seal, which in turn refers to the Häme Castle built by the
Lake Vanajavesi
Vanajavesi is a large lake in southern Finland, in the provinces of Pirkanmaa and Kanta-Häme. It is part of the Kokemäenjoki basin. The lake gathers waters from a wide area in the regions of Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper and parts of the Päijänn ...
in the Middle Ages, near which the city was founded. The current coat of arms was designed by
Gustaf von Numers
Gustaf von Numers (31 July 1912 – 21 May 1978) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish civil servant and leading heraldic artist.
Life
Gustaf von Numers studied heraldry in the 1930s under Arvid Berghman and was considered one of the leading Fin ...
on the basis of the old coat of arms, and was confirmed on September 21, 1956.
Geography
There are a total of 339 lakes in whole or in part in the area of the city of Hämeenlinna. The largest of them are
Lake Vanajavesi
Vanajavesi is a large lake in southern Finland, in the provinces of Pirkanmaa and Kanta-Häme. It is part of the Kokemäenjoki basin. The lake gathers waters from a wide area in the regions of Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper and parts of the Päijänn ...
,
Lake Kukkia and
Lake Kuohijärvi. The main features of the Hämeenlinna landscape are the Häme Lake Plateau, the Vanajavesi Valley and the Kanta-Häme Grove Center. In many places, the landscapes are marked by the prosperous
Tavastian agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...
culture.
Cityscape
The center of Hämeenlinna is located on the Saarinen Hill on the shores of
Lake Vanajavesi
Vanajavesi is a large lake in southern Finland, in the provinces of Pirkanmaa and Kanta-Häme. It is part of the Kokemäenjoki basin. The lake gathers waters from a wide area in the regions of Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper and parts of the Päijänn ...
, and is bordered on the west by
Highway 3
The following highways are numbered 3, H-3, PRI-3, AH3, E03 and R3. For roads numbered A3, see A3 roads. For roads numbered M3, see M3. For roads numbered N3, see N3. For roads numbered 3A, see 3A.
International
* Asian Highway 3
* Europea ...
(
E12), while
Highway 10 bypasses the city to the south and east. The street network in the center is based on a
grid pattern drawn up by
C. L. Engel in 1832 with the
Market Square as its center. On the edge of the market square are the town hall, Hämeenlinna Church and the Häme County Government House. The city center is divided into four
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
s, which are
Linnanniemi,
Koilliskulma,
Hämeensaari and
Saaristenmäki. Raatihuoneenkatu, which has been partially transformed into a pedestrian street, is the most significant shopping street in the city center; for example, at the western end of the street, the
Goodman Shopping Center was completed in October 2014.
There are plenty of buildings of different styles in the city center, and in proportion to the city’s population, it is quite large and densely built. The most significant expansion direction in the city center in the 2010s has been the Keinusaari district on the other side of Lake Vanajavesi, where, for example, the
city's railway station is located. Supplementary construction has also been carried out in the city center on an ongoing basis. The center of Hämeenlinna has been ridiculed as the "Finland's largest lit cemetery".
History
Vanaja is the name of a settlement next to Vanajavesi that had been in existence since the
Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...
. The castle was built in the late 13th century to secure Swedish power in central Finland. A village was established near
Häme Castle
Tavastia Castle or Häme Castle ( fi, Hämeen linna, sv, Tavastehus slott) is a medieval castle in Tavastia Proper, Finland. It is located in Hämeenlinna, the city between Helsinki and Tampere. Originally located on an island, the castle now sit ...
to provide services and goods to its inhabitants.
The village was granted city rights on January 19, 1639, but Hämeenlinna, which still after that looked more like a rural village, developed very slowly, which was a typical problem for inland cities in Finland compared to the most prosperous coastal cities.
In 1777,
King Gustav III of Sweden moved it one kilometre () 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 the life of Hämeenlinna throughout history. Finland's first railway line, the ( fi, Suomen päärata, sv, Finlands stambanan), opened between Hämeenlinna and Helsinki on March 17, 1862. The current
Hämeenlinna railway station
Hämeenlinna railway station ( fi, Hämeenlinnan rautatieasema, sv, Tavastehus järnvägsstation) is located in the town of Hämeenlinna, Finland.
Hämeenlinna belongs to the oldest railway stations in Finland, because the first railway line i ...
(' in
Finnish) was built in 1921.
Demographics
Economy
The economic structure of Hämeenlinna is close to the national average. In 2015, there were 28,270 jobs in the city. Of these, 75% were in the service sector, 3% in primary production (
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
,
forestry and
fisheries
Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, bot ...
) and 21% in processing. The share of the unemployed was 13,6%.
Largest employers (by number of employees) [, ''Taskutietoa Hämeenlinnasta'', a factbook published by the city of Hämeenlinna (]PDF
Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems ...
download, in Finnish)
*City of Hämeenlinna: 2,490
*State of Finland: 2,480
*Kanta-Häme Hospital District: 1,460
*
Ruukki
Ruukki is a former municipality of Finland.
It is located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality had a population of 4,505 (31 December 2006) and covered an area of of which is water. The popu ...
(Rautaruukki Oyj): 1,030
*
Huhtamäki Oyj: 700
*
HAMK University of Applied Sciences (an institution offering tertiary degree education): 510
*Kansanterveystyön ky: 490
*
Patria Vehicles Oy: 430
*
Konecranes Standard Lifting Oy: 330
*Koulutuskeskus Tavastia: 270
*Aina Group Oyj: 250
*Lindström Oy: 175
Education
Hämeenlinna is home to
HAMK Häme University of Applied Sciences
HAMK Häme University of Applied Sciences ( fi, Hämeen ammattikorkeakoulu) is an institution of higher education with seven locations in Finland. Its programmes are coordinated with industry and commerce. HAMK also offers research and developme ...
' headquarters. Founded in 1873, Hämeenlinna Lyceum has many cultural influencers. The school is one of the most famous educational institutions in Finland, as many well-known Finns have graduated from the institution; examples include master composer
Jean Sibelius and president
J. K. Paasikivi.
Hämeenlinna Lyceum has a middle school (grades 7–9) and a high school. Another of the high schools in Hämeenlinna's inner city is Kauriala High School. Hämeenlinna's Lyceum and Kauriala High School were to be combined in the fall of 2018 to form a large high school with more than a thousand students on the Hattelmala campus of the Tavastia Education Consortium. However, the city council decided to cancel the high school project in the spring of 2018, and the high schools will continue to be separate.
Culture
Food
In the 1980s, the following dishes were named Hämeenlinna's traditional cuisine: as a daily meal, smoked
ham
Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term " ...
and
sourdough
Sourdough or sourdough bread is a bread made by the fermentation of dough using wild lactobacillaceae and yeast. Lactic acid from fermentation imparts a sour taste and improves keeping qualities.
History
In the ''Encyclopedia of Food Microbiolo ...
; as a festive meal, the
herring
Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae.
Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, ...
wrapped in
rye
Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...
dough, i.e. "fish bread",
buttermilk
Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most mod ...
and
beer, and the ''riistansylttääjän lintupaisti'', which means
pheasant stuffed
almonds with potato and apple slices.
Sport
*Elite level ice hockey teams
HPK
Hämeenlinnan Pallokerho (HPK) is a professional ice hockey team in the Liiga, the top men's ice hockey league in Finland. Their home ice is the Ritari-areena in Hämeenlinna. HPK was established in 1929. The parent club of the team is HPK Ed ...
of the
Liiga
The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...
and
HPK Kiekkonaiset
HPK Kiekkonaiset are an ice hockey team in the Naisten Liiga (NSML), the premier women's ice hockey league in Finland. They are the representative women’s team of Hämeenlinnan Pallokerho (HPK), a multi-sport club in Hämeenlinna, Kanta-Häme, ...
of the
Naisten Liiga
The Kansallinen Liiga ('National League') is the premier division of women's football in Finland. It was previously called the Jalkapallon naisten SM-sarja ('Women's Football Finnish Championship Series') during 1974 to 2006 and the Naisten Lii ...
*Football teams
FC Hämeenlinna
FC Hämeenlinna is a Finnish football club, based in Hämeenlinna. It currently plays in the Finnish third Division (''Kakkonen''). The club's manager is Tomi Uusitorppa, and it plays its home matches at Kauriala.
The team was formed in 1991. ...
and the men's representative team of
Hämeenlinnan Härmä, which play in the third-tier
Kakkonen, and the women's representative team of Hämeenlinnan Härmä of the second-tier
Naisten Ykkönen
*The city hosted the
modern pentathlon
The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the an ...
competition for the
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
in
Helsinki.
*Hämeenlinna hosted the first round of the Underwater Rugby Euroleague in October 2012 and again in 2015.
*The
Ahvenisto Race Circuit
Ahvenisto Race Circuit ( fi, Ahveniston moottorirata) is a motor racing circuit located in Hämeenlinna, Finland. The circuit is long. It features a total elevation change of , its main straight is in length and its width varies between .
Its ...
, opened in 1967, hosts many motorsport happenings. Track has Fia Grade 4 license.
*Steelers Sailbandy(Floorball) Club which play in the
F-liiga.
Notable natives or residents
*
Jouko Ahola
Jouko Ahola (born December 1, 1970) is a Finnish former strongman, powerlifter and actor. He is a two time World's Strongest Man winner, a two time Europe's Strongest Man winner, and is regarded as o ...
(strongman/actor)
*
Antony Hämäläinen
Antony Hämäläinen (born August 28, 1980) is a Finnish metal vocalist living in the United States.
Biography
In the early 1990s, he started playing bass, drums, and singing for multiple bands based both in the US and Finland.
September 2007, ...
(vocalist)
*
Eino Leino
Eino Leino (born Armas Einar Leopold Lönnbohm; 6 July 1878 – 10 January 1926) was a Finnish poet and journalist who is considered one of the pioneers of Finnish poetry and a national poet of Finland. His poems combine modern and Finnish fo ...
(poet)
*
Antti Miettinen
Antti Markus Miettinen (born July 3, 1980) is a Finnish ice hockey coach and former professional forward, who last played professionally with HPK of the Liiga. He had previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Dallas S ...
(NHL player); won a bronze medal with Finland in the
2010 Vancouver Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gret ...
*
Victorine Nordenswan (painter)
*
J. K. Paasikivi (7th
President of Finland)
*
Kimi Räikkönen (
Formula One driver) and
Jenni Dahlman
Jenni is a feminine given name, sometimes a modern diminutive or short form of Jennifer. The etymology is actually that of a diminutive of Jane, however.
A separate name, with the same spelling, serves as a Finnish language diminutive of Johann ...
(married in 2004 in Hämeenlinna)
*
Juuse Saros
Juuse Saros (born 19 April 1995) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Saros was selected by the Predators in the fourth round (99th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
...
(
NHL goaltender)
*
Jean Sibelius (composer)
*
Turisas
Turisas is a Finnish metal band from Hämeenlinna. They were founded in 1997 by Mathias Nygård and Jussi Wickström, and named after an ancient Finnish god of war.
Turisas are a folk metal band, incorporating elements of power metal and sym ...
(metal band)
International relations
Twin towns – Sister cities
Hämeenlinna is
twinned with:
See also
*
Aulanko
*
Finnish national road 3
Finnish national road 3 ( fi, Valtatie 3 or '; sv, Riksväg 3) is a highway in Finland between Helsinki and Vaasa via Hämeenlinna and Tampere. The road is long and it is part of the European route E12. of the highway is motorway, connecting He ...
* ''
Hämeen Sanomat
''Hämeen Sanomat'' is a morning broadsheet newspaper published in Hämeenlinna, Finland.
History and profile
''Hämeen Sanomat'' was established in 1879. The headquarters of the paper is in Hämeenlinna. The owner of the paper which is publishe ...
''
*
Hämeenkoski
Hämeenkoski (; Koski Hl until 1995, see Koski Tl) is a former municipality of Finland. It was merged to the municipality of Hollola on 1 January 2016.
It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia regi ...
*
Hämeenkyrö
*
Parola (
Hattula
Hattula is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Tavastia Proper region and until 2010 it was located in the province of Southern Finland. Hattula is almost completely surrounded by Hämeenlinna, only in the north it shares the border wit ...
)
*
Tavastia Castle
*
Lake Vanajavesi
Vanajavesi is a large lake in southern Finland, in the provinces of Pirkanmaa and Kanta-Häme. It is part of the Kokemäenjoki basin. The lake gathers waters from a wide area in the regions of Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper and parts of the Päijänn ...
References
External links
*
1952 Summer Olympics official report (pp. 60–62)City of Hämeenlinna– Official site
Häme Castle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hameenlinna
Venues of the 1952 Summer Olympics
Olympic modern pentathlon venues
Cities and towns in Finland
Municipalities of Kanta-Häme
Grand Duchy of Finland
Populated places established in 1639
1639 establishments in Sweden