Hämeenlinna

Hämeenlinna

Area - Total - Land - Water	185.1 km² 166 km² 19.1 km²
Population - Total (2007-02-28) - Density	Ranked 15th 47,936 281/km²

Hämeenlinna, or "Tavastehus" in Swedish, is a municipality and city of about 48,000 inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Häme in the south of Finland. Today, it belongs to the region of Tavastia Proper, and is the residence city for the Governor of the province of Southern Finland. Nearby cities include the capital Helsinki (150 km), Tampere (73 km) and Lahti (72 km).

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

History

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

The village was granted city rights in 1639 and soon after that the King of Sweden moved it one kilometre south on the hill where it now stands.

The city is known for its schools and academies where many famous Finns have studied. Schools, government and the military have characterized Hämeenlinna's life all through 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 high school in Hämeenlinna. (Hämeenlinnan lyseon lukio is Hämeenlinna Lyseo Upper secondary school, roughly the equivalent of a US highschool).

The folk/Viking metal band Turisas is from Hämeenlinna.

Antony Hämäläinen (Vocalist for the Greek/Swedish Melodic Death Metal band Nightrage) was born in Hämeenlinna.

Kimi Räikkönen (Formula 1 driver) and Jenni Dahlman were married in 2004 in Hämeenlinna.

Economy

=Largest employers (by number of employees) [http://www.hameenlinna.fi/keskushallinto/index.php?id=2308] "Taskutietoa Hämeenlinnasta", a factbook published by the city of Hämeenlinna (pdf download, in Finnish) ] =

*City of Hämeenlinna: 2 490
*State of Finland: 2 480
*Kanta-Häme Hospital District: 1 460
*Ruukki (Rautaruukki Oyj): 1 030
*Huhtamäki Oyj: 700
*Hämeen AMK: 510
*Aina Group Oyj: 500
*Kansanterveystyön ky: 490
*Patria Vehicles Oy: 430
*Konecranes Standard Lifting Oy: 330
*Koulutuskeskus Tavastia: 270
*Lindström Oy: 175

Twin towns

* Bærum, Norway
* Celle, Germany
* Qeqertarsuatsiaat, Greenland
* Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
* Tver, Russia
* Püspökladány, Hungary
* Toruń, Poland
* Uppsala, Sweden
* Weimar, Germany [ [http://www.hameenlinna.fi/english/index.php?id=2747 Hämeenlinna's official website: twin towns] ]

port

*Ice hockey team HPK
*Football team FC Hämeenlinna

References

External links

* [http://www.hameenlinna.fi Hämeenlinna] – Official site
* [http://www.nba.fi/en/hame_castle Häme Castle]