Hyvinkää

Hyvinkää (pronounced|ˈhyʋiŋkæː; "Hyvinge" in Swedish) is a town in the province of Uusimaa, approximately 50 km north of the capital Helsinki. The town was chartered in 1960. Hyvinkää belongs to the Province of Southern Finland. The population of Hyvinkää is 44,306 (2007).

Highways and rail connections make it one of the suburban commuter centers of Greater Helsinki. The city planning has had an emphasis on recreational facilities, acknowledging the fact that the modest city center cannot compete with the shops and boutiques of the capital.

Some of the more well-known buildings in Hyvinkää are, among others, the Church (1961, Aarno Ruusuvuori) of Hyvinkää and the manor house of Kytäjä. The Finnish Railway Museum is located in Hyvinkää.

Hyvinkää is also home to Konecranes, which specializes in the manufacture and service of cranes and KONE Elevators, the world's third-largest elevator company who manufacture, install and service elevators and escalators.

Hyvinkää is known among Scandinavian golf enthusiasts due to Kytäjä golf, located at the countryside of Hyvinkää. It offers two courses designed by Tom McBroom. South East course was opened in the August 2003, and North West course in the August 2004.

History

In the 16th century there was a tavern in the area now known as Hyvinkäänkylä, which lies approximately half-way between Helsinki and Hämeenlinna. The first tax catalogs also marked the existence of some houses in the area around the same time.

Hyvinkää village gradually grew in the latter half of the 19th century. But it was the construction of the railway network through Finland, beginning in 1861, that marked the starting point for the town's rapid growth.

The construction of Finland's first stretch of railroad, the Helsinki-Hämeenlinna line, determined the location of the present city centre and the railway station of Hyvinkää is one of the few original stations still in use. From Hyvinkää the railway also branches off to the port of Hanko. The Hanko-Hyvinkää Railroad was the first private railroad in Finland, founded in 1872, and acquired by the Finnish State RR Co. in 1875. In the early 1900s the station village in Hyvinkää was an intermediate stopping point for many emigrants leaving by ship from Hanko for a new life in North America.

The air quality of Hyvinkää was considered healthy due to dense pine forests, and in the 1880s a group of physicians from Helsinki opened a sanatorium for patients seeking rest and recuperation.

Industrialization brought a wool factory to Hyvinkää in 1892 - the Donner family's "Hyvinge Yllespinneri". The factory ceased operation in the 1990s, but the red-brick halls still remain. The building has found several new uses, including an exhibition centre and a theater.

Hyvinkää airfield served as the country's main airport for a short time after the second World War while the airport at Malmi, Helsinki in Helsinki was under the control of the Allied Powers. There is now a motorsports centre near the airfield.

People from Hyvinkää

*Heikki Mikkola, 4 times world champion, motocross
*Katri Rosendahl, Endurance Riding National Champion [2007]
*Yrjö Saarinen, painter
*Tyko Sallinen, painter
*Helene Schjerfbeck, painter
*Ossi Savolainen, mayor of Hyvinkää
*Esa Saarinen, philosopher
*Lauri Tukonen, professional ice hockey player
*Markku Uusipaavalniemi, curler
*Petteri Wirtanen, professional ice hockey player

Festivals

In the Summer, there is an annual beer festival which attracts rock bands from Scandinavia and about 10,000 visitors.

ister cities

*flagicon|Norway Eigersund, Norway
*flagicon|Hungary Kecskemét, Hungary
*flagicon|Denmark Korsør, Denmark
*flagicon|Russia Kostroma, Russia
*flagicon|Sweden Motala, Sweden
*flagicon|Germany Hersfeld-Rotenburg district, Germany

External links

* [http://www.hyvinkaa.fi Hyvinkää municipality]
* [http://www.rautatie.org Finnish Railway Museum]
* [http://www.steam.dial.pipex.com/trains/finland01.htm Steam Locomotives in Finland Including the Finnish Railway Museum]
* [http://www.hyrinet.fi/ Hyrinet – Hyvinkää-Riihimäki area portal]
* [http://www.hyvinkaakuvat.com/ Pictures from Hyvinkää]