Forssa

Forssa is a city in southwestern Hämälä, Finland, located in the western part of Kanta-Häme province. The city of Forssa has a population of approximately 16,000 and the entire region has a population of approximately 31,000. Forssa is the 67th largest city in Finland by population. Of the three cities in Kanta-Häme, Forssa is the smallest.

Forssa is the center of its sub-district. Forssa's neighboring municipalities are Jokioinen to the west, Tammela to the east and south, and Humppila and Urjala to the north. The population is concentrated in the Forssa central district in the southern part of the city's administrative area, which also extends into the municipalities of Jokioinen and Tammela. In the northern parts of the city, in the area of ​​the former Koijärvi municipality, there is sparse rural settlement.

Forssa has an area of ​​253.36 square kilometers and an average population density of approximately 66 inhabitants per square kilometer. The proportion of water bodies in the area is small, but an important element in the cityscape is the Loimijoki River, at the head of which the city is located. Other significant water bodies include Kaukjärvi, which is partly located in Forssa, and Koijärvi, known as the birthplace of the green movement.

Forssa grew and developed in the 19th century with the growth of the textile industry. In the 20th century, the city barely grew at all between the world wars. A new period of growth began in the 1960s, driven by the construction industry. Forssa's population peaked in the mid-1980s, when the city had just over 20,000 inhabitants for two years. Since then, the city's growth has stopped as industry has begun to scale back its operations. By 1994, the population had decreased by a few hundred, but after that the population decline accelerated. By the end of 2005, Forssa had lost over 2,000 inhabitants compared to its peak years. In 2008, the city's population grew for the first time since 1993. After 2010, the population has decreased again, reaching approximately 17,300 in 2016. Today, the food industry is a significant employer.

Forssa's location in the middle of the Helsinki-Turku-Tampere triangle is sometimes considered ideal, as it allows for quick travel to the country's largest cities. The distance to Helsinki is 110 kilometers, to Tampere 87 kilometers, and to Turku 88 kilometers.

 

History

Forssa's development into an industrial settlement began when the industrialist Axel Wilhelm Wahren founded a spinning mill on the Loimijoki River in 1847. Today, the Forssa industrial community is defined as one of Finland's nationally significant built cultural environments.

In 1903, the Finnish Labour Party party congress, the so-called Forssa congress, was held in Forssa, where the new name Finnish Social Democratic Party was adopted and a new party program was approved.

Forssa was established as an independent municipality in 1923, when it was separated from the municipality of Tammela to form its own township. Forssa received city rights in 1964. The recession of the early 1990s hit Forssa hard, resulting in economic problems and still high unemployment.

 

Coat of arms

The city's current coat of arms was designed by Olof Eriksson in 1962. Its heraldic explanation is: On a blue field, a silver water wheel. The emblem depicts hydropower and the Loimijoki River flowing through the city. The coat of arms was confirmed on 29 August 1962.

Previously, the coat of arms designed by A. W. Rancken from 1947 was in use. The shield of the coat of arms was wavy, with a silver water wheel in the lower blue field, and three blue wavy lines on top of the wavy lines in the upper silver field, with a red letter F above them. The coat of arms was discontinued as unheraldic.

 

Population

The population development of Forssa between 1847 and 1990 has been examined in the yearbook of the Southwest Häme Homeland and Museum Association from 1995 and in the book History of Forssa written by Risto O. Peltovuori, published in 1993. After independence in 1923, the population of Forssa in 1925 was 7,681. The population development was modest until 1945; then there were 8,045 inhabitants. After this, the population growth accelerated: 9,000 inhabitants were exceeded in 1952, 10,000 inhabitants in 1957, 11,000 inhabitants in 1962, 12,000 inhabitants in 1966 and in 1968, 13,157 inhabitants exceeded the 13,000 mark. The annexation of Koijärvi to Forssa in the following year, 1969, increased the population to over 15,000. In 1971, the 9 square kilometer area of ​​Lempää from Tammela was annexed to Forssa, which brought the city about a hundred new residents.

Forssa grew rapidly in the 1970s, but the city's growth stopped in the mid-1980s. At its peak, the city's population was 20,074 people at the end of 1985. After the mid-1990s, the population of the city and the entire region began to decline rapidly. In 2005–2010, the population stabilized at around 17,900, but then began to decline again, reaching around 17,300 at the end of 2016.

90 percent of Forssa's population lives in an urban area, in the central part of Forssa, where the population is most dense. In rural areas in the central and northern parts of Forssa, both the population and population density remain low. The central settlement of Forssa also extends into the municipalities of Jokioinen and Tammela. Forssa accounts for slightly more than half of the population of the entire region.

The population centres of the Forssa factory community were the Kalliomäki wooden house area on the north side of the Loimijoki River and the Vanha Kuhala, Uudenkylä and Yliskylä wooden house areas on the south side of the river. New districts have been built around this historical centre of Forssa over the decades. The Viksberg apartment block was built mainly in the 1970s and Tölö in the 1970s and 1980s, but their population has been declining. Recently, the population has grown mainly due to the construction of new detached houses on the outskirts of the city and the revival of apartment building construction in the city centre.

At the end of 2011, 13.5 percent of Forssa's residents were aged 0–14, 63.2 percent were aged 15–64, and 23.3 percent were over 64. In the long term, the number and proportion of children have decreased considerably. The elderly are the only age group that is growing in both number and proportion. The proportion of children fell below the proportion of the elderly in 1997.

Most children live on the edge of the central urban area in new single-family housing areas. The proportion of the elderly is highest in Korkeavaha and the City Centre, where over 40% of the residents are over 64.

Between 1980 and 2010, the language distribution in Forssa has remained fairly stable. The absolute number of Finnish speakers has decreased by approximately 1,900 people, but the relative proportion has decreased only slightly from 99.6 percent to 97.1 percent. The number of Swedish speakers has decreased by about a third. The most significant growth is in the group of people who speak languages ​​other than Finnish and Swedish, whose size has multiplied.

 

Congregations

At the end of 2023, 70.9 percent of Forssa residents belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2.3 percent belonged to other religions and 26.8 percent did not belong to any religion.

According to the 2018 regional division, Forssa is home to the Forssa congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. The former Koijärvi congregation was merged into the Forssa congregation in 2007. The city is home to the Hämeenlinna Orthodox Church's activity center, a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, the Saalem Church of the Pentecostal Church, and the activities of the Free Church. The Free Church operates in a building known as the Club, built by the Forssa company. There is also a cemetery for freethinkers in Forssa.

The member congregations of the Pentecostal Church of Finland in Forssa are the Forssa Pentecostal Congregation and the member congregations of the Free Church are the Forssa Free Congregation.

 

Geography

Development of settlement

Years 1847–1946

The first planned areas of Forssa were Wahreninkatu and Viksbergin pytingit. Kalliomäki and its lines were created from the 1870s after Wahren prescribed a town plan for the area. In addition to Kalliomäki, the oldest residential areas of Forssa include Vanha Kuhala on the south side of Loimijoki, Uusikylä between Rautatienkatu and Räynynoja, and Yliskylä, or Ameriikka, slightly west of Uusekylä.

In a study by Helga Keränen from 1930, the then Forssa township is divided into ten physiognomic areas, which were the Kalliomäki area, the Hämeentie large residential area, the Puisto area, the Forssa factory area, the Viksberg factory area, the Forssa business center, the Keski-Forssa small residential area, “Amerikka” and the Yliskylä new residential area. This division only applied to the densely built-up areas of Forssa, and not to the more rural areas around it.

By 1946, the area of ​​dense wooden housing was quite small compared to the size of today's urbanized area. Most of the current residential areas were fields. In addition to the areas mentioned above, there was housing in Kekkala, some in Pispanmäki and some buildings on the lands of the Viksberg Manor. Construction of Rantalanmäki had already begun at this stage.

 

From the 1950s to the 1980s

Apartment buildings began to be built around Kartanonkatu and Forssa Market Square, as well as in Viksberg in the 1960s. Many old wooden houses were gradually replaced by new construction. The demolition of many buildings has been criticized since then. Perhaps the most famous building to be demolished is the Piparkakkutalo, located on the corner of Säästöpankinkatu and Hämeentie. The construction of apartment buildings continued in the 1970s, when construction of Tölö began, red-brick apartment buildings were built on Pekolanraitti, and construction of Viksberg continued.

The city's expanding industry gained access to the former Viksberg manor lands. Parma built its element and Ahlström wool factories on the west side of Highway 2 in Pispanmäki.

Single-family housing areas gradually spread to the edges of the city. After Talsoila, single-family homes were built in the north in Lamminranta, Ojalanmäki, Kaikula, and Vieremä. Construction of Paavola began in the 1980s, and the area is now almost fully built out. A housing fair was also held in Paavola in 1982.

 

From the 1990s to the present day

The expansion of Forssa has been quite slow, because with the population declining, the demand for new homes is not very high. However, new single-family homes have been built. The most new houses are in the eastern parts of the city in Kuusto, to some extent also in Pikkumuola and Paavola and in the northwestern part of Vieremä. In the last couple of years, new apartment buildings have been built in the city centre, especially in Makasiiniranta.

 

Water bodies

Only 4.61 km² of the area of ​​Forssa is covered by water bodies, which is 1.8% of the total area. The only water bodies in the city centre area are part of Kaukjärvi in ​​the east, the Loimijoki River flowing through the city, the almost overgrown Loimalammi flowing into it, and the Linikkalanlammi in Linikkalala and Mäkilammi in Vieremä. The largest lake in the nearby area is Pyhäjärvi on the Tammela side.

The central parts of the sparsely populated area of ​​Forssa are crossed by the Loimijoki tributary Jänhijoki, whose headwaters also include Kiimalammi and Luolalammi, which are located further north near the Tammela border and are connected to the chain of small forest lakes in the hinterland of Tammela's Mustiala.

In the northern part of the sparsely populated area is the Koijärvi bird lake. From there begins the largest tributary of the Loimijoki River, Koijoki (also known as Kojonjoki or Koenjoki), which flows west past Matku along the border of Jokioinen and Humppila. The other headwater lake of this river is Valijärvi on the border of Tammela. The headwaters of Tammela's Pyhäjärvi include Lunkinjärvi on the border of Tammela. On the borders of Urjala, the headwaters of the Tarpianjoki River, which flows through Urjala, partly extending into the Forssa area, include Kokonjärvi, Särkijärvi and Matkunjärvi.

 

Parks

There are 110 parks in Forssa, covering a total area of ​​303 hectares. The most significant parks are listed below:
Ankkalammi Park: located south of the market square. The park was renovated in connection with the market renovation
Yhtiönpuisto: a park located next to the old spinning mill area, sometimes also called Wahreninpuisto
Keskuspuisto: the next natural park on the banks of the Loimijoki River after Yhtiönpuisto, which also has a football pitch
Talsoila puisto: a partly built, partly natural park in Talsoila, implemented as a public park open to everyone, unlike the previously closed Yhtiönpuisto
Rantapuisto: a park located along the river in Rantalanmäki opposite the Central Park
Harjupuisto: a pine-dominated park forest on the border of Kaikula and Vieremä
Mäkilamminpuisto: a pine-dominated park forest bordering Mäkilammi in Vieremä
Lamminranta puisto: as its name suggests, a park around Lamminranta
Paavola puisto: a park located in the Paavola district is partly built, partly park forest
Siurila puisto: a park located in the middle of the Viksberg residential area, with two water ponds, artificial stream and fountain
Salmistonmäki and Loimalammi: a natural area located in the eastern part of Haudankorva, right on the border of Tammela
Many parks are mainly green areas in a natural state, and not actively managed "parade parks".

 

National urban park

The city of Forssa is built in an area where forest and field landscapes alternate. The city has been granted national urban park status for three areas located along the Loimijoki River.

The agrarian landscape area is the field areas of Haudankorva and Kuusto
The industrial heritage area is the old factory buildings and some old city districts (including Kalliomäki, Kuhala and Rantalanmäki)
The ridge area is the Hunnari area in Vieremä, the area around the cemetery in Kaikula and the area around the pond in Lamminranta.

 

Traffic

Traffic connections

The following roads pass through the Forssa city centre:
Highway 2 from Helsinki to Pori
Highway 10 from Turku to Hämeenlinna
Regional road 282 from Somero to Forssa
Regional road 284 from Urjala via Koijärvi Church to Forssa
Connection road 2804 from the centre of Jokioinen to Forssa (street name Jokioistentie in Forssa)
Connection road 2821 from the centre of Tammela to Forssa (street name Tammelantie; also known as Tammelansuora).
The poor condition of Highway 2 has been considered a factor slowing down the development of Forssa. According to whom? Highways originating in Helsinki have been converted into motorways, but Highway 2, which has lower traffic volumes, is still a conventional two-lane highway. The second road was improved near Forssa in 2006–2009 by building a new bridge to Paavola and a bypass lane to Jokioinen, which also serves as an alternate landing site for the Air Force.

The Turku–Toijala railway runs through Matku, but trains no longer stop at Matku, and the old station building has also been demolished. The railway structures in the central area of ​​Forssa were demolished in the 1970s, and the city therefore does not have its own railway connections. The nearest passenger station is in Humppila. Sometimes, the construction of a railway in the city has been proposed. For example, a railway from Helsinki via Forssa and Humppila to Pori has been proposed. However, the project can not be implemented until the second half of the 2020s at the earliest. Another policy has been proposed to build a railway from Riihimäki via Forssa to Loimaa.

The Forssa airport, which is used for recreational activities, is located in the Haudankorva district. The nearest airports for air travel are in Helsinki, Tampere and Turku.

 

Internal traffic

Traffic in the city centre has been considered problematic in Forssa. For example, a ban on heavy vehicles was imposed on Kauppakatu in early 2008. Plans have long been in the works for the so-called Eastern Ring Road, which would direct traffic past the city centre from Highway 2 to Highway 10 and possibly from there to Tampereentie. As part of this plan, Loimalammintie was completed as the city's new entrance road from the south, and the Helsingintie junction to Highway 2, which had previously served as an entrance road, was removed.

The construction of an extension of Yhtiöankatu from the end of the current Yhtiöankatu to the end of Tampereentie, past the church, along Line I, has been planned for decades. The street alignment was marked in the local plan in 1969, and the new regional plan also includes a street connection between Yhtiöankatu and Tampereentie. The local plan is considered outdated, and its renewal has been discussed frequently. There has been support for both various solutions for implementing the road connection and for not building the street. The project has been highly controversial, and has sometimes been the subject of much discussion on the opinion pages of Forssa Lehti. The Hämeenlinna Administrative Court rejected the plan for the area that included the street, and Forssa appealed the Administrative Court's decision, but the Supreme Administrative Court rejected the appeal.

The renovation of Kartanonkatu was also planned for a long time. The renovation work on the street started in July 2012 and was completed at the end of the same year. However, the failed speed bumps were repaired several times.