Hämeenlinna (Swedish: Tavastehus) is a Finnish city on the shores
of Vanajavesi in the province of Kanta-Häme. It is the center of
Kanta-Häme province and, founded in 1639, Finland's oldest inland
city. Hämeenlinna is known as a traditional administrative, school
and cultural city.
The neighboring municipalities of
Hämeenlinna are Akaa, Asikkala, Hattula, Hausjärvi, Hollola,
Janakkala, Loppi, Padasjoki, Pälkäne, Tammela, Urjala and
Valkeakoski. It is 100 kilometers from the center of Hämeenlinna to
Helsinki and 75 kilometers to Tampere. The Hämeenlinna area grew
significantly on 1 January 2009, when Hauho, Kalvola, Lammi, Renko
and Tuulos joined the city of Hämeenlinna. Prior to this, the rural
municipality of Hämeenlinna and the municipality of Vanaja had been
connected mainly to Hämeenlinna and partly to neighboring
municipalities.
The city of Hämeenlinna developed into a prehistoric settlement on
the shores of Lake Vanajavesi. Near the city centre, Varikonniemi is a
significant but controversial archaeological site, an Iron Age and early
medieval settlement, which according to some interpretations was the
city of Vanai. There are several hill castles near the city, the most
famous of which are Aulanko (Swedish: Karlberg) and Hakoisten castle
hill.
Construction of Hämeenlinna Castle began after Earl
Birger's crusade to Häme in the 13th or early 14th century on what is
now Linnanniemi, and settlements soon began to emerge to the north of
the castle. Hämeenlinna served as a significant military base during the
reign of King Gustav Vasa of Sweden.
King Gustav II Adolf of
Sweden and Queen Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg paid an official visit to
Häme Castle in 1626.
This modest settlement received city rights
from the Governor-General of Finland, Count Peter Brahe, in January 1639
as the first Finnish inland city. The prehistoric Hämeen ox road from
Turku ended in the city, and the Ylinen Viipurintie ran through
Hämeenlinna to Vyborg. The city was the center of the Hämeenlinna castle
county.
The parish of Hämeenlinna was separated from the parish
of Vanaja after the city was founded in 1639. The city's first church
was probably completed in 1666 north of the castle in the old town area.
A new cruciform church was completed in 1739 near the old one and
remained in use even after the city moved until the completion of the
current main church.
In 1777, King Gustav III of Sweden decided
to move the city one kilometre south to its current location on
Niementaustan Hill, on the lands of the Saaristen barn estate. The first
town plan was drawn up by Axel Magnus von Arbin, and the move took place
from the following year. The area of the old town now includes the
former garrison area known as the Castle Barracks. Gustav III also had
Hämeenlinna's main church built, which was made circular, modelled on
the Roman Pantheon. However, the original appearance of the church
changed significantly in the 19th century, when a bell tower was added
to the building and it was expanded into a cruciform church.
King
Gustav III visited Hämeenlinna no fewer than four times. Hämeenlinna
Castle was thoroughly renovated during Gustav's reign.
A major
fire on 14 September 1831 destroyed about three-quarters of Hämeenlinna,
including the county government building and the school building.
However, the church and some of the blocks behind it were spared. The
city was rebuilt based on a new city plan drawn up by Carl Ludvig Engel.
Hämeenlinna became a pure Empire style city, of which only remnants of
architecture remain today.
Hämeenlinna, which had developed into
a military, administrative and school city, received a new impetus for
its industry in 1862, when the country's first railway section from
Helsinki was opened on 31 January. At the same time, shipping traffic
along the Vanajavättä to Tampere increased significantly.
The
Russian Emperor, Grand Duke of Finland Alexander II and Senator Johan
Vilhelm Snellman signed a decree on the equality of the Finnish language
in the Hämeenlinna Governor's Office on 30 July 1863.
In 1876,
the railway was extended to Tampere. Finland's oldest Finnish-language
newspaper still operating under the same name, Hämeen Sanomat, was
founded in Hämeenlinna in 1879.
During the Civil War in 1918,
Hämeenlinna was initially under the control of the Red Army, but the
Whites took over the city with the help of the Germans in the capture of
Hämeenlinna on 26 April. After the war, the Poltinaho barracks area was
used as the Hämeenlinna prison camp for Red Army prisoners.
Of
the 1952 Olympic Games, the modern pentathlon was held in Hämeenlinna at
the Kauriala sports field and the Ahvenisto swimming pool. The alignment
of Highway 3, which runs alongside the city centre, one of the earliest
motorway sections in Finland, was completed in 1965. In the 1960s and
1970s, the cityscape changed significantly, as a large amount of more
efficient new construction was built in the city centre.
Hämeenlinna's first major regional merger took place on 1 January 1948, when most of the rural municipality of Hämeenlinna, located north of the city, and parts of the municipality of Vanaja were merged into the city. At the beginning of 1967, Hämeenlinna expanded considerably when the municipality of Vanaja, which surrounded the city on three sides, was mainly merged into the city. In November 2007, the municipal merger of the Hämeenlinna region between Hauho, Hämeenlinna, Kalvola, Lammi, Rengo and Tuulos was confirmed, and it came into effect on 1 January 2009. At the beginning of 2010, the village of Hietoinen in the former Lammi municipality was moved from Hämeenlinna to Hausjärvi.
There are 339 lakes in the city of Hämeenlinna, either in whole or in
part. The largest of them in terms of surface area are Vanajavesi,
Kukkia and Kuohijärvi.
The central settlement of Hämeenlinna is
located in southern Häme, in the Vanajavesi valley, which is also
classified as a national landscape, and is bisected by the north-south
Vanajavesi, which is narrow in the southern part like a river. Other
significant lakes in Hämeenlinna are Katumajärvi and Alajärvi. A
northwest-southeast ridge line runs through the city area, parts of
which include Ahvenistonharju and Hattelmalanharju. The terrain is hilly
in other respects as well; the city center of Hämeenlinna and the
districts of Myllymäki and Hätilä, for example, are located on the tops
of rather large hills. The city has several mountains that were used as
castles in prehistoric times, the most significant of which are
Aulangonvuori and Mantree linnavuori.
The main features of
Hämeenlinna's landscape are the Hämeen Lake Upland, the Vanajavesi
Valley and the Kanta-Hämeen Forest Centre. In many places, the landscape
is marked by the prosperous Hämeenlinna agricultural culture.
The city has several nature conservation areas, the largest of which are located in the popular recreational areas of Aulanko and Ahvenisto on the outskirts of the city. In addition, Hämeenlinna is home to Finland's first national urban park, established in 2001, which extends from the Koilliskulma wooden house areas and Hämeen Castle along the banks of Vanajavesi to Aulanko. The relatively well-known Evo hiking area is located in the former municipality of Lammi, which was annexed to Hämeenlinna in 2009.
The city centre of Hämeenlinna is located on Saaristen Hill on the
banks of Vanajavesi, and is bordered on the west by Highway 3. The
street network of the city centre is based on the grid plan drawn up by
Carl Ludvig Engel in 1832 after the city fire, with the Market Square as
its centre. On the edge of the market square are the town hall, the
Hämeenlinna church and the Häme Provincial Government building. The core
city centre is divided into four districts, which are Linnanniemi,
Koilliskulma, Hämeensaari and Saaristenmäki. Raatihuoneenkatu, which has
been partially converted into a pedestrian street, is the most
significant commercial street in the city centre.
The city centre
has many buildings representing different styles, and in relation to the
city's population, it is quite large and densely built. The most
significant expansion of the city centre in the 2010s has been the
Keinusaari district on the other side of Vanajavesi, where, for example,
the railway station is located. New supplementary construction has also
been carried out continuously in the city centre. The centre of
Hämeenlinna has been mockingly called Finland's largest illuminated
cemetery. Other central city districts are Myllymäki, Kauriala and
Hätilä.
There are also about ten suburbs in Hämeenlinna, which
are separated from the city centre by large areas of single-family
houses. The city also has many parks and local recreation areas. The
railway bypasses the eastern side of the city center, Vanajavesi, but
Highway 3 runs right through the city as a motorway; near the city
center it is covered with a deck. Highway 10 bypasses the city from the
south and east. The ridges and long lakes that cross the city have also
had their own impact on the urban structure.