Hyvinkää (Swedish: Hyvinge) is a city in the northern part of
Uusimaa. It has a population of about 47,000 (2020) and is the fifth
largest city in the province after Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and
Porvoo. Hyvinkää belongs to Central Uusimaa and the municipalities
of the Helsinki region, and is located along Finland's main line,
Highways 3 and 25, the Vantaanjoki River and the First Salpausselä.
Hyvinkää became independent as its own municipality from the
Hausjärvi and Nurmijärvi areas in 1917 and its area belongs to the
historical provinces of Häme and Uusimaa. The town of Hyvinkää was
founded by separating it from the countryside in 1926. In 1960,
Hyvinkää became one of Finland's first six so-called from the new
city, and in 1969 the countryside of Hyvinkää was annexed to the
city of Hyvinkää.
At the beginning of the 20th century,
Hyvinkää was especially known as a sanatorium city for clean air and
as a place to live and calm for artists such as Helene Schjerfbeck
and Tyko Sallinen. Since then, the city has been known for its wool
and nowadays elevator and crane industries. The city is part of the
growth corridor of the main line and is known as a railway city.