Lohja is a Finnish city located in the province of Uusimaa. The city is officially bilingual, although it is not obliged to do so on the basis of linguistic relations; 3.5% of its inhabitants speak Swedish as their mother tongue. Lohja's neighboring municipalities are Inkoo, Karkkila, Raseborg, Salo, Siuntio, Somero, Tammela and Vihti.
Geography and nature
The city structure is a strip station in
the direction of Lohjanharju, which starts from the E-18 motorway
and continues along the Hanko-Hyvinkää road to Virkkala. The parts
of the strip station from the east are Muijala, Perttilä, Lempola
Shopping Park, Ventelä, Asemaseutu, Keskilohja, Ojamo, Tynninharju
and Virkkala. Uusimaa's largest lake, Lohjanjärvi, is largely in the
municipality. Hormajärvi is located entirely in Lohja. Finland's
largest natural cave, Torhola Cave, is located in Lohja. There are a
total of 141 lakes and ponds in the municipality.
The nature
of the Lohja region is considered to be uniquely rich. Noble
deciduous trees, walnut shrubs and grove plants thrive in the area’s
limestone cliffs. On the back of the block, the vegetation is mainly
barren of dry pine cloth on sandy soils. In the clay clays of the
Lohjanjärvi region, the vegetation is more lush, and extensive
spruce forests dominate the landscape. In terms of vegetation, Lohja
is located in the border area of the northern boreal coniferous
forests and the transition zone of coniferous forests and deciduous
forests, the hemiboreal zone. Compared to the rest of southern
Finland, the area is particularly rich in walnut shrubs and blue
anemones. The vegetation also has its own characteristic of the
calcareous soil, which is a large deposit around Lake Lohjanjärvi.
The lime effect combined with the mild microclimate created by the
lakes, as well as the south-western location, enable the abundant
grove vegetation of the Lohja region.
Located on the shores
of Lake Lohjanjärvi, the Karkali Nature Reserve is known for its
extensive walnut shrub groves, its flowering white anemone and
yellow anemone, and its oak and lime forests. The finest groves in
southern Finland are created by calcareous land and a nearby lake,
which make rare groves thrive. Archbishop Gustaf Johansson fell in
love with the place more than a hundred years ago.
There are
also a few protected alpine groves on the shores of Lake
Lohjanjärvi, which are unique in Finnish conditions and have plenty
of both pencil and mountain pedestals.
Lohja is probably also
home to Finland's most famous cave, the Torhola limestone cave. It
is the largest karst cave in Finland, which is formed when acidic
water soaks limestone. The cave is 31 meters long and at its lowest
at a depth of 9 meters. The beginning of the cave is easily
accessible, but in the last chamber, the so-called Torhola basement,
you have to crawl through narrow cavities.
Next to
Karkalinniemi is the Karstu Castle Hill, which is thought to have
been one of Finland's hundreds of ancient castles. From its top
there are handsome views to the west to Lake Lohjanjärvi. There is
also a matte rock painting on site.