Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and
municipality in
Finland. It is the capital of the region of
Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern end of lake
Vesijärvi about north-east of the capital city
Helsinki, south-west of the
Heinola town and east of
Hämeenlinna, the capital of the region of
Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme). It is also situated at the intersection of
Highway 4
Route 4, or Highway 4, may refer to several highways in the following countries:
International
* AH4, Asian Highway 4
* European route E04
* European route E004
* Cairo – Cape Town Highway
Albania
* SH-4 road in Albania from Durres to Kakav ...
(between Helsinki and
Jyväskylä) and
Highway 12
Route 12 or Highway 12 can refer to:
For a list of roads named A12, see A12 roads.
International
* Asian Highway 12
* European route E12
* European route E012
Argentina
* National Route 12
Australia NSW
* Western Sydney Airport Motorway ( ...
(between
Tampere and
Kouvola), which are the most significant main roads of Lahti.
In English, the Finnish word Lahti literally means ''bay''. Lahti is also dubbed the "
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
of Finland" due to the early industries of both cities, when they were known as "
slaughterhouse cities".
[7 Interesting Facts about Lahti](_blank)
/ref>[Lahti on Suomen Chicago - syystäkin](_blank)
(in Finnish)[Onko Lahti oikeasti "Suomen Chicago"? Poliisi kertoo](_blank)
(in Finnish) Also, the troubled history of both cities in the field of crime has been seen as one of the similarities.
Lahti is a long-time pioneering city in environmental sustainability, dating back to as early as 1990 and before. The European Commission has named Lahti as the European Green Capital
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...
of 2021.
The coat of arms of the city depicts a train wheel surrounded by flames. It refers to the Riihimäki–Saint Petersburg railway, which had a decisive influence on the birth of the city at its crossroads.
History
Lahti was first mentioned in documents in 1445. The village belonged to the parish of Hollola and was located at the medieval trade route of Ylinen Viipurintie, which linked the towns of Hämeenlinna and Viipuri.
The completion of the Riihimäki – St. Petersburg railway line in 1870 and the Vesijärvi canal in 1871 turned Lahti into a lively station, and industrial installations began to spring up around it. For a long time, the railway station at Vesijärvi Harbour was the second busiest station in Finland. Craftsmen, merchants, a few civil servants and a lot of industrial workers soon mixed in with the existing agricultural peasantry.
On 19 June 1877, almost the entire village was burned to the ground. However, the accident proved to be a stroke of luck for the development of the place, as it led to the authorities resuming their deliberations about establishing a town in Lahti. The village was granted market town rights by Emperor Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Gra ...
in 1878 and an empire-style, grid town plan was approved, which included a large market square and wide boulevards. This grid plan still forms the basis of the city center. Most of the buildings were low wooden houses bordering the streets.
Lahti was founded during a period of severe economic recession. The Russian Empire was encumbered by the war against Turkey. The recession also slowed down the building of the township: land would not sell and often plots were not built on for some time. In its early years, the town with its meagre 200 inhabitants was too small to provide any kind of foundation for trade. At the end of the 1890s, Lahti's Township Board increased its efforts to enable Lahti to be turned into a city. In spring 1904, the efforts finally bore fruit as the Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
approved of the application, although it was another eighteen months before Tsar Nicholas II finally gave his blessing and issued an ordinance for establishing the city of Lahti.
At the end of 1905, the area that now comprises Lahti accommodated around 8,200 people of whom just under 3,000 lived in the city itself. All essential municipal institutions were built in just ten years, including a hospital and a city hall. At the same time, a rapid increase in brick houses was taking place in the centre of the city. The Battle of Lahti
Battle of Lahti was a 1918 Finnish Civil War battle, fought from 19 April to 1 May between the German troops and Finnish Whites against the Finnish Reds in Lahti, Finland. Together with the Battle of Vyborg, from 24 to 29 April, it was the la ...
was fought in the 1918 Finnish Civil War as the German Detachment Brandenstein took the town from the Reds.
In the early 1920s the city gained possession of the grounds of the Lahti Manor, an important piece of land previously blocking the city from the lake. Large-scale industrial operations grew rapidly in the 1930s as did the population; Lahti, at the time, was one of Finland's fastest-growing cities, and before the start of the Winter War its population was approaching 30,000.
Through the addition of new areas in 1924, 1933 and 1956, Lahti grew, both in terms of population and surface area. Especially strong was the growth after the wars, when Lahti accepted about 10,000 immigrants from Karelia
Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for ...
after that region was surrendered to the Soviet Union, and then later in the 1960 and 1970s as a result of mass urbanization. The rapid population growth came to a sharp end in 1975 and the city has since grown clearly slower albeit mostly steadily, with the latest notable growth in population happening in 2016 when the municipality of Nastola became a part of Lahti.
In December 2018 Lahti became the first new university city in Finland after Rovaniemi in 1979 when the Parliament accepted a change in the university law. LUT University nowadays consists of two campuses, Lappeenranta and Lahti.
Geography
The terrain of Lahti is dominated by the first Salpausselkä ridge that cuts through the city from west to east. The city is located in the transition from the southern coastal area to the Finnish Lakeland; prominent to the north of the Salpausselkä are rocky hills and fragmented lakes, while its south side is dominated by forests and small rivers. The divide is also apparent in the soil, which mostly consists of till in the north and clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay part ...
in the south. The biggest lake is Vesijärvi which also is a gateway to the Central Finland via Lake Päijänne. There is also pond called Pikku-Vesijärvi
Pikku-Vesijärvi is a pond in Lahti, Päijänne Tavastia, Finland. Its greatest depth is 4.5 meters (1998). Around the pond is an arboretum where is even more than 40 tree species. Also, near Pikku-Vesijärvi is Lanu-puisto, a park where is 12 ...
("Little Vesijärvi") near the Lanu-puisto
Lanu-puisto is a park near Pikku-Vesijärvi in Lahti, Finland. There are 12 statues of concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) ...
park.
Subdivisions
The area of the city of Lahti is divided in two ways: first, the 40 individually numbered districts ( fi, kaupunginosa), and second, the 9 greater areas ( fi, suuralue), which are divided into 41 statistical districts ( fi, tilastollinen kaupunginosa) and further into 169 statistical areas ( fi, tilastoalue). The definitions of the districts and statistical districts do not necessarily match each other. Below are listed the districts:
# Keski-Lahti
Keski-Lahti ("Central Lahti") is the 1st district of the city of Lahti, in the region of Päijät-Häme, Finland. It covers the downtown areas of the city, circling the Market Square. It borders the districts of Niemi in the north, Kiveriö ...
# Kartano
# Paavola
# Niemi
# Kiveriö
# Kivimaa
# Mukkula
# Kilpiäinen
Kilpiäinen is the 8th district of the city of Lahti, in the region of Päijät-Häme, Finland. It borders the municipality of Hollola in the north, the districts of Pesäkallio in the east and Mukkula
Mukkula ( sv, Mokulla) is the 7th distric ...
# Pesäkallio
# Kytölä
# Viuha
# Kunnas
# Ahtiala
Ahtiala is the 13th district of the city of Lahti, in the region of Päijät-Häme, Finland. It borders the districts of Viuha and Seesta in the north, Kunnas in the east, Koiskala in the southeast, Myllypohja in the south and Kytölä in th ...
# Koiskala
# Myllypohja
# Möysä
Möysä is the 16th district of the city of Lahti, in the region of Päijät-Häme, Finland.
The population of the statistical district of Möysä was 6,712 in 2019.
Etymology
The (antiquated) word ''möysä'' means a sauna doubling as a s ...
# Järvenpää
# Kolava
# Kujala
# Kerinkallio
# Ämmälä
Ämmälä is the 21st district and a village of the city of Lahti, in the region of Päijät-Häme, Finland. It borders the districts of Kerinkallio in the north, Kujala in the northeast, Villähde in the east, Renkomäki in the west and Nikkilä i ...
# Renkomäki
Renkomäki is the 22nd district of the city of Lahti, in the region of Päijät-Häme, Finland. It borders the districts of Nikkilä in the north, Ämmälä in the east and Jokimaa and Laune
Laune is the 24th district of the city of Lahti, in th ...
# Nikkilä
# Laune
# Asemantausta
Asemantausta is the 25th district of the city of Lahti, in the region of Päijät-Häme, Finland.
The population of the statistical district of Asemantausta was 4,969 in 2019.
References
Districts of Lahti
{{SouthernFinland-geo-s ...
# Sopenkorpi
# Hennala
Hennala is a district in the city of Lahti, Finland. It is known of the Stora Enso packaging factory and the former Hennala Garrison which also worked as a concentration camp after the 1918 Finnish Civil War.
Together with the garrisons in Ri ...
# Jokimaa
# Okeroinen
# Kärpänen
# Pirttiharju
# Salpausselkä
# Jalkaranta
# Villähde
# Nastola
# Uusikylä
# Seesta
# Ruuhijärvi
# Immilä
# Pyhäntaka
Climate
Under the Köppen climate classification, Lahti is right on the boundary between being a humid continental climate (''Dfb'') and a subarctic climate
The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...
(''Dfc''). Summers are usually warm in the city, with the average daily temperature in July exceeding over 23 °C (73.6 °F) and also having had the most 25 °C (77 °F) (or more) days in the last two decades, alongside Kouvola. Winters are cold and long but as a result of the climate change, specially winters are becoming more and more mild and warm and is progressively changing from the subarctic climate
The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...
to humid continental climate, and could already be have its climate classified as humid continental climate. During the heatwave of 2010, the temperature in Lahti reached 35.0 °C (95 °F).
Demographics
As of the end of March 2021 the population of Lahti was 120,112, making it the largest city in Finland by population. The chart below encompasses the area of Lahti as of 2021.
Economy
The economic region of Lahti, which includes the surrounding municipalities, was strongly affected by the collapse of Finnish-Soviet trade and by the recession in the early 1990s. The value of production slumped, especially in the mechanical engineering industry and other manufacturing industries (e.g. the furniture industry). Production also decreased in the textile and clothing industry. In 1990, there were 90,370 jobs in the Lahti region. The number of jobs diminished over the next couple of years, so that in 1993 there were fewer than 70,000 jobs in the region. The number of jobs had slowly increased to 79,138 in 1999.
In 1995, R&D expenditure was FIM 715 per person, while Finland's average was about FIM 2050. The amount of Tekes (the National Technology Agency) funding in the Lahti Region grew 40% during 2004–2007 while the average growth in Finland was 60%.
Culture
Lahti harbors cultural ambitions, manifested notably in the construction of a large congress and concert centre, the Sibelius Hall (2000) by architects Kimmo Lintula and Hannu Tikka. Lahti has one of Finland's most widely known symphony orchestras, the Lahti Symphony Orchestra (''Sinfonia Lahti'' ), based at the Sibelius Hall, which performs both classical and popular music, notably concentrating on music by Jean Sibelius. The orchestra has won several well respected international prizes.
Lahti's annual music festival programme includes such events as Lahti Organ Festival, a jazz festival held in the city's market square and the Sibelius Festival.
In addition to the Sibelius Hall, other additional notable works of architecture in Lahti are the City Hall (1911) by Eliel Saarinen, the Church of the Cross
The Church of the Cross is a historic church on Calhoun Street in Bluffton, South Carolina
Bluffton is a town in southern Beaufort County, South Carolina, Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The population as of the 2020 United Sta ...
(1978) by Alvar Aalto
Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...
, Nastola Church (1804), the oldest church in the city, Joutjärvi church, the City Theatre (1983) by Pekka Salminen, the City Library (1990) by Arto Sipinen, the Piano Pavilion (2008) by Gert Wingårdh
Gert Wingårdh (born 1951) is a Swedish architect whose company, Wingårdh arkitektkontor, maintains an international practice.''Gert Wingårdh; Thirty Years of Architecture'', Mikael Nanfeldt (ed.) (Birkhäuser Publishers for Architecture, 2008 ...
, and the Travel Centre (2016) by JKMM Architects
JKMM Architects ( fi, JKMM Arkkitehdit Oy) is a Finnish architectural firm. Asmo Jaaksi, Teemu Kurkela, Samuli Miettinen and Juha Mäki-Jyllilä established JKMM Architects in 1998. They started their studies in the middle of eighties. From the b ...
. The City of Lahti has also acted as the host city for the international Spirit of Wood Architecture Award
The Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award was an international architecture award, awarded every two years, from 2000 until 2012, when it was discontinued. The award was founded by the Wood in Culture Association (Puu kulttuurissa ry), a Finn ...
, established in Finland in 1999. Some of the prize-winners have received commissions to design small structures in the city; these include small works by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and Australian architect Richard Leplastrier
Professor Richard Leplastrier AO (born 1939, Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian architect and AIA Gold Medal recipient, he was a Professor of Practice (Architecture) at the University of Newcastle, Australia.
After graduation from Sydney Univ ...
.
Museums and galleries
* Lahti Ski Museum
Lahti Ski Museum is a sports museum located in Lahti, Finland, specialising in skiing and other winter sports. It is situated in the city's main sports complex adjacent to the Salpausselkä ski-jumping venue.
History
The museum traces its roo ...
* Historical Museum of Lahti
* Lahti Art Museum
The Lahti Art Museum is a museum focusing on visual arts, located in Lahti, Finland. The museum was founded in 1950. In connection with it is also the Poster Museum, established in 1975.
Lahti Art Museum is currently closed from visitors (as of ...
* Poster museum
* Radio and TV Museum
* Finland’s motorcycle museum
* The Museum of Military Medicine
* Taarasti Art Center
Taarasti Art Center or Taidekeskus Taarasti is an art center located in Nastola, Lahti, Finland. The center is located by the lake Pikku-Kukkanen and near the Pajulahti Sports Institute
Pajulahti Sports Institute ( fi, Liikuntakeskus Pajulahti) ...
Sports
Winter sports
Lahti has a rich sporting tradition, especially in various wintersports. The city is well known for the annually held Lahti Ski Games
Lahti Ski Games is an annual international Nordic skiing tournament. The games last for three days, during which participants compete in cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and Nordic combined.
In the nearly 90-year history of the Lahti Ski Games, ...
(''Salpausselän kisat'') and the Finlandia-hiihto
Finlandia-hiihto (Swedish: ''Finlandialoppet'', English: ''Finlandia Ski Marathon'') is a long-distance cross-country skiing competition, held in Finland each February. Initially, the track stretched from Hämeenlinna to Lahti via Lammi. Since the ...
cross-country skiing contest. It is also the only city to host the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships seven times, doing so in 1926, 1938, 1958, 1978, 1989, 2001 and 2017.
Ice hockey
The Pelicans have competed in the top level of Finnish ice hockey, the Liiga, since 1999. Before the new millennium Reipas
Reipas (July 14, 1948 – September 20, 1971) was a successful Finnish trotter. He was a Finnhorse gelding, and the first Finnish horse to earn over one million marks in one season.
Reipas was the best earning trotter in Finland through ...
represented Lahti in top-flight hockey for 50 years. Many former NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
players, such as Janne Laukkanen
Janne Laukkanen (born March 19, 1970) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League for the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise, the Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Tampa Bay ...
, Toni Lydman and Pasi Nurminen
Pasi Johan Olavi Nurminen (born December 17, 1975) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers as their sixth-round pick, #189 overall, in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.
Nurminen started his playi ...
, have started their careers in Reipas.
Association football
Historically the city's most successful association football club has been Kuusysi
FC Kuusysi (Finnish for ''FC sixty-nine'') is a football club in Lahti, Finland. Its men's team is currently playing in the fourth tier of Finnish football (''Kolmonen''), and its women's team is playing in Kakkonen. The homeground of FC Kuusysi ...
. In their golden years lasting from the early 1980s to the 1990s they won five Finnish championships as well as two Finnish Cup titles, with appearances in European competitions each year. Their greatest rivals, Reipas, won a total of three championships and seven cup titles from 1963 to 1978 but diminished in the early 1980s as Kuusysi got stronger.
In the 1990s both clubs ended up in such massive financial difficulties that a merger was executed in 1996, with the newly formed club adopting a new name, crest and colours. FC Lahti has played in the Veikkausliiga since 1999, excluding a season-long visit to the first division in 2011, having placed twice third and appearing in Europe three times.
Other events
The 1997 World Games
The 1997 World Games ( fi, 1997 Maailman Pelit, sv, 1997 Världsspelen), the fifth World Games, were an international multi-sport event held in Lahti, Finland on August 7–17, 1997. The opening and closing ceremonies took place at the Lahti Spo ...
and the 2009 World Masters Athletics Championships were held in Lahti. For the 1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
, some of the football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
matches were played at Kisapuisto.
Lahti will host the 2023 Ironman 70.3 World Championship August 26-27, an annual event which rotates venue and is the 2nd most important event in long course triathlon after Kona World Championship held annually in Hawaii.
Transportation
Local transport
The city is served by 20 local bus lines, most of which are pendulum lines between two different areas via city centre. Bus transport in the Päijänne Tavastia region is organised by the regional transportation authority, known as Lahden seudun liikenne or ''LSL'', and run by several private companies which have bid for the right to run their lines. LSL buses cover all urban areas at 10–20 minute intervals and most nearby municipalities at 30–60 minute intervals.
Lahti is served by VR commuter rail, the Z train to Helsinki and the G train to Riihimäki run hourly. Most services to Kouvola don't have a letter designation and are run every three hours aside from rush hours. There are plans for building two new train stops inside the city limits before 2020, Hennala
Hennala is a district in the city of Lahti, Finland. It is known of the Stora Enso packaging factory and the former Hennala Garrison which also worked as a concentration camp after the 1918 Finnish Civil War.
Together with the garrisons in Ri ...
and Karisto. A local service to Heinola
Heinola () is a town and a municipality of inhabitants () located in the eastern part of the Päijänne Tavastia region, Finland, near the borders of the South Savonia region and the Kymenlaakso region. It is the third largest municipality in ...
has been proposed but renovating the old line has been deemed too expensive and unprofitable in the long term, unless the Finnish state reaches an agreement with regional councils to finance a direct rail link from Lahti to either Jyväskylä or Mikkeli.
Long-distance transport
The city's main transportation hubs are the market square (''Kauppatori'') and the travel centre (''Matkakeskus)'', with local buses providing a non-stop service between the two. The travel centre, which replaced the old Lahti bus station
The Lahti bus station ( fi, Lahden linja-autoasema) is located in the Kartano district of the city of Lahti, Finland.
Architecture
The Lahti bus station is a prime example of the functionalist era of station buildings in Finland. Its most notab ...
that had been in use since 1939, was built between 2014 and 2016 around the Lahti railway station by building new local bus stops around the station, a long-distance bus terminal next to the station building and an automated parking facility for commuters.
All local and long-distance trains and buses stop at the travel centre, making it convenient to transfer from one mode of transport to another. The city council has sold the old bus station in the city centre and it will be redeveloped for other uses in the near future.
Lahti's proximity to Helsinki provides a fast and well-serviced operation between the cities. Long-distance and commuter trains service the city at least twice an hour in the daytime. There is also a commuter train service towards Riihimäki in the south-west and to Kouvola / Kotka in the east. All the east and north-east long-distance train services to and from Helsinki railway station call at Lahti. From Lahti, it is also convenient to travel to Helsinki airport. Travel time to Helsinki airport via Tikkurila station
Tikkurila station ( fi, Tikkurilan rautatieasema, sv, Dickursby station) is located in Tikkurila, the administrative centre of Vantaa in the Helsinki metropolitan area. It is located approximately from Helsinki Central railway station and fro ...
is between 49min to 65min.
In addition, as an international train service, a high-speed Allegro-train between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg, Russia calls at Lahti. The travel time from Lahti to Saint Petersburg is approx. 2,5 hours. There is also a night-train service from Helsinki to Moscow which calls at Lahti.
Additionally to the train connections, the long-distance busses are well-serviced in Lahti. Thanks, to its geographical location, Lahti provides a hub-like possibility for busses too. From Lahti, the long-distance busses service routes to Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Jyväskylä, Mikkeli, Oulu
Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...
, Rovaniemi amongst the other destinations.
Education
Comprehensive and private education
Lahti has 16 comprehensive schools and eight secondary schools. Comprehensive education is also available in English and Swedish. ''Lahden yhteiskoulu'' is the city's only private school offering both comprehensive and upper secondary education.
Upper secondary and vocational education
All four upper secondary schools in Lahti have a specialty: the Lyceum has expertise on subjects such as mathematics and biology, and sports (formerly in Salpauselkä), Tiirismaa focuses on music in association with the Lahti Conservatory, Kannas organises theatre classes and Lahden yhteiskoulu offers an economy-centered class.
Salpaus is an educational consortium owned by the municipalities in Päijänne Tavastia arranging most of the region's vocational education and trade schooling. The privately owned Dila and Lahti Conservatory educate students for healthcare and music-related professions, respectively.
Higher education and LUT University
Lahti's greatest educational assets are the Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT
LUT University ('' English:'' Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT) (''Finnish'': Lappeenrannan-Lahden Teknillinen Yliopisto LUT) is a Finnish public research university which was established in 1969. The university's Lappeenranta campu ...
as well as also highly valued Institute of Design and Fine Arts, which is a part of LAB University of Applied Sciences.
LUT University offers education in engineering science as well as in business and management. The Institute of Design and Fine Arts has gained international recognition in particular for jewelry and industrial design, while other areas of expertise include metal, woodworking and furniture.
There are two national sports institutes in greater Lahti. The Vierumäki International Sports Institute based in Heinola
Heinola () is a town and a municipality of inhabitants () located in the eastern part of the Päijänne Tavastia region, Finland, near the borders of the South Savonia region and the Kymenlaakso region. It is the third largest municipality in ...
is the most versatile centre of sports and physical education in the country, operating under the Ministry of Culture and Education. In addition the Pajulahti Sports Institute, located in the district of Nastola in Lahti, is one of the leading sports and training centres in Finland.
Furthermore one of Finland's six multidisciplinary university campuses is based in Lahti. The University of Helsinki's Department of Environmental Sciences is the university's sole science department located outside the Greater Helsinki area.
Trivia
The asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
...
1498 Lahti
Year 1498 ( MCDXCVIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1498th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 498th year of the 2nd millennium, the 98 ...
was named after the city by its discoverer, the Finnish astronomer Yrjö Väisälä.
The radio masts on top of the ''Radiomäki
Radio Hill ( Finnish: ''Radiomäki'') is a hill located in the city centre of Lahti, Finland. It is part of the Salpausselkä ridge system, with its peak at an elevation of .
The hill's earlier name was ''Selänmäki'' ('Ridge Hill'). After ...
'' are tall.
Lahti won the European Green Capital Award of the year 2021.
Notable people from Lahti
* Georg C. Ehrnrooth
Georg Carl Casimir Ehrnrooth (27 July 1926 - 17 October 2010) was a Finnish politician and lawyer. He was a member of the Parliament for Helsinki from 1958 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1987. He initially represented the Swedish People's Party of ...
, politician and lawyer
* Göran Enckelman
Göran Enckelman (born 14 June 1948) is a Finnish former footballer. He played in both Finland and Sweden, and for the Finnish national side. He is the father of fellow goalkeeper Peter Enckelman. He won Finnish Footballer of the Year in 1975. A ...
, footballer
* Valtteri Bottas, Formula One Driver
* Pasi Nurminen
Pasi Johan Olavi Nurminen (born December 17, 1975) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers as their sixth-round pick, #189 overall, in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.
Nurminen started his playi ...
, former NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
goaltender
* Toni Lydman, former NHL player
* Toni Nieminen, ski jumper
* Janne Ahonen, ski jumper
* Mikko Ilonen
Mikko Ilonen (born 18 December 1979) is a retired Finnish professional golfer who played on the European Tour, winning five times. He is considered to be the greatest golfer from Finland.
Career
Ilonen was born in Lahti, Finland. He won the 2000 ...
, professional golfer
* Jari Litmanen, professional footballer
* Aksu Hanttu
Aksu Hanttu (born ) is a musician, record producer and sound engineer from Lahti, Finland. He plays the drums in the metal band Entwine and vocals and drums in the group Tuoni. Hanttu is also involved with Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, which has ...
, drummer of Entwine
Entwine was a Finnish gothic metal band from Lahti, Finland. Entwine played their last gig 9.Nov.2019 at Lahti
History
Entwine was originally assembled under the name ''Kaamos'' in 1995 by guitarist and vocalist Tom Mikkola, drummer Aksu Hant ...
* Ilona Jokinen, soprano opera singer
* Jukka-Pekka Saraste, conductor and violinist
* Eija-Riitta Korhola
Eija-Riitta Korhola (née Nieminen; born 15 June 1959 in Lahti) is a Finnish politician and former Member of the European Parliament (MEP). She served three terms, first with the Finnish Christian Democrats between 1999–2003 and then with the ...
, politician
* Jaana Pelkonen, politician and hostess of Eurovision Song Contest 2007
* Jimi Tenor, musician
* Alina Voronkova
Alina Voronkova (born 13 December 1994) is a Finnish model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Finland 2018. She represented Finland at the Miss Universe 2018 pageant in Bangkok, Thailand.
Early life
Voronkova was born in Lah ...
, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Finland 2018
International relations
Twin towns—sister cities
Lahti is twinned
Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to:
* In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so;
* Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning
* Twinning inst ...
with:
* Västerås, Sweden (since 1940)
* Akureyri, Iceland (since 1947)
* Randers, Denmark (since 1947)
* Ålesund, Norway (since 1947)
* Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine (since 1953)
* Pécs, Hungary (since 1956)
* Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the O ...
, Germany (since 1987)
* Suhl, Germany (since 1988)
* Kaluga
Kaluga ( rus, Калу́га, p=kɐˈɫuɡə), a city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast in Russia, stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Population:
Kaluga's most famous resident, the space travel pioneer Konstantin Tsiol ...
, Russia (since 1994)
* Narva, Estonia (since 1994, partnership agreement)
* Deyang, Sichuan, China (since 2000)
* Wuxi, Jiangsu, China (since 2011)
* Norberg
Norberg () is a locality and the seat of Norberg Municipality in Västmanland County, Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is th ...
, Sweden
* Tamsalu, Estonia
See also
* Hollola
*Lahti Highway , sv, Riksfyran; fi, Lahdenväylä; sv, Lahtisleden
, maint = the Finnish Transport Agency
, map = Finland national road 4.png
, length_km = 1295
, length_round =
, length_ref =
, established = 1938
, direction_a =
, terminus_a = Helsi ...
*Lahti Summit
The Lahti Summit was a summit meeting of 20 heads of state or government that took place in the town of Lahti in Finland on the 3rd week of October 2006.
During this summit Russian president Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; ( ...
* Launeen keskuspuisto
* Nastola
References
External links
1952 Summer Olympics official report.
pp. 62–3.
City of Lahti
– Official city website.
Lahti Guide
– information for visitors to Lahti.
Lahti region
- Living, business and travel information.
Lahti info
- News, events, business and other information.
Lahti video - documentary about city of Lahti
*
Maps
Media
* Etelä-Suomen Sanomat – local newspaper in Finnish (translates as South Finland News)
{{authority control
Cities and towns in Finland
Municipalities of Päijät-Häme
Grand Duchy of Finland
Populated places established in 1905
Ski areas and resorts in Finland
Inland port cities and towns in Finland
Venues of the 1952 Summer Olympics
Olympic football venues
Populated lakeshore places in Finland
1905 establishments in Finland