The Hämeenlinna Market Square () is the most significant

town square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

in the city center of

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; ; ; or ''Croneburgum'') is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Kanta-Häme. It is located in the southern interior of the country and on the shores of Vanajavesi, Lake Vanajavesi. The population of Hämeenlinna is appr ...

Tavastia Proper Tavastia () or Tavastland may refer to: Regions * Häme (Swedish: ''Tavastland'', Latin: ''Tavastia'') * Tavastia (historical province) Tavastia (; ; ; also called ''Yam'' (Ямь) or ''Yem'' (Емь) in Russian sources) is a historical prov ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, where most of the city's

market square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...

trade takes place. The market square is located in the Saaristenmäki districtHämeenlinnan kaupungin karttapalvelu
(in Finnish) on the same site where it was already located in the 1775

town plan Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

. In the new plan drawn up by C. L. Engel in 1832 after the Great Fire of Hämeenlinna, the market and the streets surrounding it remained in their old places. The market square hosts many events and

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

s, especially during the summer, and the monthly

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

, for example, is held on the first Tuesday of each month. The market has also hosted

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

s and other public events. The market covers the whole

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

, measuring 100 m in the east-west direction and 85 m in the north-south direction. In the western part of the square, however, there is a

kiosk Historically, a kiosk () was a small garden pavilion open on some or all sides common in Iran, Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward. Today, several examples of this type of kiosk still exist ...

building and a small

parking lot A parking lot or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most jurisdi ...

, and on the eastern side there is a similarly sized square park, which means that the actual area that will be used as a square resembles a square. The market square is bordered by the Raatihuoneenkatu, Linnankatu, Hallituskatu and Sibeliuksenkatu streets. There are many buildings from different eras and styles on the edge of the market square. The most significant of these are the Hämeenlinna Church ( Jean Louis Desprez, 1798), the former County Government House ( C. L. Engel, 1834) and the Hämeenlinna Town Hall (Alfred Cawén, 1888). In addition, the Linna Shopping Center is located in the block to the west of the square. The market park has a

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

, two market

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings; * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

s built in the 1910s and statues of Paavo Cajander and

Larin-Kyösti Karl Gustaf Larson (5 June 1873 – 2 December 1948), better known as Larin-Kyösti, was a Finland, Finnish poet. Many of his poems have been set to music by Yrjö Kilpinen or by Jean Sibelius (e.g. ''Kaiutar'', op. 72 no. 4). Biography Larson ...

. The park was designed by

Armas Lindgren Armas Eliel Lindgren (28 November 1874 – 3 October 1929) was a Finnish architect, professor and painter. Biography Early life and career Armas Lindgren was born in Hämeenlinna on 28 November 1874. He studied architecture in the Polytechnica ...

in 1910.Hämeenlinnan tori, kirkko ja Pikkutori
-

Museovirasto The Finnish Heritage Agency (, ), previously known in English as the National Board of Antiquities, preserves Finland's material cultural heritage: collects, studies and distributes knowledge of it. The agency is a cultural and research institutio ...

(in Finnish)

References

External links

Hämeenlinna Market Square
at Kaupunkikeskusta.fi (in Finnish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hameenlinna Market Square Hämeenlinna Squares in Finland