Lohja (; ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

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, ...

, located in the southern interior of the country. Lohja is situated in the western part of the

Uusimaa Uusimaa (; , ; both lit. 'new land') is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, Helsinki, alo ...

region. The population of Lohja is approximately . It is the most populous

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in Finland. Lohja is part of the

Helsinki sub-region Helsinki sub-region is a subdivision of Uusimaa in Finland. It is the most populous Sub-regions of Finland, sub-region in Finland with about million inhabitants. The sub-regions are used for statistical purposes. Statistics Finland uses the term ...

, but not directly part of the

Helsinki metropolitan area Helsinki metropolitan area (, ) or Greater Helsinki (, ) is the metropolitan area around Helsinki, the capital city of Finland. It also includes the smaller Helsinki capital region, capital region. The terms Helsinki metropolitan area, Greater H ...

. Lohja covers an area of of which , or 8.3 percent, is water. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of Lohja is . Lohja has the fourth most summer cottages of any municipality in Finland, with 8,468 in the city as of June 2018. Lohja is close to the Helsinki metropolitan area and benefits from a good road network. It takes less than an hour to drive from Helsinki to Lohja on the E18 motorway, which, along with

Hangonväylä The Finnish national road 25 (, ''Hangonväylä''; , ''Hangöleden'') is the main route between the major cities of Hanko and Hyvinkää in southern Finland. It runs from Tulliniemi in Hanko to the Maisala in Mäntsälä, where it continues to P ...

, is one of Lohja's main road connections. Lohja is a

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

municipality with Finnish and

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

as its official languages. The population consists of Finnish speakers, Swedish speakers, and speakers of other languages. City's bilingual slogan is: '' – '' which translates to "Lake city". The landscape of Lohja is characterized by manors and gardens. Its area is divided by the Lohja ridge, which forms a watershed for the largest lake system in Uusimaa, Lake Lohja (Lohjanjärvi); mostly that's why Lohja is also referred to as "Lake City" (''järvikaupunki''). The medieval Church of St. Lawrence is the architectural highlight of downtown Lohja, which also includes a heterogeneous mix of buildings mostly dating from the 1960s onwards. The Lohja library, which was opened in 2005, is a distinctly modern building Lohja has been a focal point for the population and economy of western Uusimaa since the early 14th century. The local inhabitants were among the pioneers of the Finnish mining and construction material industries. Lohja has long-established traditions in horticulture and especially in

market gardening A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to s ...

. These traditions are represented by the

Politics

Local

Pasi Perämäki is the

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city in the council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are referred to as the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief administ ...

of Lohja. The city manager oversees the city committee. In addition to the city committee, Lohja has a 51-seat municipal council. The parties represented in the council as well as their seat counts are listed below.

National

2015 parliamentary election

Culture

The most notable are the Lohja Summer Cultural Festival, the Apple Carnival organized by representatives of business and commerce, the retailers' Hurlumhei Carnival and the Old Time Christmas market continue the tradition of fairs dating back to the Middle Ages. The

Doom Metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

band

Reverend Bizarre Reverend Bizarre was a doom metal band from Finland. Formed in 1995, they played slow and heavy traditional doom with dramatic vocals, following in the footsteps of bands such as Witchfinder General, Saint Vitus, Candlemass, Pentagram and Bl ...

hails from Lohja.

Elias Lönnrot Elias Lönnrot (; 9 April 1802 – 19 March 1884) was a Finnish polymath, physician, philosopher, poet, musician, linguist, journalist, philologist and collector of traditional Finnish language, Finnish Oral literature, oral poetry. He is best k ...

, who wrote the ''

Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' () is a 19th-century compilation of epic poetry, compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling a story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and retaliatory ...

'', was both born and died in

Sammatti Sammatti () is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the city of Lohja in the beginning of 2009. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Uusimaa region. The municipality had a population of 1,36 ...

, which has been part of Lohja since 2009.

Sights

Museums

* Lohja Museum * Paikkari Croft, the home of

* Johannes Lohilampi museum * Tytyri Mine Museum * Kaarre Military Museum * Kovela Agricultural Museum * Hyrsylän Mutka, the home of dancer

Aira Samulin Aira Laila Suvio-Samulin (née Suvio; 27 February 1927 – 23 October 2023) was a Finnish dance teacher and businesswoman. Life and career Samulin was born on 27 February 1927 in Ignoila, Salmi (rural locality), Salmi, Finland (present-day Russ ...

* Nummi Local History Museum * Pusula Local History Museum

Churches

* The medieval St. Lawrence's Church Lohjan kirkko helmikuu 2017 1

* Karjalohja Church * Kärkölä Village Church *

Nummi Church Nummi Church ( Finnish: ''Nummen kirkko'', Swedish: ''Nummis kyrka'') is a Lutheran stone church in the former municipality of Nummi, situated in the Finnish city of Lohja in the Uusimaa region. Constructed of gray stone in 1822, the church was ...

* Pusula Church * Sammatti Church

Other places of interest

* Surroundings of Lake

Lohjanjärvi Lohjanjärvi (; also known as Lake Lohja) is a lake located in the Uusimaa region of Finland. The majority of the lake is located within the borders of the city of Lohja and smaller parts in the municipality of Karjalohja and in the city of Ras ...

* Alitalo vineyard * Paavola Oak and nature trail * Karkali Nature Park * Lohja Theatre * Liessaari Nature Trail * Torhola Cave Virkkalan kalkkitehdas

Manor Houses

Ojamo Manor Ojamo Manor ( Finnish: ''Ojamon kartano'', Swedish: ''Ojamo herrgård'') is a manor house in Lohja in Uusimaa, Finland. The site is known for housing the remains of the oldest iron mine in Finland. The manor house has since 2023 been owned by the ...

* Kirkniemi Manor * Kyrkstad Manor * Laakspohja Manor *

Sports

Lohjan Pallo Lohjan Pallo (abbreviated LoPa) is a football club from Lohja, Finland. The club was formed in 1966 and their home ground is at the Harjun urheilukenttä. The men's first team currently plays in thNelonen(Fourth Division). The chairman is Mikko ...

is the football team of the city. Lohja also has an ice hockey team called

Lohjan Jääankat Lohjan Jääankat (Lohja Iceducks), shorter Ankat (Ducks) were an ice hockey team which was founded in 1992 in Lohja. Jääankat played season 2008–2009 2. Divisioona south group, and was promoted at the end of the season to Suomi-sarja. Promoti ...

. Kisakallio Sports Institute is located in Lohja. Other important sports venues in the town are Neidonkeidas Indoor Swimming Pool and Lohja Spa Resort in Karjalohja.

Municipal consolidations

The municipality of Lohja was consolidated with the city of Lohja in 1997, and the municipality of

in 2009. The municipalities of

Karjalohja Karjalohja (; ) is a former municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Uusimaa region. Before merging into Lohja, the municipality had a population of (31 December 2012) and covered an area of ...

and

Nummi-Pusula Nummi-Pusula () is a former municipality of Finland. Its seat was in Nummi. Nummi-Pusula was formed in 1981 from the former municipalities Nummi and Pusula. With Karjalohja, it was merged with the town of Lohja on 1 January 2013. It was located ...

were consolidated with Lohja in 2013.

Local subdivisions

A significant part of the city of Lohja is not yet part of any district, since after the 1997 municipal association with the former rural municipality of Lohja.

Neighborhoods

The official city districts within the city proper of the municipality of Lohja are: * Ahtsalmi, Anttila, Gruotila, Gunnarla, Hiidensalmi, Immula, Keskilohja, Kirkniemi (), Kukkumäki (formerly Luttula,Luttula
vesa.lib.helsinki.fi ), Kirkonkylä (), Lempola, Maksjoki,

Metsola Metsola is a Finnish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Ilari Metsola (born 1992), Finnish ice hockey player * Juha Metsola (born 1989), Finnish ice hockey player * Jukka-Pekka Metsola (born 1954), Finnish judoka * Roberta Metsola ...

, Moisio, Muijala, Myllylampi, Neitsytlinna, Ojamo, Ojamonkangas, Paloniemi (

: ''Fagernäs''), Pappila (

: ''Prästgården''), Pappilankorpi, Perttilä (

: ''Bertbacka''), Pitkäniemi, Routio (

: ''Routiobacka''),

Röylä Röylä (; , ) is a district of Espoo, 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 Bothni ...

, Vappula (), Ventelä (), Vienola and

Virkkala Virkkala (; ) is a district of Lohja, Finland, located about 8 kilometers southwest of the center of Lohja along Hanko Highway (Vt 25). Lake Lohja (Finland), Lake Lohja is located right next to Virkkala on its western side. The urban center of Vir ...

().

Villages

The villages and hamlets of the municipality of Lohja are:

Lohja rural

* Ahtiala, Askola, Hermala, Hietainen, Hiittinen, Hongisto, Iso-Teutari (), Jalassaari, Jantoniemi, Kaijola, Karjalohjan Ahtiala, Karjalohjan Pappila, Karkalniemi, Karnainen, Kittilä (), Koikkala, Kokkila, Korkenoja, Koski, Kouvola, Kunnarla (), Kutsila, Laakspohja (), Lehmijärvi, Lieviö (), Lohjankylä, Lylyinen, Maksjoki, Mynterlä* (), Niemi, Nummenkylä, Näätälä (), Osuniemi (), Outamo, Paavola, Paksalo, Pauni, Pietilä, Piispala (), Pulli, Seräjärvi, Skraatila, Suittila, Särkijärvi, Talpela, Torhola, Vaanila, Valla, Vanhakylä, Varola, Vasarla, Veijola (), Virkkala (), Vohloinen, Vähä-Teutari () and Yli-Immola.

Sammatti

* Haarijärvi (Haarjärvi), Karstu, Kaukola, Kiikala, Leikkilä, Lohilampi, Luskala, Myllykylä, Niemenkylä and Sammatti

Karjalohja

* Härjänvatsa, Ilmoniemi, Immola, Karkali, Kattelus, Kourjoki, Kuusia, Kärkelä, Lohjantaipale, Lönnhammar (Linhamari), Maila, Makkarjoki, Murto, Mustlahti, Nummijärvi, Pappila, Pellonkylä, Pipola, Pitkälahti (Långvik), Puujärvi, Pyöli, Saarenpää, Sakkola, Suurniemi, Särkjärvi, Tallaa and Tammisto

Nummi

* Haarla, Hakula, Heijala, Heimola, Huhti, Hyrsylä, Hyvelä, Immola, Jakova,

Järvenpää Järvenpää (; , ; ) is a town in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Järvenpää is situated in the centre of the Uusimaa region in the immediate vicinity of Lake Tuusula. The population of Järvenpää is approximately ...

, Jättölä, Korkianoja, Kovela, Leppäkorpi, Luttula, Maikkala, Maskila, Mettula, Miemola, Millola, Mommola,

Mäntsälä Mäntsälä () is a municipality in the province of Southern Finland, and is part of the Uusimaa region. It has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finni ...

, Nummi Church Village, Näkkilä, Oinola, Oittila,

Pakkala Pakkala () is a city district in Vantaa, Finland. It is the most populated district in the Aviapolis major region, and is named after the Backas estate situated there. Pakkala is notable for the suburb of Kartanonkoski and the business park o ...

, Pälölä, Raatti, Remala, Retlahti, Röhkölä,

Salo Salo or Salò may refer to: Places Finland *Salo, Finland, a town in Western Finland **Salo sub-region, a subdivision of Finland Proper and one of the Sub-regions of Finland since 2009 *An old name of Saloinen, a former municipality in Ostroboth ...

Saukkola Saukkola () is an urban area and Districts of Lohja, district in the city of Lohja and the former administrative center, administrative centre of the Nummi-Pusula municipality. Old Turku Road between Turku and Helsinki (Finnish regional road 110, ...

, Sierla,

Sitarla is a Japanese musician, known primarily for his work with Flower Travellin' Band and for creating the sitarla instrument. A guitarist and sitar player for nearly forty years, he now exclusively plays the sitarla, an instrument he invented in ...

, Tavola, Varttila and Vivola

Pusula

* Ahonpää,

Hattula Hattula () is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Tavastia Proper region and until 2010 it was located in the province of Southern Finland. Hattula is almost completely surrounded by Hämeenlinna, only in the north it shares the border w ...

, Hauhula,

Herrala Hilda Gustaava Herrala (8 April 1881 - 16 July 1956) was a Finnish seamstress and politician, born in Kuivaniemi. She was a member of the Parliament of Finland from 1908 to 1913, from 1916 to 1918 and from 1933 to 1936, representing the Social ...

, Hirvijoki, Hyrkkölä, Hyönölä, Ikkala, Karisjärvi, Kaukela, Koisjärvi,

Kärkölä Kärkölä () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population densit ...

Marttila Marttila (; , i.e. " Saint Martin's") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. ...

, Mäkkylä, Pusula, Radus, Seppälä, Suomela, Uusikylä,

Viiala Viiala is a former municipality of Finland. On 1 January 2007, it was consolidated with Toijala to form the town of Akaa. Viiala is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality had a populatio ...

and Vörlö

Twin towns

Lohja is twinned with: *

Växjö Växjö () is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 71,282 inhabitants (2020) out of a Municipalities of Sweden, municipal population of 97,349 (2024). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial ce ...

, Sweden * Ringerike, Norway *

Aabenraa Aabenraa (; , ; South Jutlandic: ''Affenråe'', also known as Åbenrå) is a town in Southern Denmark, at the head of the Aabenraa Fjord, an arm of the Little Belt, north of the Denmark–Germany border and north of German town of Flensburg. It ...

, Denmark *

Skagaströnd Skagaströnd (), previously Höfðakaupstaður (), is a Municipalities of Iceland, municipality and village in the Northwestern Region (Iceland), Northwestern Region of Iceland. It is situated on the western side of the Skagi peninsula, along ...

, Iceland *

Sátoraljaújhely Sátoraljaújhely (German language, German: ''Neustadt am Zeltberg''; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Nové Mesto pod Šiatrom;'' Yiddish: ''איהעל'') is a border town located in Borsod–Abaúj–Zemplén County, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, Hu ...

, Hungary

References

External links

Town of Lohja
– Official site
Visit Lohja
{{authority control Cities and towns in Finland Municipalities of Uusimaa Populated places established in 1926 Populated lakeshore places in Finland