Riihimäki (; ) is a town and

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 the south of Finland, about north of

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

and southeast of

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

. An important railway junction is located in Riihimäki, since railway tracks from Riihimäki lead to Helsinki, Tampere and

Lahti Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Päijät-Häme. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lahti is approximately , while the Lahti sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mo ...

. Several businesses also operate in Riihimäki. Notably, Würth Oy has its Finnish headquarters and logistics center in Riihimäki. Valio has a major dairy in the Herajoki part of Riihimäki. The famous Sako rifles are also produced in Riihimäki. The town is located in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Southern Finland and is part of the Tavastia Proper

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. Its neighboring municipalities are Janakkala in the north, Hausjärvi in the east, Hyvinkää in the south and Loppi in the west. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which 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 ...

is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Riihimäki is home to the Riihimäki Prison, which is, alongside Turku Prison, one of the prisons in the country with the highest security rating (A+), and is home to the country's most dangerous prisoners.

History

Riihimäki was established around the Riihimäki railway station by the Helsinki–Riihimäki railway and is one of the original stations on Finland's first railway between

and

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 ...

, which opened in 1862. It became the first railway junction in Finland when the Riihimäki – Saint Petersburg track's first section from Riihimäki to

was opened in 1869. In 1907-1952 a narrow-gauge railway also operated between Riihimäki and Loppi. Today, the quickest way to travel between Riihimäki and Loppi is by car along the national road 54, which runs between Tammela and

Hollola Hollola () is a municipality of Finland, located in the western part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. The municipality is unilingually Finnish and has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . ...

. In 1910, a cavalry regiment was also established in the city. In 1944, the Signal Regiment was moved to the Riihimäki garrison. In 1922, Riihimäki separated from Hausjärvi and became an independent market-town. Riihimäki got its city rights in 1960. It was home to the reputed Riihimäki Glass company that remained in business from 1910 through 1990. The Finnish Glass Museum with its permanent display created by famous designer Tapio Wirkkala was opened in 1981.

Sports

* Peltosaaren Nikkarit & Kiekko-Nikkarit (

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

) * Riihimäen Taitoluistelijat (

Figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...

) * Riihimäen Jäätaiturit ( Synchronized skating) * Kolmoskori (

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

) * Riihimäen Ilves, formerly RIPS (

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

) * SC Top ( Floorball) * Cocks (

Handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

) * Riihi-Pesis, formerly RPL ( Finnish baseball) * Riihimäen Kisko ( Athletics) * Riihimäen Uimaseura (

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

)

Notable individuals

Athletes

* Aki Seitsonen, ice hockey player * Arri Munnukka, football player *

Daniel O'Shaughnessy Daniel Michael O'Shaughnessy (born 14 September 1994) is a Finnish professional Association football, footballer who plays for Veikkausliiga club HJK Helsinki, HJK and the Finland national football team, Finland national team as a defender (asso ...

, football player * Janne Lahti, SM-Liiga ice hockey player * Jukka Jalonen, national ice hockey coach and ice hockey player * Jukka Vanninen, football player * Jussi Veikkanen, professional road racing cyclist * Kari Tiainen, motorcycle enduro world champion * Kasper Kenig, ice hockey player * Lauri Toivonen, basketball player * Max Kenig, ice hockey player * Olli Korkeavuori, ice hockey player * Patrick O'Shaughnessy, football player * Pekka Vasala, middle and long-distance runner; Olympic champion (1972) in the 1,500 metres * Sami Lähteenmäki, SM-Liiga ice hockey player * Tero Arkiomaa, ice hockey player * Tuomas Viertola, basketball player

Politicians

* Aino-Kaisa Pekonen, Member of Parliament * Arto Lapiolahti, Member of Parliament * Efraim Kronqvist, politician and Riihimäki Red Guard leader in 1918 * Helge Sirén, Member of Parliament * Iiro Viinanen, politician * Päivi Räsänen, politician

The arts

* Liisa Akimof, musician * Pekka Autiovuori, actor * Torsten Brander, music contributor * Tommi Hakala, singer * Renny Harlin, film director and film producer * Aku Hirviniemi, actor * Anita Hirvonen, pop singer *

Maija Isola Maija Sofia Isola (15 March 1927 – 3 March 2001) was a Finland, Finnish designer of printed textiles, and the creator of over 500 patterns, including ''Unikko'' ("Poppy"). The bold, colourful prints she created as the head designer of Marimekk ...

, designer * Erkki Junkkarinen, singer * Janne Kataja, actor * Jukka Koskinen, musician * Niina Lahtinen, actor * Sinikka Laine, writer * Emilia Linnavuori, visual artist *

Nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...

, music group * Lauren Okadigbo, actress * Samuli Paronen, writer * Veikko Sinisalo, actor * Skepticism, music group * Seppo Tamminen, artist * Jann Wilde, musician and songwriter * Lauri Bagge, musician and composer

Other

* Arvi Paloheimo, industrialist * Olli Paloheimo, forester, minister and Jäger * Ragnar Granit, physician who won the 1967 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine * Veikko Löyttyniemi, journalist

Twin towns – sister cities

Riihimäki is twinned with: *

Szolnok Szolnok (; also known by #Name and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, in the heart of the Great Hungarian ...

, Hungary * Lillestrøm, Norway * Húsavík, Iceland * Gus-Khrustalny, Russia *

Karlskoga Karlskoga () is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Karlskoga Municipality, Sweden. It is located within Örebro County, 45 km (28 mi) west of Örebro, and 10 km (6 mi) north of Degerfors. With a 2020 population o ...

, Sweden *

Aalborg Aalborg or Ålborg ( , , ) is Denmark's List of cities and towns in Denmark, fourth largest urban settlement (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an Urban area, urban populati ...

, Denmark *

Bad Segeberg Bad Segeberg (; ) is a German town of 16,000 inhabitants, located in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, capital of the district (Kreis) Segeberg. It is situated approximately northeast of Hamburg, and west of Lübeck. It is famous for its annual ...

, Germany

References

;Notes

External links

Town of Riihimäki
– Official website
Hyrinet – Hyvinkää–Riihimäki area portal

Finnish Glass Museum - Riihimäki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riihimaki Cities and towns in Finland Municipalities of Kanta-Häme Populated places established in 1922 1922 establishments in Finland