Lahti, Finland
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Lahti Lahtis |
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| City | ||
| Lahden kaupunki | ||
Skyline of Lahti and official logo
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| Nickname(s): Finland's Chicago, Business City | ||
 Location of Lahti in Finland |
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| Coordinates: 60°59′N 025°39′E / 60.983°N 25.650°ECoordinates: 60°59′N 025°39′E / 60.983°N 25.650°E | ||
| Country |
 Finland
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| Region | Päijänne Tavastia | |
| Sub-region | Lahti sub-region | |
| Charter | 1905-11-01 | |
| Government | ||
| • City manager | Jyrki Myllyvirta | |
| Area (2016-01-01) | ||
| • Total | 459.43 km2 (177.39 sq mi) | |
| • Land | 135.05 km2 (52.14 sq mi) | |
| • Water | 19.53 km2 (7.54 sq mi) | |
| Area rank | 191st largest in Finland | |
| Population (2016-03-31) | ||
| • Total | 118,885 | |
| • Rank | 8th largest in Finland | |
| • Density | 880.3/km2 (2,280/sq mi) | |
| Population by native language | ||
| • Finnish | 95.7% (official) | |
| • Swedish | 0.3% | |
| • Others | 4% | |
| Population by age | ||
| • 0 to 14 | 14.7% | |
| • 15 to 64 | 67.2% | |
| • 65 or older | 18.1% | |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | |
| Municipal tax rate | 19.5% | |
| Website | www.lahti.fi | |
Lahti (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈlɑxti], Swedish: Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland.
Lahti is the capital of the Päijänne Tavastia region. It is situated on a bay at the southern end of lake Vesijärvi about 100 kilometres (60 mi) north-east of the capital Helsinki. In English, the Finnish word Lahti literally means bay. The Lahti region is growing and is one of the main economic hubs of Finland.
The coat of arms of the city depicts a train wheel surrounded by flames.
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 Vyborg.
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 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.
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Wikipedia