Lahti

For other uses, see Lahti (disambiguation).

Lahden kaupunki

City	Lahti (1905)
Administrative Province	Southern Finland
Region	Päijänne Tavastia
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	154,51 km² 134,95 km² 19,56 km²
Population Density	99,355 (31.12.2007) 736/km²

Aleksanterinkatu, the main street of Lahti.

Sibelius Hall in Lahti

Lahti Stadion

Radio masts of now deactive long-wave transmitter

Church of Mukkula

Lahti (Lahtis in Swedish) is a Finnish city of 99,355 inhabitants, bordering the Vesijärvi lake. It became a city in 1905. Originally a part of Hollola, it has since grown considerably larger than its current neighbor. The symbol of the city is a burning train wheel.

Sports

Lahti is best known for its annually held World Cup winter games, the Lahti Ski Games (Salpausselän kisat). Ski jumping events of Lahti Ski Games are part of the Nordic Tournament.

The city endeavours for achievements in sport, which has led to such things as the hosting of a World Games event. As of 2007, it is the only city to host the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships six times, doing so in 1926, 1938, 1958, 1978, 1989, and 2001.

The city also has an Association Football (soccer) club, FC Lahti, and an ice hockey team, the Lahti Pelicans.

August 6th through 16th 2008 Lahti will host the European Lacrosse Championships with at least 12 teams competing.

In July-August 2009, Lahti will host the 18th World Masters Athletics Championships, an outdoor age-group track meet for men and women 35 and over.

Culture

Lahti harbours cultural ambitions, and recent years saw the building of a large congress & concert center, the Sibelius Hall. This has sparked much controversy amongst the population, many of whom feel that the money used for these purposes would be better spent on health care and education.

Lahti has perhaps the best known symphony orchestra in Finland, Lahti Symphony Orchestra (Sinfonia Lahti). It concentrates on Sibelius's music.

Transportation and Communication

Lahti is a significant railroad crossroad and the site of two enormous radio masts, which once were used for the longwave transmitter of the Finnish broadcasting company. Nowadays the former transmitter building holds a museum.

Education

In the educational sector, Lahti is modest, with the notable exception of the renowned Institute of Design, which is a part of Lahti University of Applied Sciences. Lahti is also the home of Helsinki University's department of Environmental and Ecological Sciences (Faculty of Biosciences).

Geography

The terrain is unusually hilly, the city being situated on a Salpausselkä ridge system created in the end of last glacial period.

Status and area

• Town status granted 1.11.1905
• Province: Etelä-Suomi (Southern Finland)
• Region: Päijät-Häme (Lahti Region)
• Administrative status: Regional capital
• Population of municipality: 99,355 (31.12.2007)
• Population of Päijät-Häme region: 200,058 (31.12.2007)

• Area
  • Total surface area 154.5 km²
  • Land surface area 134.9 km²
  • Water area 19.6 km²
  • Area included in town plan 64.3 km²
  • Population density /km² land 736

• Distance by road (km)
  • Helsinki 104
  • Helsinki-Vantaa Airport 99
  • Tampere 126
  • Turku 213
  • Jyväskylä 167
  • Lappeenranta 148
  • Kouvola 62
  • Hämeenlinna 73
  • Oulu 505
  • Saint Petersburg 356

Economic statistics

• Unemployment: 12.2% (2007)
• Principal divisions of economy:
  • Services: 70%
  • Industry: 21%
  • Construction: 7%

Trivia

The asteroid 1498 Lahti was named after the city by its discoverer, the Finnish astronomer Yrjö Väisälä.

Born in Lahti

• Pasi Nurminen, former NHL goaltender
• Ville Könönen, researcher
• Mikko Ilonen, professional golfer
• Toni Lydman, Buffalo Sabres Ice hockey Player
• Aksu Hanttu, Drummer for the band Entwine
• Toni Nieminen, ski jumper
• Ilona Jokinen, soprano opera singer
• Göran Enckelman, football player
• Eija-Riitta Korhola, politician

Sister cities

• Akureyri, Iceland
• Pécs, Hungary
• Västerås, Sweden
• Ålesund, Norway
• Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine
• Randers, Denmark

External links

• Lahti's Official city website
• Lahti Guide - information for visitors to Lahti
• Template:Wikitravel
• Lahti travel

60°59′00″N 25°39′20″E