Hameenlinna (FI)

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Hämeenlinna (Swedish: Tavastehus) is a city and municipality in the heart of the historical province of Häme in the south of Finland and is the birthplace of composer Jean Sibelius.Hämeenlinna is the oldest inland city of Finland and was one of the most important Finnish cities until the 19th century. It still remains an important regional center.

There was a settlement called Vanaja by the lake Vanajavesi where the city now stands since the Viking Age. The castle was built in the late 13th century to secure Swedish power in central Finland. A village was established near Häme Castle to provide services and goods to its inhabitants. The village was granted city rights in 1639 and soon after that the King of Sweden moved it south to the hill on which it still stands.

Today, it belongs to the region of Tavastia Proper, and until 2010 it was the residence city for the Governor of the province of Southern Finland. The municipalities of Hauho, Kalvola, Lammi, Renko and Tuulos were consolidated with Hämeenlinna on 1 January 2009.

Finland's first railway line opened between Hämeenlinna and Helsinki in 1862. The current Hämeenlinna railway station (Rautatieasema in Finnish) was built in 1921.