Lohja

Lohja

Lohja
LohjaLojo
—  Town  —
Lohjan kaupunkiLojo stad
Laurinkatu street in central Lohja

Coat of arms
Location of Lohja in Finland
Coordinates: 60°15′N 024°04′E / 60.25°N 24.067°E / 60.25; 24.067Coordinates: 60°15′N 024°04′E / 60.25°N 24.067°E / 60.25; 24.067
Country Finland
Region Uusimaa
Sub-region Helsinki sub-region
Charter 1926
City rights 1969
Government
 - Town manager Simo Juva
Area(2011-01-01)
 - Total 441.19 km2 (170.3 sq mi)
 - Land 349.41 km2 (134.9 sq mi)
 - Water 91.78 km2 (35.4 sq mi)
Area rank 242nd largest in Finland
Population (2011-01-31)
 - Total 39,721
 - Rank 25th largest in Finland
 - Density 113.68/km2 (294.4/sq mi)
Population by native language
 - Finnish 93.6% (official)
 - Swedish 4% (official)
 - Others 2.4%
Population by age
 - 0 to 14 18.7%
 - 15 to 64 66.4%
 - 65 or older 14.9%
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 - Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Municipal tax rate 19.5%
Urbanisation 89.7%
Unemployment rate 8.4%
Website www.lohja.fi

Lohja (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈlohjɑ]; Swedish: Lojo), is a town and municipality of Finland.

It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Uusimaa region. The town has a population of 39,721 (31 January 2011) and covers an area of 441.19 square kilometres (170.34 sq mi) of which 91.78 km2 (35.44 sq mi) is water. The population density is 113.68 inhabitants per square kilometre (294.4 /sq mi). The municipality is bilingual, although it is not required by the law, with majority being Finnish and minority Swedish speakers.

Doom Metal band Reverend Bizarre is from this town.

Lohja has been a focal point for the population and economy of Western Uusimaa since the early 14th century. Lohja was renowned as a trading centre already in the Middle Ages. The local inhabitants were among the pioneers of the Finnish mining and construction material industries. By Finnish standards, Lohja has long-established traditions in horticulture and especially in market gardening. These traditions are represented by the symbols of present-day Lohja: limestone and an apple.

Lohja is advantageously located near the Helsinki Metropolitan Area and it benefits from a good road network. It takes less than an hour to drive from Helsinki to Lohja.

The landscape of Lohja is characterized by manors and gardens. The Lohja area is divided by the ridge Lohja, which forms a watershed for the largest lake system of Southern Finland, Lohjanjärvi. Though the centre of the downtown area is marked by the St. Lawrence church, dating from the Middle Ages, the rest of the central area is marked by a hetrogenous mix of buildings mostly dating from the 1960s onwards. The new Lohja Library, opened in 2005, is a distinctly modern building placed in the very centre of the town.

The municipality of Lohjan kunta was consolidated with Lohja in 1997. The municipality of Sammatti was consolidated with Lohja in 2009. The municipality of Karjalohja will be consolidated with Lohja in 2013.

Contents

Politics

Results of the Finnish parliamentary election, 2011 in Lohja:

  • Social Democratic Party 24.9%
  • True Finns 23.9%
  • National Coalition Party 21.4%
  • Left Alliance 8.7%
  • Centre Party 7.0%
  • Green League 6.7%
  • Christian Democrats 3.2%
  • Swedish People's Party 3.0%

Culture

Lohja is a town famed for its cultural events. More than a hundred different events are arranged in the town each year by its residents and organizations. 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.

Sights

One unique experience is the Tytyri limestone mine, which has a museum 100 meters below the surface of the earth. This attraction and exhibitions can be reached using either an old mine wagon or a modern lift. Other places worth visiting are:

  • Lohja museum area
  • The surroundings of Lake Lohja
  • The Gothic Church of St. Lawrence which dates from the 15th century
  • Kisakallio Sport college
  • Floating Restaurant-Café Kaljaasi
  • Alitalo vineyard
  • St. Lawrence Golf and the recreation bath Neidonkeidas

Gallery

All text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. (See Terms of Use for details.)