Lahti is a beautiful city in the Päijänne Tavastia region,located on the shores of the picturesque Lake Vesijärvi,it is a famous destination for the beautiful landscapes which offers,with huge forests,a myriad of charming small lakes and uncontaminated beautiful forests in fairytale scenario.
With its 102,000 inhabitants,Lahti is the seventh largest city in Finland,originally in the region of Häme it is located in a verdant valley and an important place of transit thanks to the development of the Finnish railway system linking Helsinki to the beautiful Russian city of St Petersburg.The city grew rapidly after the 2nd World War when several people evacuated from the occupied Karelia mostly from Vyborg moved in large numbers to Lahti. The city continued to grow rapidly during the 60s and 70s.
Lahti is very busy in winter season for its important winter sport tradition and in particular Nordic Ski Lathi is a temple of ski country where champions of this kind of sport wrote important and legendary pages.Lahti became famous in 1978 when the city organised the World Championships of Nordic Ski and eleven years later in 1989 it hosted the event for the second time becoming the iconic and emblematic capital of Nordic ski in Finland and one of the best place in Scandinavia and in the World about this kind of sport.
Thanks to its magnificent Athletes Village and Sport Centre of Asemantausta,the prestige and the excellent structures hosted the World Championship once again in 2001,although the competitions in this Edition 2001 were dominated and won by Swedish and Norwegian athletes,six athletes of the Finland team were banned for doping,among them one legend of Finnish Nordic ski Harri Kirvesniemi,a big scandal and a sad moment for Finnish Sport because those 6 athletes were considered idols in the country.
Winning competition in Lathi in World Cup is an important goal for every athlete in this kind of Sport,it is like a for a cyclist to win the Paris-Roubaix or Liege-Bastogne-Liege or for a Tennis player winning at Wimbledon,Flushing Meadows or Roland Garros.Apart those important international sport events Lathi Since 1923 held the famous Lahti Ski Games where cross country skiing and ski jumping are the highlights.
Lathi is also very famous because two great Finnish architects of International fame worked in the city Eliel Saarinen and Aalvar Aalto.The first built the Lathi Town Hall while Aalvar Aalto a Church.
Originally Lathi was part of the city of Hollola, the city has grown and its development was so fast that it left the former municipality to become an indipendent The city's symbol is a wheel of a train on fire and Lathi has always been an important railway junction during its history while its name "Lahti" means bay.
According to some excavations made in the Lahti region,the current city was inhabited 9000 years ago, making Lahti one of the oldest places in Finland.The name is mentioned for the first time in the 1445 when Lahti was a small village part of Hollola until the Riihimäki-St. Petersburg rail line was opened in 1870 when the village became a relevant transport hub.Lahti received the town rights in 1878 by the Finnish Grand Duke Alexander I of Russia,despite the Lahti wanted full city rights.
Tsar Nicholas I of Russia granted Lahti loaded Rights on 1st March 1905, but due to the unrest in Russia was bid up until March 16th,which is considered the day when Lahti was officially a city.In the year 1918 during the war were captured some Red Guards and many were executed in Hennala barracks area and In 1978, a monument was erected in the park Fellmanin Puisto of those executed.Through the construction of the railway from Helsinki to St Petersburg in 1870 and used as settlement of refugees in the Winter War of 1940 the city grew in the 20th Century rapidly.
The marketplace and the Town Hall which are the centre and core of the city were designed by the famous architect Eli Saarinen and another important highlight Kirkkokatu (The Church of the Cross) is a Lutheran Religious Temple,it is a work by Alvar Aalto dated 1969 but completed in 1979.
In the Lakeside Pikku Vesijärvi in the northwest of the city there is a small artificial lake,which where take place twice daily water games with classical music.Lahti is considered Sports capital of Finland and in the west side of the city there is a comprehensive sports complex,where there are,among other things,the three large hill Salpausselkä ski jumps,the importance that skiing has in this Finnish city is also given by the Ski Museum which is located in the Sports Centre of Lahti.The Ski Museum is located at the foot of the three impressive ski jumps and it displays everything about Nordic Ski,material,skis and historical documents,furthermore it is home of several simulators which allow the visitor who can understand the jump from a hill, a slalom race, cross-country or even shooting in another Nordic sport speciality called biathlon.
Well known for the Lahti Ski Games,a championship celebrated in late February and early March with a marathon and cross-country skiing,Lahti is a paradise for Nordic Ski and many other winter sports, from ski rides bikes, downhill skiing, fishing in snow holes,climb on scooters and chair sled rides and dog sledding.The World Cup event and Salpausselän Kisat Lahti Ski Games naturally increased furthermore the prestige of Lathi as destination to watch those important competitions.The curriculum of the City about events hosted it is really impressive.The city hosted six editions of Nordic World Ski Championships in 1926, 1938, 1958 , 1978, 1989, 2001 and Lathi was also involved as candidate to organise several times the Winter Olympics of 1964, 1968, 1972. In the centre of Lahti you can also visit the Historic Museum, which displays antiques and illustrates the history of the city and the Art museum, which houses works of great value and interest about Finnish,International modern and ancient art.
The city is also an important and among the major cultural centres in Finland in particular hosting concerts and congresses at the imposing Sibeliustalo.That construction has divided the local population in the past, since a large proportion felt that the money could have been better spent in the areas of health and education,where Finland is generally very sensitive.
Designed by the young Finnish architects Hannu Tikka and Kimmo Lintula in 2000,the Sibelius Hall opened and is due to the excellent acoustics as one of the best concert halls in Europe.The building is the seat of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra is one of the major orchestras in Finland and Scandinavia,it focuses on the music by Sibelius and mainly because the charismatic Director OsmoVänskä is an ardent fan of the works of the great Finnish composer, considered as a National Hero.
Lahti is also famous in Finland because it was was until 1993 place of a large radio transmitter for long-wave and short-wave times with an impressive antenna with a high reaching 150 m.Currently that is a place part of a large Museum linked to that devoted to the radio.
Among the most interesting sights of the city, visited and photographed by thousands of people there is a musical fountain built in 1997 in Vesiurut Pikku-Vesijärvi Park next to a large and picturesque pond.The water jets which move to the rhythm of classical music,international or typical Finnish, are framed by light very suggestive.The word Vesiurut in Finnish language means water organs. Every day at 01.00 p.m and 06.00 p.m, at the park is protagonist of a small concert which endures approximately 15 minute.Another relevant place is Family Launeen Perhepuisto Park opened in 1989 and it is a famous tourist destination and highlight of Lathi.It is estimated that over 100,000 people visits the park a year.It is a wonderful green area,ideal place to spend pleasant time in contact with the nature.
The new playground SmartUs moves the idea of the game to new forms of the future, promoting, for example, the combination of sport and learning.The entrance to the grounds of the park is free and to enjoy something different a must is Puksu a ride on the train which takes the visitors around the city showing its most important places.
The Hill of the Statues is one of the few hills surrounding Lahti,only during the summer,as the winter snow overhangs a series of statues designed specifically thinking of the hill and integrating with the forest,the work was made by a local sculptor,undoubtedly a place very enjoyable to watch.
Not far from the city you can visit Rantatie Hollola,a Medieval Grey stoned Church in Hollola,it is completed around 1480 it represents the best middle ages Finnish architecture and famous for the well preserved wooden carvings,some of which are from the 15th century.
Apart Ski,the sports facilities in the city allow the visitors to have fun and enjoying other several activities such as horse riding, fishing and golf. In summer there are many open pools and among the most attractive trips you can do in the surrounding area of the city a highlight is of course the cruise on the lake Vesijari and another one in the Lake Paijame.One of the most practised sport in this corner of Finland is fishing.Paijannetalo and the Museum of Sport fishing is a social-historic exposition of fishing in the lake of the city,the oldest evidence today.The "
The Molkky is a very popular game in Finland where there are many associations and it is played every year with a World Championship in the city and this game is also extended to the north and centre of Europe,USA,Canada and Japan.This kind of sport is a shooter played with cylindrical wooden pieces.It is a modern version of the traditional Finnish bowling also called Kyykkä and it is played individually or in teams, admitting many players.
Lahti is also known as a very important commercial and industrial centre of the region known worldwide for its fine furniture,clothing,electronic items and heavy machinery and nationally for beer,soft drinks,bakery products and many others.The Factory Avonius Asko is an emblematic symbol of Finnish Industry producing furniture in Lahti since 1918.The former town was since many years ago as a place having the best carpenters and furniture factories and the city with other major furniture houses Isku and Sotka.Also the metal industry was represented by Upo which manufactured stoves and Raute which manufactured machinery for the wood processing industry.Also Mallasjuomas Brewery became known as the beer products Lahden Erikoinen and Lahden Sininen.
Finnish gastronomy is very healthy and excellent.Finnish people generally starts with the Aamupala,the Finnish breakfast generally consisting of sweet foods such as yogurt and fruit but also salty foods such as rye bread and the Kinkku,a kind of ham.The Puuro is a kind of porridge with its variants Marjapuuro and Suklaapuuro.Very traditional are the" Marjakiisseli soups of berries and very popular in all the country is also the Maitokiisseli ,boiled milk with flour,sugar and vanilla to make it more dense and aromatic.Finnish food tradition also has multiple types of bread, most of which consist of rye flour such as the Ruisreikäleipä flour or other cereals.As regards the meat,commonly Finns consume predominantly beef. In Finland there are excellent sausages,very similar to hot dogs and as tradition the Finns often let them cook on hot stones wrapped in silver paper and consumed in the sauna.Ither kind of meats very present in Finnish gastronomy are reindeer,pork and moose meat.
Among the traditional Finnish recipes based on fish almost always accompanied by a variety of sauces, there are mainly the Lohi salmon, fresh or smoked,the Silli marinated herring and the Muikku, fried fish from the lake.The Karjalanpiirakka is a rice cake and potatoes and the famous Kalakukko is a fish pie pork crust,while the Rosolli is a mixed salad made with potatoes,carrots and pickles. Among the sweets the traditional Pulla is a sweet loaf sweet with cinnamon or cardamom and granulated sugar,often people eats it accompanied with coffee.
Lahti has a good system of public transport.You can move from one part of the city to another with a single ticket. Kauppatori is the centre of Lahti public transport system,but be aware that many bus lines go in both directions from Kauppatori.You can use interactive route planner to find bus routes.Travelling from Helsinki to Lahti by train takes about 1 hour.The train service is provided by the network VR, the national train company.Trains are also preferred by locals,because they' are fast and comfortable. There are several kind of trains such as the local train called Lähiliikennejuna stopping in different stations,the InterCity-Juna a very comfortable trains,usually with 6 wagons while the famous Allegro is the train travelling from Helsinki to St. Petersburg in Russia and with stop in Lahti.
Lathi is attractive destination to enjoy beautiful landscapes,an uncontaminated area,the territory is hilly with the presence of lakes and rivers,and if you are fond about ski and in particular Nordic ski or visiting Scandinavian countries,Lathi is one of the top place to visit and enjoy those sports.Its proximity to Helsinki is a fantastic option and from the Finnish Capital you can can have thee opportunity to visit Lathi the beautiful capital of Nordic Ski in Finland,a great destination to discover a fantastic corner of a beautiful country
called Finland.
Francesco Mari
uk.linkedin.com/in/francescomaritravel/
Recommended Hotels in Lathi
Hotel Grand Kauppahotelli
Hotel Scandic Lathi
Hotel Sokos Lahden Seurahone
Hotel Cumulus Lathi
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www.scandichotels.fi/Hotels/Suomi/Lahti/Lahti
www.sokoshotels.fi/en/hotels/lahti
www.cumulus.fi
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