Riihimäki

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Riihimäki
Town
Riihimäen kaupunki Riihimäki stad
Riihimäki railway station
Coat of arms
Location of Riihimäki in Finland
Coordinates: 60°44′N 024°46′E / 60.733°N 24.767°E / 60.733; 24.767Coordinates: 60°44′N 024°46′E / 60.733°N 24.767°E / 60.733; 24.767
Country	Finland
Region	Tavastia Proper
Sub-region	Riihimäki sub-region
Charter	1922
City rights	1960
Government
• City manager	Sami Sulkko[1]
Area  (2018-01-01)[2]
• Total	125.56 km2 (48.48 sq mi)
• Land	121.02 km2 (46.73 sq mi)
• Water	4.54 km2 (1.75 sq mi)
Area rank	290th largest in Finland
Population  (2021-03-31)[3]
• Total	28,757
• Rank	38th largest in Finland
• Density	237.62/km2 (615.4/sq mi)
Population by native language [4]
• Finnish	97% (official)
• Swedish	0.4%
• Others	2.6%
Population by age [5]
• 0 to 14	15.4%
• 15 to 64	61.8%
• 65 or older	22.8%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Municipal tax rate[6]	20.5%
Website	www.riihimaki.fi

Riihimäki (literally "Drying barn hill") is a town and municipality in the south of Finland, about 69 kilometres (43 mi) north of Helsinki and 109 kilometres (68 miles) southeast of Tampere. An important railway junction is located in Riihimäki, since railway tracks from Riihimäki lead to Helsinki, Tampere and Lahti. Several businesses also operate in Riihimäki. Notably, Würth Oy has its Finnish headquarters and logistics center in Riihimäki. Valio has a major dairy in the Herajoki part of Riihimäki. The famous Sako rifles are also produced in Riihimäki. Riihimäki also has the second-highest flagpole in Finland.

Travel Centre

The town is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Tavastia Proper region. The town has a population of 28,757 (31 March 2021)^[3] and covers an area of 125.56 square kilometres (48.48 sq mi) of which 4.54 km² (1.75 sq mi) is water.^[2] The population density is 237.62 inhabitants per square kilometre (615.4/sq mi). The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Riihimäki is home to the Riihimäki Prison, which is, alongside Turku Prison, one of the prisons in the country with the highest security rating (A+), and is home to the country's most dangerous prisoners.^[7][8]

History[]

Riihimäki was established around the Riihimäki railway station by the Helsinki–Riihimäki railway, and is one of the original stations on Finland's first railway between Helsinki and Hämeenlinna, which opened in 1862. It became the first railway junction in Finland when the Riihimäki – Saint Petersburg track's first section from Riihimäki to Lahti was opened in 1869. In 1907-1952 a narrow-gauge railway also operated between Riihimäki and Loppi. Today, the quickest way to travel between Riihimäki and Loppi is by car along the national road 54, which runs between Tammela and Hollola.

In 1910, a cavalry regiment was also established in the city.

In 1922, Riihimäki separated from Hausjärvi and became an independent market-town. Riihimäki got its city rights in 1960. It was home to the reputed Riihimäki Glass company that remained in business from 1910 through 1990.

The Finnish Glass Museum with its permanent display created by famous designer Tapio Wirkkala was opened in 1981.

A VR Class Hv1 steam locomotive#554 'Heikki' near Riihimäki Railway Station in Riihimäki

Sports[]

• & (Ice hockey)
• (Figure skating)
• t (Synchronized skating)
• (Basketball)
• Riihimäen Ilves, formerly RIPS (Soccer)
• (Floorball)
• Cocks (Handball)
• , formerly (Finnish baseball)
• (Athletics)
• (Swimming)

Notable individuals[]

Athletes[]

• Aki Seitsonen, ice hockey player
• , football player
• Daniel O'Shaughnessy, football player
• Janne Lahti, SM-Liiga ice hockey player
• Jukka Jalonen, national ice hockey coach and ice hockey player
• Jukka Vanninen, football player
• Jussi Veikkanen, professional road racing cyclist
• Kari Tiainen, motorcycle enduro world champion
• , ice hockey player
• , basketball player
• , ice hockey player
• , ice hockey player
• Patrick O'Shaughnessy, football player
• Pekka Vasala, middle and long-distance runner; Olympic champion (1972) in the 1,500 metres
• Sami Lähteenmäki, SM-Liiga ice hockey player
• Tero Arkiomaa, ice hockey player
• , basketball player

Politicians[]

• Aino-Kaisa Pekonen, Member of Parliament
• , Member of Parliament
• Efraim Kronqvist, politician and Riihimäki Red Guard leader in 1918
• , Member of Parliament
• Iiro Viinanen, politician
• Päivi Räsänen, politician

The arts[]

• Aku Hirviniemi, actor
• , pop singer
• Erkki Junkkarinen, singer
• , visual artist
• Janne Kataja, entertainer
• Jann Wilde, musician and songwriter
• , musician
• Maija Isola, designer
• Nest, musical group
• , actor
• , actor
• Renny Harlin, film director and film producer
• , writer
• , artist
• Sinikka Laine, writer
• Skepticism, music group
• Tommi Hakala, singer
• , music contributor
• Veikko Sinisalo, actor

Other[]

• , industrialist
• , forester, minister and Jäger
• Ragnar Granit, physician who won the 1967 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine
• , journalist

Twin towns – sister cities[]

Riihimäki is twinned with:

• Szolnok, Hungary
• Skedsmo, Norway
• Húsavík, Iceland
• Gus-Khrustalny, Russia
• Karlskoga, Sweden
• Aalborg, Denmark^[9]
• Bad Segeberg, Germany

References[]

Notes

External links[]

Media related to Riihimäki at Wikimedia Commons

• Town of Riihimäki – Official website
• Hyrinet – Hyvinkää–Riihimäki area portal
• Finnish Glass Museum - Riihimäki