Kanta-Häme (; ), sometimes referred to as Tavastia Proper, is a region (, ) of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Pirkanmaa, Päijät-Häme, and Uusimaa. Before the official adoption of the name Kanta-Häme in 1998, the region was commonly known as Häme.

Hämeenlinna is the largest urban area in the region. There are two other municipalities that have township status: Riihimäki and Forssa.

Historical provinces

thumb|left|The [[Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) is a regional animal of Kanta-Häme.]]

Heraldry

Kanta-Häme uses the arms of the old historical province Tavastia.

Geography

The landscape of Kanta-Häme has many of the characteristics of Finnish Lakeland. The province belongs almost entirely to the Kokemäenjoki water basin. The largest lake is Lake Vanajavesi, which receives water from Lammi, Hausjärvi, Loppi and Janakkala from the southeast. The north-eastern part of the province belongs to the so-called Hauho route, whose waters flow into Vanajavesi through Pälkäne and Valkeakoski. In addition to Lake Vanajavesi, the largest lakes in this region are Lake Kuohijärvi, Lake Pyhäjärvi, Lake Iso Roinevesi, Lake Hauhonselkä, Lake Ilmoilanselkä and Lake Lehijärvi in Hattula. In the southwestern part of the province, Lake Loimijoki rises in the Tammela and Forssa areas and flows through Loima and Huittisten into Kokemäenjoki. The largest lake in the southwestern part of Häme is Lake Pyhäjärvi in Tammela, where the Loimijoki originates. In Riihimäki and the southern part of Lope, the headwaters of River Vantaanjoki flow south into the Gulf of Finland.

Torronsuo and Liesjärvi National Parks are located in Kanta-Häme, both in the southwest of the province in Tammela.

Culture

Kanta-Häme region is well known for the preserved tradition of brewing sahti.

Municipalities

The region of Kanta-Häme consists of three sub-regions and 11 municipalities, three of which have city status (marked in bold).

Municipalities on the map

Sub-regions

Forssa sub-region

  • 15px|link=Forssa Forssa
  • 15px|link=Humppila Humppila
  • 15px|link=Jokioinen Jokioinen (Jockis)
  • 15px|link=Tammela, Finland Tammela
  • 15px|link=Ypäjä Ypäjä

Hämeenlinna sub-region

  • 15px|link=Hattula Hattula
  • 15px|link=Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (Tavastehus)
  • 15px|link=Janakkala Janakkala

Riihimäki sub-region

  • 15px|link=Hausjärvi Hausjärvi
  • 15px|link=Loppi Loppi
  • 15px|link=Riihimäki Riihimäki

Municipalities listed

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 90%; text-align: right; line-height: normal;"

|-

! class="unsortable" |Coat of<br/>arms

! Municipality

! Population

! Land area<br/>(km<sup>2</sup>)

! Density<br/>(/km<sup>2</sup>)

! Finnish<br/>speakers

! Swedish<br/>speakers

! Other<br/>speakers

|-

|50px|border|Coat of arms of Forssa|| Forssa || || ||

|| &nbsp;% || &nbsp;% || &nbsp;%

|-

|50px|border|Coat of arms of Hattula|| Hattula || || ||

|| &nbsp;% || &nbsp;% || &nbsp;%

|-

|50px|border|Coat of arms of Hausjärvi|| Hausjärvi || || ||

|| &nbsp;% || &nbsp;% || &nbsp;%

|-

|50px|border|Coat of arms of Humppila|| Humppila || || ||

|| &nbsp;% || &nbsp;% || &nbsp;%

|-

|50px|border|Coat of arms of Hämeenlinna|| Hämeenlinna || || ||

|| &nbsp;% || &nbsp;% || &nbsp;%

|-

|50px|border|Coat of arms of Janakkala|| Janakkala || || ||

|| &nbsp;% || &nbsp;% || &nbsp;%

|-

|50px|border|Coat of arms of Jokioinen|| Jokioinen || || ||

|| &nbsp;% || &nbsp;% || &nbsp;%

|-

|50px|border|Coat of arms of Loppi|| Loppi || || ||

|| &nbsp;% || &nbsp;% || &nbsp;%

|-

|50px|border|Coat of arms of Riihimäki|| Riihimäki || || ||

|| &nbsp;% || &nbsp;% || &nbsp;%

|-

|50px|border|Coat of arms of Tammela|| Tammela || || ||

|| &nbsp;% || &nbsp;% || &nbsp;%

|-

|50px|border|Coat of arms of Ypäjä|| Ypäjä || || ||

|| &nbsp;% || &nbsp;% || &nbsp;%

|-

!!!+ style=text-align:right | Total !!+ style=text-align:right | !!+ style=text-align:right | !!+ style=text-align:right |

!!+ style=text-align:right | &nbsp;%

!!+ style=text-align:right | &nbsp;%

!!+ style=text-align:right | &nbsp;%

|}

Demographics

Politics

For parliamentary elections, Kanta-Häme, together with the region of Päijät-Häme, is part of the Häme constituency. As of 2023, the constituency elects 14 of the 200 members of the Parliament of Finland.

References

  • Official Kanta-Häme region website
  • Visit Häme website of the region (In English)