Lohja

Lohja
LohjaLojo
City
Lohjan kaupunki
Lojo stad
Coat of arms of Lohja
Motto: 
JärvikaupunkiInsjöstaden
Location of Lohja in Finland
Location of Lohja in Finland
Coordinates: 60°15′N 024°04′E / 60.250°N 24.067°E / 60.250; 24.067
Country Finland
RegionUusimaa
Sub-regionHelsinki sub-region (formerly Lohja sub-region)
Charter1926
City rights1969
Government
 • City managerPasi Perämäki
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total1,109.73 km2 (428.47 sq mi)
 • Land940.16 km2 (363.00 sq mi)
 • Water91.78 km2 (35.44 sq mi)
 • Rank82nd largest in Finland
Population
 (2024-08-31)[2]
 • Total45,706
 • Rank25th largest in Finland
 • Density48.62/km2 (125.9/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Finnish90.1% (official)
 • Swedish3.5% (official)
 • Others6.4%
Population by age
 • 0 to 1415.8%
 • 15 to 6459.5%
 • 65 or older24.7%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
ClimateDfb
Websitewww.lohja.fi

Lohja (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈlohjɑ]; Swedish: Lojo) is a town in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Lohja is situated in the western part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Lohja is approximately 46,000. It is the 25th most populous municipality in Finland. Lohja is part of the Helsinki sub-region, but not directly part of the Helsinki metropolitan area.

Lohja covers an area of 1,109.73 square kilometres (428.47 sq mi) of which 91.78 km2 (35.44 sq mi), or 8.3 percent, is water.[1] The population density of Lohja is 48.62 inhabitants per square kilometre (125.9/sq mi).

Lohja has the fourth most summer cottages of any municipality in Finland, with 8,468 in the city as of June 2018.[6] Lohja is close to the Helsinki metropolitan area and benefits from a good road network. It takes less than an hour to drive from Helsinki to Lohja on the E18 motorway, which, along with Hangonväylä, is one of Lohja's main road connections.

Lohja is a bilingual municipality with Finnish and Swedish as its official languages. The population consists of 90% Finnish speakers, 3% Swedish speakers, and 6% speakers of other languages. City's bilingual slogan is: JärvikaupunkiInsjöstaden which translates to "Lake city".[7]

The landscape of Lohja is characterized by manors and gardens. Its area is divided by the Lohja ridge, which forms a watershed for the largest lake system in Uusimaa, Lake Lohja (Lohjanjärvi); mostly that's why Lohja is also referred to as "Lake City" (järvikaupunki).[8] The medieval Church of St. Lawrence is the architectural highlight of downtown Lohja, which also includes a heterogeneous mix of buildings mostly dating from the 1960s onwards. The Lohja library, which was opened in 2005, is a distinctly modern building placed in the very centre of the city.[citation needed]

Lohja has been a focal point for the population and economy of western Uusimaa since the early 14th century. It was renowned as a trading centre in the Middle Ages.[citation needed] The local inhabitants were among the pioneers of the Finnish mining and construction material industries. 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.[citation needed]

  1. ^ a b "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Finland's preliminary population figure was 5,625,011 at the end of August 2024". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 24 September 2024. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Population growth biggest in nearly 70 years". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 26 April 2024. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Kuopio on mökkipaikkakuntien ykkönen, mutta yhdessä Suomen kunnassa ei mökkeile kukaan – Hakukone kertoo, miten oman mökkikuntasi suosio on kehittynyt". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 23 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Lohjan Kaupunki". Lohja (in Finnish). Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  8. ^ Järvikaupunki Lohja yhdistää kaupunkielämän ja maaseudun rauhan (in Finnish)