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Concept
Tavastia (historical province)
Summary
Tavastia (Tafæistaland; Tavastland; Häme; Old Russian Ямь or Емь) is a historical province in the south of Finland. It borders Finland Proper, Satakunta, Ostrobothnia, Savonia and Uusimaa.
From 1997 to 2010 Tavastia was divided between the administrative provinces of Southern Finland and Western Finland. However, these provinces have been abolished, and Tavastia is now divided among five regions of Finland: mainly Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia and Central Finland with smaller parts in Pirkanmaa and Kymenlaakso. Tavastia is the Latin name for the Tavastia Proper. Today the area is called Häme region and it is located in the southwestern section of the historical Tavastia province.
The prehistoric era of Tavastia can be said to end with the Second Swedish Crusade in 1239 or 1249, when it became part of Sweden. The construction of the Häme castle began in the 1260s, on the orders of Birger Jarl. It was to be the centre of the three "castle counties", the other two being the castle of Turku (Åbo) in Finland Proper and Viipuri (Viborg) castle in Karelia. After the peace Treaty of Nöteborg in 1323 the castle lost some of its importance as a defence against the East but remained an administrative centre. When Finland was ceded to Russia in September 1809, the province ceased to be a part of Sweden. The provinces have no administrative function today but live on as a historical legacy in both Finland and Sweden.
The province has been inhabited since the Stone Age. Northern Tavastia was for a long time a wilderness inhabited by Sami hunter-gatherers and frequented also by Finnish hunters. Only during the late Middle Ages was agriculture slowly introduced to the northern parts of the province. In the 19th century, the growth of the forest industry started to bring new wealth to the area. The waterways of Näsijärvi and Vanajavesi provided easy transport for timber. The most notable centres of the paper industry were, and still are, Mänttä and Valkeakoski.
Official source
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Related concepts (7)
Hämeenlinna
Hämeenlinna (ˈhæmeːnˌlinːɑ; Tavastehus; Hämienlinna; Tavastum or Croneburgum) is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of Finland. Hämeenlinna is the oldest inland city of Finland and was one of the most important Finnish cities until the 19th century. It remains an important regional center. The medieval Häme Castle (also Tavastia Castle; Hämeen linna) is located in the city.
Finnish language
Finnish (endonym: suomi ˈsuo̯mi or suomen kieli ˈsuo̯meŋ ˈkie̯li) is a Uralic language of the Finnic branch, spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. Finnish is one of the two official languages of Finland (the other being Swedish). In Sweden, both Finnish and Meänkieli (which has significant mutual intelligibility with Finnish) are official minority languages. The Kven language, which like Meänkieli is mutually intelligible with Finnish, is spoken in the Norwegian county Troms og Finnmark by a minority group of Finnish descent.
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridgetunnel across the Öresund. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic country, the third-largest country in the European Union, and the fifth-largest country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Stockholm. Sweden has a total population of 10.