| Lohja | |
| Official Name: | Finnish: Lohjan kaupunki Swedish: Lojo stad |
| Native Name: | Finnish: Lohja – Swedish: Lojo |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Coordinates: | 60.25°N 28°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Finland |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Uusimaa |
| Subdivision Type2: | Sub-region |
| Subdivision Name2: | Helsinki sub-region (formerly Lohja sub-region) |
| Leader Title: | City manager |
| Leader Name: | Pasi Perämäki |
| Established Title: | Charter |
| Established Date: | 1926 |
| Established Title2: | City rights |
| Established Date2: | 1969 |
| Demographics1 Info2: | (official) |
| Blank3 Name: | Climate |
| Blank3 Info: | Dfb |
| Timezone: | EET |
| Utc Offset: | +02:00 |
| Timezone Dst: | EEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +03:00 |
| Motto: | Finnish: Järvikaupunki – Swedish: Insjöstaden |
Lohja (in Finnish pronounced as /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 . It is the 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 NaNLohja}} of which NaNLohja}}, or 8.3 percent, is water. The population density of Lohja is NaNLohja.
Lohja has the fourth most summer cottages of any municipality in Finland, with 8,468 in the city as of June 2018.[1] 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 Finnish speakers, Swedish speakers, and speakers of other languages. City's bilingual slogan is: Finnish: Järvikaupunki – Swedish: Insjöstaden which translates to "Lake city".[2]
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).[3] 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
Lohja has been a focal point for the population and economy of western Uusimaa since the early 14th century. 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
Pasi Perämäki is the city manager of Lohja. The city manager oversees the city committee.[4] In addition to the city committee, Lohja has a 51-seat municipal council. The parties represented in the council as well as their seat counts are listed below.
| Social Democratic Party | 11 | ||
| National Coalition Party | 10 | ||
| Green League | 7 | ||
| Left Alliance | 6 | ||
| Finns Party | 6 | ||
| Centre Party | 5 | ||
| Meidän Lohja | 3 | ||
| Swedish People's Party | 1 | ||
| Christian Democrats | 1 | ||
| Haloo Lohja | 1 |
| Social Democratic Party | 25,5% | |
| Finns Party | 22,9% | |
| National Coalition Party | 16,5% | |
| Centre Party | 12,9% | |
| Green League | 7,2% | |
| Left Alliance | 5,9% | |
| Swedish People's Party | 3,1% | |
| Christian Democrats | 3,1% | |
| Change 2011 | 1,1% |
The most notable are the Lohja Summer Cultural Festival, the Apple Carnival organized by representatives of business and commerce, the retailers' Hurlumhei Carnival and the Old Time Christmas market continue the tradition of fairs dating back to the Middle Ages.
The Doom Metal band Reverend Bizarre hails from Lohja.
Elias Lönnrot, who wrote the Kalevala, was both born and died in Sammatti,[6] which has been part of Lohja since 2009.[7]
Lohjan Pallo is the football team of the city. Lohja also has an ice hockey team called Lohjan Jääankat.[8]
Kisakallio Sports Institute is located in Lohja.[9] Other important sports venues in the town are Neidonkeidas Indoor Swimming Pool[10] and Lohja Spa Resort in Karjalohja.[11]
The municipality of Lohja was consolidated with the city of Lohja in 1997, and the municipality of Sammatti in 2009. The municipalities of Karjalohja and Nummi-Pusula were consolidated with Lohja in 2013.
| Lohja (municipality) | 1997 | |
| Sammatti | 2009 | |
| Karjalohja | 2013 | |
| Nummi-Pusula | 2013 |
A significant part of the city of Lohja is not yet part of any district, since after the 1997 municipal association with the former rural municipality of Lohja.
The official city districts within the city proper of the municipality of Lohja are:[12] [13] [14]
The villages and hamlets of the municipality of Lohja are:[12] [13]
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland. Lohja is twinned with:[16]
Växjö, Sweden
Ringerike, Norway
Skagaströnd, Iceland
Sátoraljaújhely, Hungary