Every design for Hämeenlinna

On the shore of Lake Vanajavesi, Hämeen linna has watched over the water since the Middle Ages, when Birger Jarl ordered a castle to secure Swedish rule in central Finland. A village grew up around it to serve the garrison, and in time that village became Hämeenlinna, the first inland town in Finland to receive a charter.

Hämeen linna still gives the city its name, its coat of arms and its sense of place. The former garrison of Linnan kasarmit stands where the old town once was, before Gustav III moved the whole town a kilometre south onto the hill where it still stands. Nearby lie the hillforts of Aulanko and Hakoinen, and the ski jump of Ahveniston hyppyrimäki is a landmark of its own. In town, Sibeliuksen syntymäkoti marks the birthplace of Jean Sibelius, and Vankila, the old prison, has become a museum.

The lake, the castle and the hill the town moved to: on the map they sit as close together as they did on every childhood walk.