Hollola

Sister cities

• Nordkapp Municipality
• Ebeltoft
• Arboga Municipality

History

The banks of Hollola's Lake Päijänne have been inhabited since the Stone Age because of its fish population. During the Viking Age, Hollola developed into an important center, the most densely populated area of which was the Vainio region. Hollola also contains the Kirkailanmäki cemetery. After the Swedish crusade to Hämee and the establishment of the Catholic Church in the area, Päijät-Hämee became a border region of the Swedish Empire. A chain of 13 ancient fortresses has been found in Finland, of which the hill fort Kapatuosia has been the most thoroughly studied. In addition to the ancient fortress of Kapatuosia, the Hankaa and Laitiala Kiiluanmäki fortresses are also found in Hollola. Their actual purpose is not exactly known, but it is suspected that they were part of a defense chain, a fire notification chain or places of escape for the local population. Agriculture-dominant Hollola began to industrialize in the late 1960s when the Salpakakkaa conglomeration was zoned in the village of Ala-Okeroinen along the Tampere-Lahden highway, which became Hollola's new municipal center. In recent decades, Hollola has been the fastest growing municipality in Päijät-Häme in terms of population. In Päijät-Hämee, several municipal merger discussions have been held and related investigations have been carried out. They include the Uusi Kunta project called Vellamo and the unification project of six municipalities: Hollola, Hämeenkoski, Iiti, Kärkölä, Lahti and Nastola. The project was rejected by the Hollola municipal council and the Iiti municipal council. Hämeenkoski was merged with Hollola at the beginning of 2016.

Geography

Tiirismaa, the highest point in southern Finland, is located in Hollola, north of the Salpakangas municipal center. In total, there are 44 lakes, including lakes partially in other municipalities in Hollola, the largest of which are Lake Vesijärvi, Lake Pääjärvi and Lake Kivijärvi. Lake Kiikunlähde is located northwest of Hollola church in the village of Uskila. A portion of the Finnish nature film The Story of the Lake was filmed at Kiikunlähde. Kiikunlähde is potable and serves as a surface water intake for households. Nationally valuable landscape areas include the Kastarin-Hatsinan-Kutajoki landscape area. The traditional landscapes include the Heinlammi rock fields and the Tervala meadow of Huhdanjoki. Hollola's Natura 2000 nature reserves are Kivijärvi, Kotajärvi, Kutajärvi, Pähkinäkukkula, Riihikallio-Pilkanmäki and Tiirismaa.