Hämeenlinna was officially founded in the year
1639 by
Finland's
Governor General,
Count Peter Brahe, although the area was a place of trade for several hundred years before
founding.
Today, it is the administrative capital of the country's southern provence, and is the base for the country's Western Command of the armed forces.
Hämeenlinna is a member of the "Cities of Tomorrow" international network of cities, whose goal is to share best practice in local government reform. Hämeenlinna's sister cities in this network are Braintree, Great Britain, Christchurch, New Zealand, Delft, Netherlands, Duisburg, Germany, Farum, Denmark, Hämeenlinna, Finland, Mitaka, Japan, Neuchatel, Switzerland, Phoenix, USA, Quebec, Canada and Tilburg, Netherlands.
ATTRIBUTIONS: City of Hämeenlinna home page; Bertelsmann Foundation.