Hello, hello, Lahti calling

The Chicago of Finland. Business City. The Temptation Island capital.

Nicknames come and go, but the city’s true identity will only be revealed once you know and understand its full story.

People have been drawn to these landscapes since the Stone Age: the oldest settlements in Finland were found in Ristola, in the Renkomäki district of Lahti. Carved out by the Ice Age, the area around the Salpausselkä ridge has always been a good place to live. And hidden deep inside the ridge, there are abundant supplies of groundwater – the world’s best-tasting water.

For centuries, Lahti had few inhabitants.

Life was leisurely in this small Häme village all the way up to the end of the 19th century. But then things started to happen: transport connections improved and opened Lahti up to the world.

The fire of 1877 was a decisive turning point. It could have meant the end, but turned out to be a new beginning. The burnt-out village was replaced with a grid layout, with broad streets and a market square. It created room to move and space for encounters. Lahti became a centre of commerce.

As a result of this change, Lahti was granted city status in 1905. Although Lahti had only three thousand inhabitants, they had an attitude that was greater than the size of their city: as was evidenced by their new town hall, which cost more than twice the city’s annual budget.

Eliel Saarinen’s Town Hall, and later Alvar Aalto’s Church of the Cross and the Mariankatu Ceremonial Avenue, which connects the two, remain the distinguishing features of downtown Lahti to this day.

During the war years, around ten thousand people from Karelia settled in Lahti.

And with them, they brought entrepreneurship, craftsmanship, sport and culture. This lively crowd became part of the city’s shared story and left a lasting impression. Without the cultural heritage of Vyborg, Lahti would not be the city of music, art and sports that it is today.

The post-war years brought an industrial boom to Lahti. It generated vitality and jobs, and produced furniture, clothing, metal and lumber. The city grew so fast that it forgot its most precious asset. Nature. The lake, which had once been teeming with life, became murky and polluted.

Fortunately, Lahti’s brave citizens

decided to solve that problem and cleaned up Lake Vesijärvi. They also realised that development cannot be growth alone – with development comes responsibility. As a result of this insight, Lahti began to accumulate invaluable expertise in environmental technology,

and had the honour of being the 2021 European Green Capital. This was another decisive new beginning in the city’s story. It still has a burning desire for growth, but now that growth is sustainable. As a leading eco-city, Lahti is also setting an example for other European cities.

Determination has already saved us many a time.

Many people still remember the 1990s recession. There were times when uncertainty clouded the city’s entire future.

The Suurmäki ski jump tower, affectionately known as Concrete, is a symbol of residents’ raw courage. Stark perhaps, but reaching lofty heights. The Lahti Ski Games have garnered international attention for more than a hundred years. We have already hosted a record number of Nordic World Ski Championships – and will welcome the world’s best athletes again in 2029.

From our city of radio masts,

our culture has also reached lofty heights. Our creators generate wellbeing and pride for us all, both here at home and in the international arena.

The merger of Lahti and Nastola further strengthened the city. The establishment of LUT University in Lahti brought an even bigger change: an influx of young people, companies and new international connections. Lahti is now a university city that is reaching out to the world.

Lahti no longer measures its development by growth alone. Now, we also gauge it through self-awareness and the ability to make better choices. We know our history, and we know where we’re headed. “Hello, hello, Lahti calling“ is both a precious memory of the past and an inspiring invitation to the Lahti of the future!

The animated video based on Lahti’s city story will premiere at Kino Iiris on Thursday, 30 October. Finnish and English versions will be shown every five minutes between 14:00 and 18:00. Admission is free.