Tavastia

Tavastia may refer to:

Hämeenmaa may refer to:

See also

Tavastia (historical province)

Tavastia (Swedish: Tavastland; Finnish: Häme; Russian: Yam or Yemi) is a historical province in the south of Finland. It borders Finland Proper, Satakunta, Ostrobothnia, Savonia and Uusimaa.

Administration

From 1997 to 2010 Tavastia was divided between the administrative provinces of Southern Finland and Western Finland. However, these provinces have been abolished, and Tavastia is now divided between five regions of Finland: mainly Tavastia Proper, Päijänne Tavastia and Central Finland with smaller parts in Pirkanmaa and Kymenlaakso.

History

The prehistoric era of Tavastia can be said to end with the Second Swedish Crusade in 1239 or 1249, when it became part of Sweden. The construction of the Häme castle began in the 1260s, on the orders of Birger Jarl. It was to be the centre of the three "castle counties", the other two being the castle of Turku (Swedish: Åbo) in Finland Proper and Viipuri (Swedish: Viborg) castle in Karelia. After the peace Treaty of Nöteborg in 1323 the castle lost some of its importance as a defence against the East but remained an administrative centre. When Finland was ceded to Russia in 1809, the province ceased to be a part of Sweden. The provinces have no administrative function today but live on as a historical legacy in both Finland and Sweden.

Tavastia (electoral district)

Tavastia (formerly Tavastia South) is an electoral district represented in the Finnish Eduskunta (parliament). It covers the administrative regions of Tavastia Proper and Päijänne Tavastia, with a combined population of about 364,000 (as of 2002). Tavastia currently elects 14 members of the Eduskunta.

The constituency is largely urban, centred on the cities of Hämeenlinna and Lahti. The largest party in the 2011 election was the Social Democratic Party of Finland.

Current members of parliament 2011–

In official statistics of Finland the parliamentary elections are always compared with both the previous parliamentary elections and municipal elections. The municipal elections will be held in 2012. In Tavastia electoral district Tavastia Proper wins more parliamentary seats than Päijänne Tavastia as 1/4 of the votes for the candidates from Tavastia Proper is achieved from Päijänne Tavastia. As for the Centre Party this has been due to the expertise of the agricultural policies affecting the agrarian surroundings of the city of Lahti and as for the Social Democratic Party of Finland hard campaigning in Lahti and on its surroundings from Tavastia Proper. Both of the regions compete with each other's in the front of the state.