"qbi's Lahti Page" a Lahti Travel Page by qbi

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Lahti is a young city of entrepreneurship. Rapid industrialisation began in the 1870s in the wake of rail connections, the Vääksy waterway and a lake harbour. The medieval church of Hollola bears witness to the long history of a large parish here, but there were settlements in the area at least 9000 years ago, as people took advantage of waterway routes and Salpausselkä ridge.

Nowadays, the location of Lahti is logistically advantageous. 1.5 million people live within 100 km of the city, the Helsinki-St. Petersburg railway passes through the centre and the new motorway link to Helsinki makes Lahti easy to reach.

Lahti is both an environmentally clean city and one of environmental know-how. It is also internationally famous for its winter games and large ski jumps.There is a thriving cultural life too.

The private business sector has always played an important part in the economy of Lahti, with the public sector contributing a remarkably small percentage of jobs in the city. Small and medium-sized enterprises make up the largest percentage of businesses, and 15% of the workforce are entrepreneurs. The recession in the early 1990s had a considerable impact on the traditional industries of Lahti, and even today unemployment remains high.

Lahti has long industrial traditions, particularly in the field of carpentry. In addition, furniture and other wood-related industry and plastics knowhow, environmental technology and design besides successful mechatronic industry are considered as potential future opportunities for the region. Flexible subcontracting is an important resource of the Lahti business sector. An international logistic centre is developing in Lahti due to its good logistic opportunities as a gateway to Russia. Most new jobs are in service sector.

A varied selection of green environments including unpolluted forests and lakes provide good opportunities for tourism. Moreover, congresses and mass events are two developing branches of tourism in Lahti.
(Source: Lahti's homepage www.lahti.fi)