Häme

Häme (Swedish: Tavastland, Latin: Tavastia) is the name of a geographical region in Finland, associated with the Tavastians, or Häme people (hämäläiset), a subgroup of the Finnish people. The precise area referred to can vary depending on the context.

Contemporary contexts

 * Häme, an often vaguely defined area in Southern Finland associated with the Tavastians; the most prominent regions of contemporary Häme are:
 * Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme)
 * Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme)
 * Pirkanmaa, (historically, most of this area belonged to Satakunta, but today it is strongly associated with Häme)
 * Central Finland (historically, most of this area unambiguously belonged to Tavastia, or Häme, but today the association is weaker)
 * Place names including the element Häme in its genitive form Hämeen:
 * Hämeenkatu, the main street of Tampere; streets bearing the same name can be found elsewhere in Finland as well
 * Hämeenkyrö, a municipality in Pirkanmaa
 * Hämeenlinna, the administrative centre of Tavastia Proper
 * Hämeen linna, or Häme Castle, a medieval castle in Hämeenlinna, after which the city has been named
 * Hämeentie, the longest street in Helsinki; streets bearing the same name can be found elsewhere in Finland as well

Historical contexts

 * Tavastia (historical province) (Häme), a historical province within the Swedish realm from around the 13th century until 1809 and later one of the historical provinces of Finland
 * County of Nyland and Tavastehus (Uudenmaan ja Hämeen lääni), 1634–1809, roughly a combination of the historical provinces of Tavastia and Uusimaa
 * Governorate of Nyland-Tavastehus (Uudenmaan ja Hämeen lääni), 1809–1831, the continuation of the preceding administrative entity within the Grand Duchy of Finland
 * Governorate of Tavastehus (Hämeen lääni), 1831–1917, split off again from the Governorate of Nyland-Tavastehus
 * Häme Province (Hämeen lääni), 1917–1997, the continuation of the preceding administrative entity within the independent Finland
 * the provinces of Finland into which the regions of the Häme Province were merged in 1997:
 * Southern Finland (1997–2009)
 * Western Finland (1997–2009)