Nastola is a former municipality of Finland. It was merged with the city of Lahti on 1 January 2016. In the province of Southern Finland, Nastola is part of the Päijät-Häme region. The municipality had a population of (30 June 2015) and covered an area of of which was water. The population density was . Nastola is located between two major cities: Lahti and Kouvola. Kausala, the administrative center of Iitti, is away from Nastola in the direction of Kouvola. The municipality was unilingually Finnish. History Ornamental items, presumed to date back to the 1200s, have been found in the village of Ruuhijärvi. Although the items are of Karelian design, scholars agree that they are not necessarily indicative of Karelian settlement in Nastola. Additionally, English, German and Scandinavian coins have been found in Immilä. Etymologic research indicates that the earliest settlers in Nastola originated from contemporary Asikkala and Hollola, in addition to the surroundings of lake Vanajavesi; indeed, Ruuhijärvi, then covering most of what is now known as Nastola, became one of the quarters of the administrative parish of Asikkala in the 1500s. The name of Nastola may be of Karelian origin, referring to a Karelian male name Nasto (folk form of Anastasios). The first administrative center over the area was Uusikylä (), which was also the name of an administrative unit within the Hollola and later the Asikkala parish in the 15th century. The first church in the area was built in the village of Nastola (first mentioned in 1478), which gave its name to the chapel community and the later parish. Nastola became an independent parish in 1860. Nastola was consolidated with Lahti in 2016. Geography Nastola is wedged between the first and second Salpausselkäs, the former of which is a prominent feature in the terrain and landscape of the southern part of the municipality. In the west, it splits in two distinct ridges around the village of Villähde, and reaches it highest point in the parish village at above sea level. Moving further east towards Iitti, the ridge becomes narrower and its ridgelines steepen in the surroundings of Uusikylä. The area between the Salpausselkäs is characterized by its eskers and valleys. The esker of Vahteristonmäki, reaching past lake Kymijärvi further north into Heinola, peaks at above sea level in Nastola. Till is the dominant type of soil in central and northern Nastola, with clay deposits mostly being