Finland, Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland. It is in the southern part of Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, by the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is 568,146 (31 October 2007), making it the most populous municipality in Finland by a wide margin.

Helsinki is Finland's administrative center and the center of Finnish cultural life and business activity. There is a large and varied collection of museums, galleries, and performance spaces in the city.Helsinki, along with the neighbouring cities of Vantaa, Espoo, and Kauniainen, constitutes what is known as the capital region, with over 1,000,000 inhabitants. The Greater Helsinki area contains several additional municipalities and has a population of 1,293,262.

History

Founded in 1550 as a rival to the Hanseatic city of Reval (today: Tallinn) by King Gustav I of Sweden, the town of Helsinki struggled in its infancy. The fledgling settlement was plagued by poverty, wars, and diseases. For a long time it remained a small coastal town, overshadowed by the more thriving trade centers in the Baltic region.

Economy

The Helsinki metropolitan area generates approximately one third of the Finnish GDP. GDP per capita is roughly 1.5 times the national average, making Helsinki one of the wealthiest capitals in Europe. In 2004, the local economy grew by 3.2%.

Since the 1950s, the economy has become largely service-based, although industries such as shipbuilding continue to employ a substantial number of people.

Demographics

The population of Helsinki is 568,146. Finnish is the predominant language of the city, but there is a sizable Swedish speaking minority as well.The city has Finland's largest immigrant population in both absolute and relative terms. There are people from over 130 nationalities resident in Helsinki.

Society

Helsinki is also known for being unique in the way that for a city its size there is no part of the town that could be deemed as "slum", or explicitly inhabited by the poor. However, there is a growing social inequality in the city and experts have recently warned about the dangers of increasing social problems, especially in certain eastern parts of Helsinki.

Geography

Helsinki spreads around a number of bays and peninsulas and over a number of islands. The inner city area occupies a southern peninsula, which is rarely referred to by its actual name Vironniemi.

Some notable islands in Helsinki include Seurasaari, Lauttasaari and Korkeasaari – which is also the country's biggest zoo – as well as the fortress island of Suomenlinna (Sveaborg) and the military island of Santahamina.

Culture

The biggest historical museum in Helsinki is the National Museum of Finland, which displays a vast historical collection from prehistoric times to the 21st century. The museum building itself, a national romantic style neo-medieval castle, is a tourist attraction. Other major historical museum is the Helsinki City Museum, which introduces visitors to Helsinki's 500 year history.

Helsinki has three major theatres: The Finnish National Theatre, the Helsinki City Theatre, and the Finland Swedish Svenska Teatern. The city's main musical venues are the Finnish National Opera and the Finlandia concert-hall.

Helsinki is also known for its active ICT and digital culture scene in Greater Helsinki.

Helsinki is considered as one of the main hubs of popular music in Northern Europe, many widely renowned and acclaimed bands have originated in Helsinki, including Norther, Ensiferum, HIM, The Rasmus, The 69 Eyes, Hanoi Rocks, Apocalyptica and Stratovarius.

Sports

Helsinki has a long tradition of sports, the city gained much of its initial international recognition during the 1952 Summer Olympics, and the city has since then been very open to arranging sporting events.

The strong culture of ice hockey has led to Helsinki becoming the birthplace of many legendary National Hockey League stars such as Teemu Selänne, Jarkko Ruutu, Jari Kurri and Esa Tikkanen. Helsinki also houses HJK, Finland's largest and most successful football club.

Tourism

Helsinki is relatively small and intimate but lively and bustling. The nearby islands are its summer delights.Because Helsinki is located on the coast of the Baltic Sea and has many kilometres of coastline, most of its central districts are near the seaside. Helsinki is a very maritime city and is popularly called the daughter of the Baltic.

Transporation
Air
Air travel to Helsinki is via the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, situated in the neighbouring town of Vantaa, a town part of Greater Helsinki.

Public transport
Public transportation is generally a hotly debated subject in the local politics of Helsinki. The sparse population of the city has made it one of the most car-dependent major cities in Europe, which is something the growing city might see as a major problem and constraint in the future.
Railway
Today, Helsinki is the only city in Finland to have trams or subway trains. There used to be two other cities in Finland with trams: Turku and Viipuri (Vyborg) (which is now in Russia), but both have since abandoned trams.