About Helsinki
Information on this page comes courtesy of Wikipedia.
Co-Ordinates: Approx. 60N, 24E
Location: Southern Finland
Region: Uusimaa
Founded: 1550
Capital Since: 1812
Current Mayor: Jussi Pajunen
Area: 187.1 square km / 72.2 square miles
Area Population: Approx. 1.3 million
Time Zone: EET (UTC+2)
Official Languages: Finnish, Swedish
History
Helsinki was founded as Helsingfors by the Swedish King Gustav I to rival the Estonian city of Tallinn. It did not make an immediate impact on the region and suffered from disease, war and poverty until Finland was captured from Sweden by Russia in 1809 and given its autonomy.
The Russian Czar Alexander I moved Finland's capital from Turku to Helsinki for strategic reasons, Helsinki being further away from Sweden; the country's only university was also moved from Turku to Helsinki. Thus began the city's transformation, both in terms of architecture - large portions of the city were rebuilt to resemble St. Petersburg's neoclassical style; this can still be seen today - and industrialisation.
Helsinki was captured by the Bolshevik-supported Red Guard during the Finnish Civil War in 1918, but was recaptured by the German-aided White Guard a few months later. The nearby Suomenlinna fortress served as a prison for many Red soldiers. The city suffered little damage in the war and continued to thrive and develop. During World War II, Helsinki was bombed by the Soviets but was relatively unscathed due to effective air defences.
Due to Helsinki's sparse population density, the industrialisation of the 1970s came late compared to other European cities. Helsinki remains a very sparsely-populated capital city, second only to Brussels.
Geography
Helsinki is located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, by the Baltic Sea. It covers several bays, peninsulas and islands, including Korkeasaari - the location of Finland's largest zoo - and the fortress island of Suomenlinna.
The climate is classed as temperate continental. The city experiences fairly mild winters due to the proximity of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf Stream. However, winter days tend to be very short, dark and cloudy. Summer days, on the other hand, are longer than average. The average Jan-Feb temperature is -6; the average Jun-Aug temperature is 18-25.
Economy
The Helsinki metropolitan area generates a third of the country's GDP. Within the city, the GDP per capita is 1.5 times the national average, making Helsinki one of the wealthiest capitals in Europe. The economy is mainly service-based, along with some lingering manufacturing industries such as ship-building. The metropolitan area houses the headquarters of many national and international companies.
Rotation
Disclaimers
This site is XHTML 1.0 Transitional and should work in all browsers. No copyright infringement is intended.