From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

City of Helsinki Helsingin kaupunki - Helsingfors stad
Coat of arms
Location of Helsinki in Northern Europe
Coordinates: 60°10′15″N 24°56′15″E / 60.17083, 24.9375
Country	Finland
Province	Southern Finland
Region	Uusimaa
Sub-region	Helsinki
Charter	1550
Capital city	1812
Government
- Mayor	Jussi Pajunen
Area
- City	187.1 km² (72.2 sq mi)
- Land	186.4 km² (72 sq mi)
- Water	0.7 km² (0.3 sq mi)
- Urban	765.6 km² (295.6 sq mi)
- Metro	3,822.2 km² (1,475.8 sq mi)
Population (2006)
- City	568,146
- Density	3,010/km² (7,795.9/sq mi)
- Urban	1 021 851
- Urban Density	1,330/km² (3,444.7/sq mi)
- Metro	1 293 262
- Metro Density	339/km² (878/sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Official languages	Finnish, Swedish
Website: www.hel.fi

Helsinki (in Finnish; listen (help·info)), or Helsingfors (in Swedish; listen (help·info)) 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)^[1], 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. Many major company headquarters are in Helsinki.

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.^[1]

The Swedish name Helsingfors is the original name of the city of Helsinki, and is still the official Swedish name for the city. The Finnish name, Helsinki (pronounced with the stress on the first syllable: ['helsiŋki]), has been dominant in other languages for decades. The Swedish name Helsingfors comes from the name of the surrounding parish, Helsinge (source for Finnish Helsinki) and the rapids (in Swedish: fors), which flowed through the original town. It is often thought that the name Helsinge was given by the Swedish immigrants who came from the Swedish province of Hälsingland [1].

In Helsinki slang the town is also called Stadi (from the Swedish word stad, meaning city) and Hesa in colloquial Finnish. Helsset is the North Sami name of Helsinki.

Central Helsinki in 1820 before rebuilding. Drawing by Carl Ludvig Engel.

Main article: History of Helsinki

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. The construction of the Sveaborg (In Finnish Viapori, today also Suomenlinna) naval fortress helped improve its status, but it was not until Russia defeated Sweden in the Finnish War and annexed Finland as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland in 1809 that Helsinki began to develop into a major city.

In order to reduce Swedish influence in Finland, Czar Alexander I of Russia moved the capital from Turku, which had close ties to Sweden, to Helsinki. The Royal Academy of Turku, back then the only university in the country, was relocated to Helsinki in 1827 and eventually became the modern University of Helsinki. The move consolidated the city's new role, and the following decades saw unprecedented growth and development for the city, creating the prerequisites for the birth of the modern world class capital in the 20th century. This transformation is highly apparent in the downtown core, which was rebuilt in neoclassical style to resemble St. Petersburg. As elsewhere, technological advancements such as railroads and industrialization were a key factor behind the growth.

In the 1918 Finnish Civil War, Helsinki fell to the Red Guard on January 28th, the first day of the war. The Red side gained contol of the whole of southern Finland after minor hostilities. The Senate was relocated to Vaasa, although some senators and officials remained in hiding in the capital. After the tide of war turned against the Red forces, German troops fighting on the side of the Finnish White Guard recaptured Helsinki in April 1918. Unlike Tampere, Helsinki suffered relatively little damage in the war. After the White victory many former Red soldiers and collaborators were confined in prison camps across the country. The largest camp, having approximately 13,300 prisoners, was located on the former naval fortress island of Suomenlinna in Helsinki. Although the civil war left a considerable scar on the society, the standard of living in the country and the city began to improve in the following decade. Renowned architects such as Eliel Saarinen created utopistic plans for Helsinki, but they were never realized to full extent.

In the aerial bombings of the Winter War (1939-40) and the Continuation War (1941-44) Helsinki was attacked by Soviet bombers. The most intense air raids took place in the spring of 1944, when over two thousand Soviet planes dropped some 16,000 bombs in and around the city. However, due to successful air defense the city was spared from the large-scale destruction that many other cities in Europe under bombings of similar scale suffered. Only a small number of bombs hit populated areas.

Despite the tumultous first half of the 20th century, Helsinki continued to develop steadily. The rapid urbanization of the 1970s, which occurred relatively late in the European context, tripled the population in the metropolitan area, making the Helsinki metropolitan area one of the fastest growing urban centers in the European Union in the 1990s. The relatively sparse population density of Helsinki and its peculiar structure have often been attributed to the lateness of the urbanisation.

Kamppi Center is a shopping and transportation complex in the Kamppi district in the centre of Helsinki.

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. Large service-based employers include the public sector and the information technology sector.

The metropolitan area is the location of choice for the headquarters of large Finnish companies as well as the regional headquarters of international companies. This is primarily due to good transport infrastructure, both international and national as well as the availability of skilled labour.

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. The largest groups are from Russia, Estonia, Sweden, Somalia, Serbia, China, Iraq and Germany.

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. Successful integration of foreign immigrants into the society, infrastructure development, production of public services and insufficient cooperation between the municipalities of Helsinki conurbation area are seen as major future challenges for the economic development of the region.

Rapidly growing in Finland is the trend (especially of the younger generation) to work for "placement agencies". Although there has been a massive surge of public companies going private in the last ten years, this trend seems to be fueled by the increased demand for more flexible work schedules as well as the freedom to work seasonally or sporadically. Due to the nature of these types of agencies as well as the types of work they provide, it is common for them to hire non-Finns.

Main building of the University of Helsinki.

Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences is the largest business polytechnic in Finland.

Helsinki has 190 comprehensive schools, 41 upper secondary schools and 15 vocational institutes. Half of the 41 upper secondary schools are private or state-owned, the other half municipal. Higher level education is given in eight universities (see the section "Universities" below) and four polytechnics.

Main article: Universities in Finland

• University of Helsinki
• Helsinki University of Technology (located in neighbouring Espoo)
• Helsinki School of Economics
• Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
• Academy of Fine Arts
• Sibelius Academy
• Theatre Academy
• University of Art and Design Helsinki
• National Defence College

• Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia
• Helsinki Polytechnic Arcada
• Helsinki Business Polytechnic (Helia)

Main article: Public transport in Helsinki

The Helsinki Metro with its characteristic brightly orange trains is the world's northernmost subway.

Helsinki Central railway station and nearby Kamppi bus terminal form the main hubs for public transportation in the Greater Helsinki area.

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. Further development of the public transportation system is a general consensus, but according to studies other means to lower the use of private cars are probably also needed in the future.^[2]

Helsinki is also known for its green 1970s trams.

In Helsinki, public transportation is mostly managed under Helsinki City Transport, the city's transportation authority. The diverse public transport system consists of trams, light commuter rail, the subway, bus lines and two ferry lines. The Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council manages traffic to the surrounding municipalities of Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen.

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. The Helsinki Metro, opened in the year 1982, is so far the only subway system in Finland. In 2006, the construction of the long debated extension of the subway system west into Espoo was approved, and serious debate about an eastern extension into Sipoo has taken place.^[3]

Air traffic is handled primarily from the international Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, located approximately 19 kilometres (12 mi) north of Helsinki's downtown area, in the neighbouring city of Vantaa. The airport provides scheduled non-stop flights to many important cities in Europe, Asia and North America. Helsinki's second airport, Malmi Airport, is mainly used for general and private aviation.

Ferry connections to Tallinn and Stockholm are serviced by various companies. Finnlines passenger-freight ferries to Travemünde, Germany are also available, while Tallink began service to Rostock, Germany in 2007. Copterline has provided fast helicopter flights to Tallinn, however they have suspended service indefinitely at this time.

The largest hospitals of Finland are located in Helsinki, for example HYKS and many private hospitals. Also police and fire departments serve citizens.

Main article: Politics of Helsinki

Helsinki has eighty-five members in its city council. The three largest parties are National Coalition (25), Social Democrats (21) and Greens (17).

Suomenlinna has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991.

Main article: Geography of Helsinki

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. Population density in certain parts of Helsinki's inner city area is very high, reaching 16,494 inhabitants per square kilometer (42,719/sq mi) in the district of Kallio, but as a whole Helsinki's population density of 3,050 inhabitants per square kilometer (7,899/sq mi) ranks it as quite sparsely populated in comparison to other European capital cities. Much of Helsinki outside the inner city area consists of postwar suburbs separated from each other by patches of forests. A narrow, ten kilometer (6.2 mi) long Helsinki Central Park that stretches from the inner city to the northern border of Helsinki is an important recreational area for the residents.

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.

The Climate in Helsinki.

The city's climate is humid continental (dfb), meaning the average of the coldest month is no more than −3 °C (27 °F). Summers are usually pleasantly warm, daily maximum temperatures during the summer-months are usually around 18-26 °C (64-79 °F), however, temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F) are uncommon. Helsinki is situated on approximately the same latitude as Anchorage, Alaska, making it the second northernmost capital in the world after Reykjavík, Iceland, hence the very short days in winter. However, average temperatures in Helsinki are clearly higher than those of Anchorage due to favorable sea-currents.

The view across summertime Kaisaniemenlahti.

The Helsinki Cathedral is probably the most prominent building and symbol of the city.

Parliament of Finland on the right, and new supplemental offices on the left.

Carl Ludvig Engel (1778-1840) designed several neo-classical buildings in Helsinki. He was kept in Helsinki by a unique assignment, as he was elected to plan a new city centre all on his own. The city became shallow and wide at the time when most buildings had only two or three floors. The central point of Engel's city plan is the Senate Square, surrounded by the Government's Palace, the main building of the University, and the enormous Cathedral, which was finished in 1852, twelve years after C. L. Engel's death. Engels' neo-classical plan of the city centre has later given Helsinki the epithet The White City Of The North.

Helsinki is, however, perhaps even more famous for its numerous Art Nouveau (Jugend in Finnish) buildings, designed in the early 1900s and strongly influenced by the Kalevala, which is a very popular theme in the national romantic art of that era. Helsinki's Art Nouveau style is also featured in large residential areas such as Katajanokka and Ullanlinna. The master of the Finnish Art Nouveau was Eliel Saarinen (1873-1950), whose architectural masterpiece was the Helsinki central railway station.

Helsinki also features several buildings by the world-renowned Finnish architect Alvar Aalto (1898-1976), attributed as one of the pioneers in functionalism. Many of Aalto's works are either loved or hated. Aalto's buildings, such as the headquarters of the paper company Enso and the concert and congress house Finlandia Hall, have sparked much debate amongst Helsinki's inhabitants.

In addition to Aalto's work, there is a body of other noteworthy functionalist architecture in Helsinki, such as the Olympic Stadium, the Tennis Palace, the Rowing Stadium, the Swimming Stadium, the Velodrome, the Glass Palace, the Exhibition Hall (now Töölö Sports Hall) and Helsinki-Malmi Airport. The sports venues were built to serve the 1940 Helsinki Olympic Games (canceled due to the Second World War), but eventually got to fulfill their purpose in the 1952 Olympic Games. Many of them are listed by DoCoMoMo as significant examples of modern architecture. The Olympic Stadium and Helsinki-Malmi Airport are in addition catalogued by the National Board of Antiquities as cultural-historical environments of national significance.

During the 1960s and 1970s many aesthetically and historically important houses were swiftly demolished to make room for the rapidly expanding city and instead houses presenting more values of functionalism were built. This has later been widely regarded as a bad move and has led to a strong protectionism of old buildings in Helsinki. The plans made during the era of rapid growth expected Helsinki to have well over one million inhabitants at the turn of the millennium. Much due to the strong protectionism of today there are still many areas left with distinctive old wooden houses, such as Käpylä, Kumpula, Toukola and Puu-Vallila.

As a historical footnote, Helsinki's neoclassical buildings were often used as a backdrop for scenes set to take place in the Soviet Union in many Cold War era Hollywood movies. Some of the more notable ones are The Kremlin Letter (1970), Reds (1981) and Gorky Park (1983). Because some of the streetscapes were reminiscent of Leningrad's and Moscow's old buildings, they were used in the production - much to some residents' dismay. At the same time the government secretly briefed its white-collar workers to make producing these, often clearly Soviet-negative, films in Helsinki as hard as possible due to diplomatic pressure from Moscow.^[4]

Kiasma is a contemporary art museum located at the heart of Helsinki.

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. The University of Helsinki also has many significant museums, including the University Museum and the Natural History Museum.

The Finnish National Gallery consists on three museums: Ateneum Art Museum for classical Finnish art, Sinebrychoff Art Museum for classical European art, and Kiasma Art Museum for modern art. The old Ateneum, a neo-renaissance palace from 19th century, is one of the city's major historical buildings, whereas the highly modern Kiasma is probably the most debated building in Helsinki.

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. Bigger concerts and events are usually held at one of the city's two big ice hockey arenas: the Hartwall Areena or the Helsingin Jäähalli. Helsinki has Finland's largest fair centre.

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.

To date Helsinki has had the largest Complaints Choir.

• The Helsinki Festival is an annual arts and culture festival, which takes place every August (including the Night of the Arts).
• Valon Voimat "Forces of Light" is an annual winter arts festival.
• Vappu "Vappu" is an annual carnival for students and workers.

Helsinki hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, the first ever Eurovision Song Contest arranged in Finland.

The Helsinki Olympic Stadium was the center of activities during the 1952 Summer Olympics.

Main article: Sport in Helsinki

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. Helsinki hosts fairly successful local teams in both of the most popular team-sports in Finland, football and ice hockey. The latter being a sport of passion for many Helsinkians, who usually take a stance for either of the local clubs HIFK or Jokerit. The strong culture of ice hockey has led to Helsinki becoming the birthplace of many legendary National Hockey League stars such as Teemu Selänne, Jari Kurri and Esa Tikkanen. Helsinki also houses HJK, Finland's largest and most successful football club.

See also: Tourism in Finland and List of sites in Helsinki

Hietaniemi beach, commonly called Hietsu.

The Temppeliaukio church is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city; half a million people visit it annually.

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.

Helsinki's coastal position makes it ideal to experience in the summertime from one of the many sightseeing ferries leaving from the port of Helsinki. Many of Helsinki's main attractions are also related to the sea, including the Suomenlinna naval fortress (a UNESCO World Heritage site) and the Seurasaari Island with its parks and open-air museum. Locals often spend sunny days at the Hietaniemi beach (often simply called Hietsu), Helsinki's main beach in the district of Töölö.

In the winter-time Helsinki's northern position makes it dark for most of the day, thus making it a cosy town with much interesting lighting, such as the classic Aleksanterinkatu's Christmas street (Joulukatu). During the coldest months of the winter it is very common for Helsinkians to go for walks on the frozen sea, although much caution must be taken. There are also many places for ice swimming along the coast, some with saunas.

Air travel to Helsinki is via the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, situated in the neighbouring town of Vantaa, a town part of Greater Helsinki. Helsinki also has popular cruiseferry links with Stockholm, Sweden and hydrofoil and catamaran links to Tallinn, Estonia. Silja, Viking and Tallink are the biggest ferry operators.

Helsinki is also the home of the Linnanmäki amusement park, which features five rollercoasters and many other rides, including the world's first Intamin ZacSpin rollercoaster, set to open April 2007.

For a more thorough list see the Wikipedia category People from Helsinki.

Helsinki panorama from Hotel Torni, a building notorious for having been used by the Allied(Soviet) Control Commission in Helsinki after WWII. Torni, which means Tower in Finnish, is one of the highest buildings in the Helsinki cityscape.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Helsinki

Kustaanmiekka strait through Suomenlinna Sea Fortress.	Helsinki Olympic Stadium Tower, offers a good view over Helsinki.	Wall of Parliament House	Helsinki Central railway station.
Rooftops of the southern inner city districts.	Finnish National Theatre.	Port of Helsinki and the Helsinki Cathedral.	The Uspenski Orthodox cathedral.
Altar of Temppeliaukio Church that is built underground.	The Esplanadi Park in central Helsinki.	The Senaatintori square on a winter morning.	Stockmann department store along the Aleksanterinkatu's Christmas street.
Helsinki market square covered in snow.	The National Museum of Finland is located in Helsinki.	The Pohjoisranta at night.

• Helsinki Accords
• Subdivisions of Helsinki

1. ^ ^{a b} Finnish Population Registry Center, October 31, 2007 — population by municipalities
2. ^ Cite error 8; No text given.
3. ^ www.lansimetro.fi - an information portal dedicated to the "länsimetro" subway expansion in the Helsinki capital region.
4. ^ Finnish Department of Foreign Affairs, memo 56 (labelled highly confidential in 1982)PDF (1.37 MiB)

	Municipalities of Uusimaa
	Ekenäs | Espoo | Hanko | Helsinki | Hyvinkää | Ingå | Järvenpää | Karis | Karjalohja | Karkkila | Kauniainen | Kerava | Kirkkonummi | Lohja | Mäntsälä | Nummi-Pusula | Nurmijärvi | Pohja | Pornainen | Sammatti | Siuntio | Tuusula | Vantaa | Vihti
	Uusimaa Region | Southern Finland | Finland

v • d • e  Capital cities of the Member States of the European Union
Amsterdam · Athens · Berlin · Bratislava · Brussels · Bucharest · Budapest · Copenhagen  · Dublin · Helsinki · Lisbon · Ljubljana · London · Luxembourg City · Madrid · Nicosia · Paris · Prague · Riga · Rome · Sofia · Stockholm  · Tallinn · Valletta · Vienna · Vilnius · Warsaw

v • d • e European Capitals of Culture

1985 Athens · 1986 Florence · 1987 Amsterdam · 1988 West Berlin · 1989 Paris · 1990 Glasgow · 1991 Dublin · 1992 Madrid · 1993 Antwerp · 1994 Lisbon · 1995 Luxembourg City · 1996 Copenhagen · 1997 Thessaloniki · 1998 Stockholm · 1999 Weimar · 2000 Reykjavík · Bergen · Helsinki · Brussels · Prague · Kraków · Santiago de Compostela · Avignon · Bologna · 2001 Rotterdam · Porto · 2002 Bruges · Salamanca · 2003 Graz · 2004 Genoa · Lille · 2005 Cork · 2006 Patras · 2007 Luxembourg City and Greater Region · Sibiu · 2008 Liverpool · Stavanger · 2009 Linz · Vilnius · 2010 Essen · Pécs · Istanbul · 2011 Turku · Tallinn · 2012 Maribor · Guimarães