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If
the shape of Finland resembles a long-skirted woman with her right arm punching
the air, then Helsinki is her right foot. Affectionately known as the 'Daughter
of the Baltic', the city sits at the arrowhead of a peninsula, surrounded by an
archipelago of 315 islands, perfectly placed between its two great trading
cousins, Stockholm and Moscow.
The
city's population just teeters over half a million and with its tallest city
centre building only 12 storeys high, Helsinki seems almost provincial.
However, statistics reveal that the city is one of the fastest growing areas in
the European Union. Within the last decade, 100,000 inhabitants have moved into
greater Helsinki and by the year 2030, government statistics predict over 1.3
million people will be living within the region.
In
a European perspective, Helsinki is relatively young (450 years), yet it is
Finland's sixth oldest town. The Swedes, who extended their empire into Finland
in 1155, founded the city of 'Helsingfors' (the name still used by the Swedes)
in 1550, when King Gustav Vasa needed a site for a strategic and competitively
placed trading port. It languished as a coastal backwater until Imperialist
Russia invaded in 1809. The Grand Duchy required a new power base and Helsinki
was chosen because of its major trump card, the massive sea fortress (now a
UNESCO World Heritage Site) of Suomenlinna.
Modern
Helsinki was born when Finland gained independence from Russia in 1917. The new
republic boomed throughout the 1920s and 30s, when the architectural movements
of the era (Modernism and Functionalism) were fathered by one of Finland's most
famous sons, internationally acclaimed architect Alvar Aalto. Helsinki stepped
on to the world stage when the Olympic Stadium was completed in 1938, although
the games were postponed due to the war and were finally held there in 1952. It
still holds the record as the smallest city in the world to host the Olympic
Games.
Finland
became a member of the European Union in 1995, securing Helsinki's ties with
Europe. The city's distinctive 'East meets West' culture is symbolised in the
contrast between the cool, clean lines of Finlandia Hall and the rich golden
'onion' dome of Uspenski Cathedral. The centre of the city, the Neo-Classical
mini-St Petersburg built by German-born architect Carl Engel, is easily
explored on foot and most of the main sights are within walking distance of the
centre.
The
pace of Helsinki life varies with the seasons. In the summer, when average
temperatures climb to 18°C (64°F) and above, the whole city comes alive. The
bars overflow onto the streets and throughout July and August, the Finns revel
in 20-hour-long summer days. Temperatures can sometimes reach 28°C (82°F), a
climatic oddity that has been attributed to global warming. In winter, they
plummet to an average of - 5°C (23°F) and the city goes underground, becoming a
creative hive of productivity. These long, dark nights have led Helsinkiläiset
(Helsinkians) to be one of the world's most 'connected' people on the planet;
one in 10 use the Internet daily. Perhaps it is the balance between these two
climatic extremes that conspires to make Helsinki one of Europe's most creative
and technologically progressive capitals.
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