Geography
Main article: Geography of Helsinki
Helsinki spreads around a number of bays and peninsulas and over a number of islands. Some of the most important islands include Seurasaari, Lauttasaari and Korkeasaari which is also the country’s biggest (and the world’s northernmost) zoo as well as the fortress island of Suomenlinna (Sveaborg) and the military island of Santahamina.
Economy
Main article: Economy of Helsinki
Universities
Main article: Universities in Finland
University of Helsinki
Helsinki University of Technology (actually located in 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
Related Travel Information
Kauniainen (Grankulla in Swedish) is a small municipality of 8,426 inhabitants (as of March 2005) in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland. Kauniainen is completely surrounded by the municipality of Espoo.
The local taxation rate in Kauniainen is the lowest in Finland (15%), and so it tends to attract the highest earners, hence it is a generally wealthy place, and hence it can keep the taxation rate low without compromising the service to the inhabitants.
Approximately 40% of the population have Swedish as their mother tongue; the rest are Finnish speakers. The dominant party in the town assembly has traditionally been the Swedish
Espoo (Esbo in Swedish) is a city on the Southern coast of Finland. It is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area along with Helsinki, Vantaa and Kauniainen. Espoo shares its western border with Helsinki and Vantaa, while enclosing Kauniainen. Other bordering municipalities are Nurmijärvi and Vihti in the north and Kirkkonummi in the west.
Espoo encompasses 528km², 312km² of which land. The current population is 227,472 (as of 2004-12-31).
Even though Espoo received its first permanent inhabitants during the 12th and 13th century, it would take until the 1950s for major developments to start. Due to its proximitity to Helsinki, Espoo soon
Hyvinkää (Hyvinge in Swedish) is a small town in the province of Uusimaa, approximately 50 km north of the capital Helsinki. The town was chartered in 1960. Hyvinkää belongs to the Province of Southern Finland. The population was 43,169 (in 2004).
Highways and rail connections make it one of the suburban commuter centers of Greater Helsinki. The city planning has had an emphasis on recreational facilities, acknowleding the fact that the modest city center cannot compete with the shops and boutiques of the capital.
History
Hyvinkää village was gradually formed in latter half of the 19th century. The construction of railways through Finland
Hanko, (Hangö in Swedish) in Finland is a small bilingual port town on the south coast of Finland, 130 kilometers west of Helsinki. The town was founded in 1874. Its current population is 10,008 (2002), with 44.8% being Finland-Swedish.
The Hanko Peninsula, on which the town is located, is the southernmost tip of continental Finland.
The Hangon Regatta has been a traditional fixture on the Finnish social scene. Many people who have very little or no interest in sailing, attend nevertheless in order to party and absorb the atmosphere.
Soviet naval base
Following the armistice of the Finnish Winter War on March 6, 1940,
Kaskinen (Kaskö in Swedish) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of 1,558 (2003) and covers an area of 10.23 km² of which 0.15 km² is water. The population density is 152.3 inhabitants per km².
The municipality is bilingual, with majority being Finnish and minority Swedish speakers.
Kaskinen is the smallest town in Finland.
