The Finland Portal
Finland (Finnish: Suomi [ˈsuo̯mi] (
listen); Swedish: Finland [ˈfɪ̌nland] (listen)), officially the Republic of Finland (Finnish: Suomen tasavalta; Swedish: Republiken Finland (listen to all)), is a Nordic country and a member state of the European Union in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, Norway to the north, and is defined by the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, and the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea across Estonia to the south. Finland covers an area of 338,455 square kilometres (130,678 sq mi), with a population of 5.5 million. Helsinki is the country's capital and largest city, but together with the neighbouring cities of Espoo, Kauniainen, and Vantaa, it forms a larger metropolitan area. Finland is officially bilingual, with Finnish and Swedish being official. The climate varies relative to latitude, from the southern humid continental climate to the northern boreal climate. The land cover is primarily a boreal forest biome, with more than 180,000 recorded lakes.
Finland was inhabited around 9000 BC after the Last glacial period. The Stone Age introduced several different ceramic styles and cultures. The Bronze Age and Iron Age were characterized by extensive contacts with other cultures in Fennoscandia and the Baltic region. From the late 13th century, Finland gradually became an integral part of Sweden as a consequence of the Northern Crusades. In 1809, as a result of the Finnish War, Finland was annexed by Russia as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland, during which Finnish art flourished and the idea of independence began to take hold. In 1906, Finland became the first European state to grant universal suffrage, and the first in the world to give all adult citizens the right to run for public office. Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, tried to russify Finland and terminate its political autonomy, but after the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland declared independence from Russia. In 1918, the fledgling state was divided by the Finnish Civil War. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War, and Nazi Germany in the Lapland War. After the wars, Finland lost parts of its territory, including the culturally and historically significant town of Vyborg, but maintained its independence. (Full article...)
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Gyromitra esculenta /ˌdʒaɪroʊˈmaɪtrə ˌɛskjəˈlɛntə, ˌdʒɪrə-/ is an ascomycete fungus from the genus Gyromitra, widely distributed across Europe and North America. It normally fruits in sandy soils under coniferous trees in spring and early summer. The fruiting body, or mushroom, is an irregular brain-shaped cap dark brown in colour that can reach 10 centimetres (4 inches) high and 15 cm (6 in) wide, perched on a stout white stipe up to 6 cm (2+1⁄2 in) high.
Although potentially fatal if eaten raw, Gyromitra esculenta is a popular delicacy in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, and the upper Great Lakes region of North America. Although popular in some districts of the eastern Pyrenees, it is prohibited from sale to the public in Spain. It may be sold fresh in Finland, but it must be accompanied by warnings and instructions on correct preparation. (Full article...)Selected image -
Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that Alku and Alku Toinen, built by Finnish immigrants, were the first nonprofit housing cooperatives in New York City?
- ... that Sinikka Luja-Penttilä published a novel in the same year that she retired from the Finnish parliament?
- ... that Irma Toivanen, who was part of a group of Finnish volunteer medics during World War II, helped make a film about the group six decades later?
- ... that Domus Litonii is the only remaining 19th-century residential building in the entire centre of Helsinki?
- ... that Finnish politician Kaarina Suonio answered the world's first GSM phone call?
- ... that Pirjo Ala-Kapee-Hakulinen was the first and only governor of the Eastern Finland Province from its creation in 1997 to its abolition in 2010?
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You are invited to participate in Finland WikiProject, a WikiProject dedicated to developing and improving articles about Finland.
More did you know -
- ...the Finnish Air Force selected the Saab 91 Safir as its primary trainer aircraft over the domestic Valmet Tuuli III?
- ...that the Kaleva, a Finnish passenger plane carrying diplomatic post, was shot down by Soviet bombers in an act of aggression?
- ...that the majority of Assyrians in Finland live in Oulu, the sixth largest city in the country?
- ...that Finland was close to becoming an independent kingdom in 1742?
- ...that the Saint Petersburg–Hiitola railroad was completed by 1917, but a year later the Finnish Civil War caused traffic to stop, with a mile of track removed?
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The Kauhajoki school shooting occurred on 23 September 2008, at the Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences (SeAMK) in Kauhajoki, in the former province of Western Finland. The gunman, 22-year-old student Matti Juhani Saari, shot and killed ten people with a Walther P22 Target semi-automatic pistol, before shooting himself in the head. He died a few hours later at Tampere University Hospital. One woman was injured but was in a stable condition.
The shooting took place at the Kauhajoki School of Hospitality, owned by the Seinäjoki Municipal Federation of Education. The facilities and campus were shared between SeAMK and the Seinäjoki Vocational Education Centre – Sedu. Saari was a second-year student in a Hospitality Management undergraduate degree programme. The incident was the second school shooting in less than a year in Finland, the other being the Jokela school shooting in November 2007, in which nine people including the gunman died. Before that, only one other school shooting had taken place in the country's history, in Rauma in 1989, leaving two people dead. (Full article...)General images
- An old drawing of the city of Turku in the 18th century (from History of Finland)
- 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi Räikkönen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. (from Culture of Finland)
- Students on Helsinki's Esplanadi wearing their caps on Vappu (from Culture of Finland)
- Northern Europe in 814 (from History of Finland)
- Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. (from Culture of Finland)
- Ancylus Lake covered major part of Finland (7,500–6,000 BC) (from History of Finland)
- Grand Duchy of Finland, 75 kopek assignat (1824) (from History of Finland)
- A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. (from Culture of Finland)
- The first government of independent Finland. P. E. Svinhufvud, the first Prime Minister of Finland, sitting at the head of the table. (from History of Finland)
- A summer cottage (mökki) on a lake island (from Culture of Finland)
- A peasant girl and a woman in traditional dress from Ruokolahti, eastern Finland, as depicted by Severin Falkman in 1882 (from Culture of Finland)
- Kastelli Giant's Church in Pattijoki by Pöljä culture (from History of Finland)
- Linus Torvalds, a famous Fennoswede software engineer, best known for initiating the development of the Linux kernel (from Culture of Finland)
- A smoke sauna (savusauna) in Enonkoski (from Culture of Finland)
- A reconstruction of a 12th-century Perniö costume (from History of Finland)
- The area controlled by Finland at its largest, in 1942 (from History of Finland)
- Homann's map of the Scandinavian Peninsula and Fennoscandia with their surrounding territories: northern Germany, northern Poland, the Baltic region, Livonia, Belarus, and parts of Northwest Russia. Johann Baptist Homann (1664–1724) was a German geographer and cartographer; map dated around 1730. (from History of Finland)
- Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927 (from Culture of Finland)
- Midsummer bonfire (kokko) in Mäntsälä (from Culture of Finland)
- Prehistoric red ochre painted rock art of moose, human figures, and boats in Astuvansalmi, Finland from ca. 3800–2200 BC. (from Culture of Finland)
- Signing the Helsinki Accords are the West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, East Germany's leader Erich Honecker, US president Gerald Ford and the Austrian chancellor Bruno Kreisky (from History of Finland)
- The Swedish empire at its largest. Most of present-day Finland was part of Sweden proper, rike, shown in dark green. (from History of Finland)
- President K. J. Ståhlberg in his office in 1919. (from History of Finland)
- Pieces of the Antrea Net (8,300 BC), the oldest-known fishing net in the world. (from History of Finland)
- Eero Järnefelt, Burning the Brushwood, 1893 (from History of Finland)
- Finnish folk dancers in a 1907 postcard sent from Mustamäki, Finland (from Culture of Finland)
- In 2011 figure skater Kiira Korpi was ranked 4th in the world. (from Culture of Finland)
- The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. (from Culture of Finland)
- Janne Ahonen is considered one of the best and most successful currently active ski jumpers. (from Culture of Finland)
![Image 14Kastelli Giant's Church in Pattijoki [fi] by Pöljä culture [fi] (from History of Finland)](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Kastelli_giant%27s_church_1.JPG/240px-Kastelli_giant%27s_church_1.JPG){kind=small}
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