Finland – the Country of Thousands Lakes

1. Finland –the Country of Thousands Lakes Finland is a country in Northern Europe. Our neighbors are Sweden, Norway and Russia. Here lives 5,3 million people. Most of the Finns live in a city. But we don’t!  Finland is a republic and our president is Mrs. Tarja Halonen. Our currency is euro. The first people came to Finland about 8,500 years A.D. The population came both from the west and the east when the climate became warmer. The first crusade to Finland by the Swedes took place in 1155, and Finland was ruled by Sweden till the year 1809. In 1809 Finland was handed over to Russia. Finland became independent in 1917. We celebrate our independence day 6.12.

2. During the Swedish period the capital of Finland was Turku, but when Finland became a part of Russia, Helsinki was made the capital. It is the biggest city in Finland and there are about 560,000 people living there. In 1952 the Olympic Games were held in Helsinki and Helsinki has been elected the world’s design capital of the year 2012. Some sights in Helsinki A street view in Helsinki, Aleksanterinkatu Helsinki Cathedral The Presidential place The Uspenski Russian Orthodox Cathedral The Modern art museum ’Kiasma’

3. Sibelius monument Suomenlinna fortress and a house inside the area.

4. Most of Finns are Lutherans (82,4 %) and about 1.1% of the population is Orthodox. The Lutheran churches aren’t as decorated as the Catholic ones and our cermons are more simplified. Especially many older churches are wooden and have been built in a form of a cross. An inside picture of the Church of Merijärvi Finland has two official languages: Finnish and Swedish. Finnish is spoken by 91.5% and Swedish by 5.5% of the population. Sami language is spoken in Lapland. In Finland it is a semi-offical language.

5. birch pine Finland has thousands of lakes. There area lots of forests here. Almost 70% of Finland’s area is forest. Here are spruces and pines but our national tree is birch. Finland is a long country, which you can see in the fact that both the landscape and the weather varies a lot. In the south winters are often snowless, on the west coast there is often quite a little of snow and it comes late, whereas in the eastern part and especially in Lapland snow comes early, in October and smelts late, even in May. In the south you can see urban landscape, on the west coast the terrain is rather flat and there are lots of wide fields and forests there. In eastern Finland the landscape is hilly and there you can see plenty of beautiful lakes. In Lapland the landscape is different; you can see fells (small bare mountains), trees are smaller and there are less plants than in the southern part of Finland.

6. In the south you can see urban landscape, on the west coast the terrain is rather flat and there are lots of wide fields and forests there. In eastern Finland the landscape is hilly and there you can see plenty of beautiful lakes. In Lapland the landscape is different; you can see fells (small bare mountains), trees are smaller and there are less plants than in the southern part of Finland. Some pictures of the landscape in Finland. Lapland Eastern Finland Western Finland

7. Southern Finland The Old City of Porvoo Espoo A view to Turku Koskikeskus in Tampere We love nature. Our nature is beautiful and bright. We have snow but we haven’t any polar bears. We have four seasons; winter, spring, summer and autumn. In the summer nights are as light as days here in Finland, and in Lapland the sun doesn’t go down at all i n three months time. We call this period `yötön yö`, which is in English `nightless night`.

8. In winter days are short, and the light time lasts only a few hours. In Lapland you won’t see the sun on the horizon from the middle of October till the middle of January. This time of the year in the north is called `kaamos`, the period of winter darkness. It doesn’t mean full darkness but a kind of blue twilight. The temperature varies a lot too. In the summer it can be about +25, even over +30, and in the winter the temperature can be 30 (or more) below zero. Spring is quite warm and dry and autumn is cool and wet. Especially in Lapland it is also possible to see the Northern Lights which are like many beautiful colours dancing in the sky.

9. Some famous Finnish -composers: Jean Sibelius, Joonas Kokkonen, Aulis Sallinen -artists: Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Albert Edelfelt, Helen Scherjfbeck, Pekka Halonen, Ville Vallgren, Eila Hiltunen, Laila Pullinen. -designers: Alvar Aalto, Irma Kukkasjärvi, Birger Kaipainen, Tapio Wirkkala, Timo Sarpaneva, Stefan Lindfors. -opera singers: Aino Ackté, Anita Välkki, Matti Talvela, Matti Salminen, Karita Mattila -bands: HIM, Apocalyctica, The Rasmus, Sunrise Avenue -sportsmen: Keker Rosberg, Kimi Räikkönen (motor sport), Jari Litmanen, Sami Hyypiä (fotboll), Matti Nykänen, Janne Ahonen (ski jumping), Teemu Selänne, Saku Koivu (ice hockey) ... A and of course the most important celebrity is Santa Claus, who lives in Lapland in Korvatunturi. He visitits Finnish homes at Christmas Eve. Children from all over the world write to him.

10. - and the stories of the Moomin Family written by Tove Jansson are also known in many countries. -and some brand names. Nokia (cell phones), Hackmann (kitchenware), Iittala and Arabia (glass- and chinaware) and Marimekko (clothes and fabrics). So, this is Finland! Written by: Ellamari Koutonen Tarleena Klasila Kirsi Rautio Tuija Ahonen Maria Hakala Toni Isokääntä Eeva Saukko Antton Härö Sources: Wikipedia, Nifin, The World Factbook – Finland Pictures: Trekearth.com, Wikipedia.org: Helsinki, Visitfinland.com