Finland #

General#

Finland Finland is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. A peninsula with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, the country has land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east. Estonia is south of the country across the Gulf of Finland. Finland is a Nordic country situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia, which also includes Scandinavia. Finland's population is 5.5 million (2014), staying roughly on the same level over the past two decades. The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern region. In terms of area, it is the eighth largest country in Europe and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union.

Helsinki#

Helsinki Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. Helsinki has a population of 629,512, an urban population of 1,214,210, and a metropolitan population of over 1.4 million, making it the most populous municipality and urban area in Finland. Helsinki is located some 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia, 400 km (250 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 388 km (241 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Helsinki has close historical connections with these three cities.

by pixabay.com (2015) | Cathedral, Helsinki

by pixabay.com (2012) | Cathedral, Helsinki

by pixabay.com (2014) | City-View, Helsinki

by pixabay.com (2012) | Clock Tower of the Railwaystation, Helsinki

by pixabay.com (2015) | Two-Headed Eagle State, Helsinki

by pixabay.com (2016) | Alexis Kivi Memorial, Helsinki

by pixabay.com (2016) | Sibelius Monument

by pixabay.com (2015) | Kamappi Church, Helsinki

by pixabay.com (2015) | State at Railwaystation, Helsinki

by pixabay.com (2015) | City Park, Helsinki

by pixabay.com (2009) | Port, Helsinki

by pixabay.com (2015) | Park, Helsinki

by pixabay.com (2015) | Port, Helsinki

by pixabay.com (2015) | Skyline, Helskinki

Rovaniemi#

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland. It is situated about 10 kilometres (6 miles) south of the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the river Kemijoki and its tributary, the Ounasjoki. Since Rovaniemi represents the capital of the Province of Lapland, many government institutions have their offices there. About 10,000 of the inhabitants are students. Rovaniemi is home to not only the University of Lapland but also the Rovaniemi University of Applied Sciences (formerly known as the Rovaniemi Polytechnic), which comprises institutes of information and traditional technology, business, health and social care, culinary studies, forestry, rural studies and sports. Local newspapers include the Lapin Kansa, Uusi Rovaniemi and Lappilainen. Rovaniemi is considered by Finns to be the official home town of Santa Claus, and is home to the Santa Claus Village at the Arctic Circle and Santa Park, which is located 8 km (5 mi) north of the centre.

by Darja Kneißl (2014) | Lumberjacks Candle Bridge, Rovanimi

by Darja Kneißl (2014) | Home of Santa Claus, Rovaniemi

by Darja Kneißl (2014) | Kemijoki Riverside, Rovaniemi

by Darja Kneißl (2014) | Harjulampi Lakeside, Rovaniemi

Tampere#

Tampere Tampere is the second-largest urban area and third most-populous individual municipality in the country, after Helsinki and Espoo municipalities (2014 data). It's also the most populous Finnish city outside the Greater Helsinki area and inner Finland's major urban, economic and cultural hub. Tampere is between two lakes, Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. Since the two lakes differ in level by 18 metres (59 ft), the rapids linking them, Tammerkoski, have been an important power source throughout history, most recently for generating electricity. The City is dubbed the "Manchester of Finland" for its industrial past as the former center of Finnish industry, and this has given rise to its Finnish nickname "Manse" and terms such as "Manserock".

by pixabay.com (2012) |Tammerkoski River, Tampere

by pixabay.com (2011) | Näsiselkä Lake, Tampere

Kuusamo#

Kuusamo Kuusamo is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of 15,673 (31 March 2016) and covers an area of 5,808.92 square kilometres (2,242.84 sq mi) of which 830.81 km2 (320.78 sq mi) is water. The population density is 3.15 inhabitants per square kilometre (8.2/sq mi). This City is a major center for winter sports and receives approximately a million tourists every year. One of the largest ski resorts in Finland, Ruka, is situated in Kuusamo. Ruka is also the host of many international competitions in ski jumping, cross country skiing and Nordic combined. The 2005 World Championships of Freestyle Skiing was held in Kuusamo.

by pixabay.com (2014) | Skijumping Area, Kuusamo

by pixabay.com (2013) | Kuusamo

by pixabay.com (2015) | Kuusamo

Oulu#

Oulu Oulu is a city and municipality of 198,804 inhabitants (31 March 2016) in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in Northern Finland and the fifth most populous city in the country. There are no larger cities (outside of Russia) that are more northerly than Oulu which is also considered one of Europe's "living labs", where residents experiment with new technology (such as NFC tags and ubi-screens) at a community-wide scale.