Portal:Finland

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The Finland Portal

Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, opposite Estonia. Finland covers an area of 338,145 square kilometres (130,559 sq mi) and has a population of 5.6 million. Helsinki is the capital and largest city. The vast majority of the population are ethnic Finns. Finnish and Swedish are the official languages, with Swedish being the native language of 5.2% of the population. Finland's climate varies from humid continental in the south to boreal in the north. The land cover is predominantly boreal forest biome, with more than 180,000 recorded lakes.

Finland was first settled around 9000 BC after the last Ice Age. During the Stone Age, various cultures emerged, distinguished by different styles of ceramics. The Bronze Age and Iron Ages were marked by contacts with other cultures in Fennoscandia and the Baltic region. From the late 13th century, Finland became part of the Swedish Empire as a result of the Northern Crusades. In 1809, as a result of the Finnish War, Finland was captured from Sweden and became a Grand Duchy of Finland, an autonomous state ruled by the Russian Empire. During this period, Finnish art flourished and the idea of full 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. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, Finland declared its full independence. In 1918 the young nation was divided by the Finnish Civil War. During World War II, Finland fought against the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War, and later against Nazi Germany in the Lapland War. As a result, it lost parts of its territory but retained its independence. (Full article...)

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Henry walking on his murderer Lalli. Painting from the Church of Taivassalo about 1450.

Henry (Finnish: Henrik; Swedish: Henrik; Latin: Henricus; died c. 20 January 1156) was a medieval English clergyman. He came to Sweden with Cardinal Nicholas Breakspeare in 1153 and was most likely designated to be the new Archbishop of Uppsala, but the independent church province of Sweden could only be established in 1164 after the civil war, and Henry would have been sent to organize the Church in Finland, where Christians had already existed for two centuries.

According to legend, he entered Finland during the First Crusade together with the king, Saint Eric of Sweden, and died as a martyr, becoming the patron saint of the Catholic Church in Finland. However, the authenticity of the accounts of his life and ministry are widely disputed and there are no historical records of his birth, death, of even his existence. (Full article...)

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Photo credit: commons:User:Tanger
A lakeside smoke sauna ("savusauna") in Kannonkoski.

Did you know (auto-generated)

... 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?
... that Kuappi in Iisalmi, Finland, holds the Guinness world record for the smallest restaurant?
... that Sinikka Luja-Penttilä published a novel in the same year that she retired from the Finnish parliament?
... that Sodankylä Old Church is one of the oldest preserved wooden churches in Finland?
... that the Finnish 7th Division was formed in 1940 by renumbering another unit to make it appear to the Soviets that it had been replaced with fresh troops?
... that a song about an esports team went viral in Finland?

WikiProjects

You are invited to participate in Finland WikiProject, a WikiProject dedicated to developing and improving articles about Finland.

More did you know - show different entries

...that when completed in 1967, MS Finlandia was the largest ferry in the world?
...that the Pysähdy ajoissa - Stanna i tid ("Stop in time") traffic campaign was the result of the public response to a road death of a nine-year-old girl in Finland?
...that the Finnish Association of Graduate Engineers has been in charge of publishing Finland's ethical guidelines on engineering for over 40 years?
...that Penedo, a small town in Brazil was colonized by immigrants from Finland?
...that the Wärtsilä Turku shipyard in Finland built five state-of-the-art cruiseferries for the Black Sea Shipping Company, Soviet Union, in 1975-1976?

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This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

The Vätsäri Wilderness Area (Finnish: Vätsärin erämaa, Swedish: Vätsäri ödemarksområde) is located along the northeastern shore of Lake Inari in Inari, northern Finland, stretching all the way to the Finland–Norway border. The landscape is dominated by taiga forests of Scots pine, bog and bodies of water. The northeastern part rises as a treeless fell ridge. Vätsäri is one of twelve wilderness areas in Lapland and covers an area of 1,550 square kilometers (600 sq mi). The wilderness has one marked trail and a few cabins. The reserve is under the management of Metsähallitus (Administration of Forests) and was established with the other wilderness reserves in 1991. It is part of Pasvik–Inari Trilateral Park along with Øvre Pasvik National Park and Øvre Pasvik Landscape Protection Area in Norway, and the joint Norwegian–Russian Pasvik Nature Reserve.

The area has a short growing season, cold winters, little precipitation and poor soil quality created by the gneiss bedrock. Lake Inari has been affected by acid rain and loss of fish from the Paatsjoki River Hydroelectric Plants. The reserve is an important habitat of the brown bear and also has a large moose population; reindeer husbandry is practiced by the Samis. Whitefish and vendace are the most common species of fish, the latter being an introduced species. (Full article...)

List of Good articles

General images

The following are images from various Finland-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Mikael Agricola hands over the Finnish Translation of the New Testament to King Gustav Wasa. (from History of Finland)
Image 2(1809 Diet of Porvoo) The sovereign's pledge, printed in Finnish (from History of Finland)
Image 3Marshal of Finland Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim visit in Germany, 1942 (from History of Finland)
Image 4Painting of Lalli killing Henry. Painting by C. A. Ekman. (from History of Finland)
Image 5Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics (from Culture of Finland)
Image 6A peasant girl and a woman in traditional dress from Ruokolahti, eastern Finland, as depicted by Severin Falkman in 1882 (from Culture of Finland)
Image 7The Finno-Soviet Treaty (from History of Finland)
Image 8Finland Ostrobothnia regiment uniforms in 1705 (from History of Finland)
Image 9Ancylus Lake covered major part of Finland (7,500–6,000 BC) (from History of Finland)
Image 10A view of Pohjoisesplanadi in the center of Helsinki in 1891 (from History of Finland)
Image 11Signing 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)
Image 12Uspenski Cathedral in Helsinki (from Culture of Finland)
Image 13People gathered in the Senate Square for a demonstration against the February Manifesto in March 1899. (from History of Finland)
Image 14Identification document and tag of a Finnish war child (from History of Finland)
Image 15In the sauna, by Pekka Halonen, 1925 (from Culture of Finland)
Image 16Kalmar Union in 1400s (from History of Finland)
Image 17Pieces of the Antrea Net (8,300 BC), the oldest-known fishing net in the world. (from History of Finland)
Image 18Three Finnish Romani women in Helsinki, Finland, in 1930s (from Culture of Finland)
Image 19In 2011 figure skater Kiira Korpi was ranked 4th in the world. (from Culture of Finland)
Image 20Apocalyptica's Perttu Kivilaakso playing metal music live (from Culture of Finland)
Image 21Eero Järnefelt, Burning the Brushwood, 1893 (from History of Finland)
Image 22Northern Europe in 814 (from History of Finland)
Image 23In the middle is the patron saint of Finland, Saint Henry, on the right side of him is Bishop Konrad Bitz and on the left is Dean Magnus Stjernkors; from Missale Aboense (1488) (from History of Finland)
Image 24The part of Finland controlled by the Reds at its largest in February–March 1918 (from History of Finland)
Image 252007 Formula One World Champion Kimi Räikkönen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix (from Culture of Finland)
Image 26Stone Age dwelling named Kierikki 5000–3000 BC (from History of Finland)
Image 27Finnish Guards' Rifle Battalion, 1850s (from History of Finland)
Image 28Women dressed in Finnish folk costumes (from Culture of Finland)
Image 29Map of Finnish areas ceded to the Soviet Union in 1944, after the Continuation War (from History of Finland)
Image 30President Urho Kekkonen's funeral procession in 1986 (from History of Finland)
Image 31A reconstruction of a 12th-century Perniö costume (from History of Finland)
Image 32A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes (from Culture of Finland)
Image 33A summer cottage (mökki) on a lake island (from Culture of Finland)
Image 34The area of Finland in the years 1920–1940. The 1935 county and municipality division on the map. (from History of Finland)
Image 35Sámi / Laplander family in traditional costumes from Finland. (from Culture of Finland)
Image 36Linus Torvalds, a famous Fennoswede software engineer, best known for initiating the development of the Linux kernel (from Culture of Finland)
Image 37The Swedish empire at its largest. Most of present-day Finland was part of Sweden proper, rike, shown in dark green. (from History of Finland)
Image 38Alvar Aalto, Viipuri Library (1927–35) (from Culture of Finland)
Image 39Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry (from Culture of Finland)
Image 40Finnish folk dancers in a 1907 postcard sent from Mustamäki, Finland (from Culture of Finland)
Image 41Battle of Valkeala was part of the Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790). (from History of Finland)
Image 42The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music (from Culture of Finland)
Image 43Pekka Halonen's painting "against persecutors" from 1896 depicts the warfare of the ancient Finns. (from History of Finland)
Image 44Captain Aarne Juutilainen at the front at Kollaa during the Winter War (from History of Finland)
Image 45Stone Age stone axe engraved with human face found from Kiuruvesi. (from History of Finland)
Image 46Homann'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)
Image 47A group of Finnish soldiers operating a Bofors gun during the Continuation War in 1943 (from History of Finland)
Image 48Winter War Monument in Suomussalmi, Kainuu, Finland (from History of Finland)
Image 49Wehrmacht soldiers with a local Sámi reindeer herder, Lappland, Sodankylä, Finland 1942 (from History of Finland)
Image 50Janne Ahonen is considered one of the best and most successful currently active ski jumpers. (from Culture of Finland)
Image 51Students on Helsinki's Esplanadi wearing their caps on Vappu (from Culture of Finland)
Image 52Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927 (from Culture of Finland)
Image 53Memorial of the Mannerheim Cross Knights of Parikkala, Finland (from History of Finland)
Image 54The 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)
Image 55The decision of the Soviet of the People's Comissars' to recognise Finnish independence, signed by Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Grigory Petrovsky, Joseph Stalin, Isaac Steinberg, Vladimir Karelin, and Alexander Schlichter (from History of Finland)
Image 56Women in sauna with Vihtas
Image 57Midsummer bonfire (kokko) in Mäntsälä (from Culture of Finland)
Image 58Kreeta Haapasalo Playing the Kantele in a Peasant Cottage (1868), by Robert Wilhelm Ekman (from History of Finland)
Image 59The area controlled by Finland at its largest, in 1942 (from History of Finland)
Image 60Badge of the Finnish White/Civil Guard (from History of Finland)
Image 61S/S Urania in Hanko harbor in 1893, with 509 emigrants on board on their way to America (from History of Finland)
Image 62President K. J. Ståhlberg in his office in 1919 (from History of Finland)
Image 63Jussipaita (transl. Jussi sweater); a traditional sweater from the Finnish region of Southern Ostrobothnia (from Culture of Finland)
Image 64The ruins of Vammala burned by the Reds, during the Civil war (from History of Finland)
Image 65This 1825 map of the Grand Duchy of Finland is from a larger work, geographical atlas of the Russian Empire. (from History of Finland)
Image 66Jean Sibelius at work in his study (from History of Finland)
Image 67Kastelli Giant's Church in Pattijoki by Pöljä culture [fi] (from History of Finland)
Image 68Grand Duchy of Finland, 75 kopek assignat (1824) (from History of Finland)
Image 69Helsinki Accords Treaty (from History of Finland)
Image 70Prehistoric red ochre painted rock art of moose, human figures, and boats in Astuvansalmi, Finland, from ca. 3800–2200 BC (from Culture of Finland)
Image 71Imagery collage of Birger Jarl conquering Häme and the construction of Häme Castle (from History of Finland)
Image 72Turku Cathedral and its surroundings from 1814 (from History of Finland)
Image 73Battle of Gangut (Hanko) was part of the Great Northern War during 1700–1721. (from History of Finland)
Image 74A smoke sauna (savusauna) in Enonkoski (from Culture of Finland)
Image 75An old drawing of the city of Turku in the 18th century (from History of Finland)

In the news

2 April 2024 – Viertola school shooting: A student is killed and two others are injured in a shooting at a school in Vantaa, Uusimaa, Finland. A 12-year-old student is detained. (AP) (Yle)
1 March 2024 – 2024 Finnish presidential election: Alexander Stubb is sworn in as the 13th President of Finland. (Reuters)
11 February 2024 – 2024 Finnish presidential election: Alexander Stubb is elected President of Finland with 51.6% of the vote.(Yle)
27 January 2024 – Israel–Hamas war: The United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Italy, Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany suspend humanitarian aid to UNRWA over allegations that some UNRWA staff members were involved in the Hamas-led attack on Israel. (BBC News) (CBS News)
14 December 2023 – Finland–United States relations: Finland announces the creation of a defense cooperation agreement with the United States. The agreement will grant Finland access to American military resources for use in defensive operations, while the US will gain military access to Finland in the event of conflict. (Reuters)
29 November 2023 – Finland–Poland relations, Finland–Russia relations: National Security Bureau chief Jacek Siewiera announces that Poland will send "a team of military advisors" to the Finland–Russia border in response to an official request for allied support. Finland says it was unaware of the Polish offer. Russia warns against the move, viewing the concentration of troops on the border as a threat. (Reuters)

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View from the water tower in Hanko, Finland

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Panoramic photo shot from the water tower in Hanko, Finland

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Albert Edelfelt - Louis Pasteur - 1885
Anefo 932-2378 Keke Rosberg, Zandvoort, 03-07-1982 - Restoration
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FIN-A36b-Finlands Bank-20 Markkaa (1862)
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Helsinki July 2013-14
Helsinki July 2013-27a
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Kolmen valtakunnan rajapyykki 27.4.1945
Lutheran Cathedral Helsinki edit
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Neste Oil Rally 2010 - Jari-Matti Latvala in shakedown
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Albert Edelfelt - Louis Pasteur - 1885
Anefo 932-2378 Keke Rosberg, Zandvoort, 03-07-1982 - Restoration
FIN-A36b-Finlands Bank-20 Markkaa (1862)
Hankopan
Helsinki July 2013-14
Helsinki July 2013-27a
Kaleva Church 4
Kolmen valtakunnan rajapyykki 27.4.1945
Lutheran Cathedral Helsinki edit
Makasiinit tulessa
Neste Oil Rally 2010 - Jari-Matti Latvala in shakedown
Nils Torvalds MEP, Strasbourg - Diliff
Peugeot 206 WRC
Rally Finland 2010 - shakedown - Nasser Al-Attiyah 1
Scandinavia.TMO2003050
Silja Serenade in Stockholm
VR Sr1 3015 Kuopio Drawbridge
Vexi Salmi

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