"amounts of natural wilderness, particularly in the city's western and northern portions. The city has a total of 71 lakes, the largest of which are Lake Bodom, Nuuksion Pitkäjärvi, Vanhankylän Pitkäjärvi, Loojärvi, Velskolan Pitkäjärvi, Saarijärvi, Matalajärvi, Siikajärvi, and Lippajärvi. The city has a large coastline on the Gulf of Finland. Espoo has six Natura 2000 protected areas: Bånberget forests, Espoonlahti–Saunalahti bay area (partially in Kirkkonummi), Laajalahti bay, Matalajärvi lake, Nuuksio National Park (partially in Kirkkonummi and Vihti), as well as forests in Vestra (partially in Vantaa). The official animal of Espoo is the Siberian flying squirrel, the official bird is"
"these three cities. Together with the cities of Espoo, Vantaa, and Kauniainen, and surrounding commuter towns, Helsinki forms the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, which has a population of nearly 1.5 million. Often considered to be Finland's only metropolis, it is the world's northernmost metro area with over one million people as well as the northernmost capital of an EU member state. After Stockholm and Oslo, Helsinki is the third largest city in the Nordic countries. The city is served by the international Helsinki Airport, located in the neighboring city of Vantaa, with frequent service to many destinations in Europe and"
"Helsinki continued to pursue the Länsimetro proposal, but the city of Espoo continued to reject it until the early 2000s. Espoo is the second most populous city in Finland (after Helsinki), currently served by roads, bus transport, and commuter trains. It is connected to Helsinki by the Rantarata coastal railway and by two motorways: Finnish national road 1 (Turun moottoritie, to Turku) in the middle and the Western Highway (the Länsiväylä) in the south, near the coast. As the primary passageway between southern Espoo and central Helsinki, the Länsiväylä has been repeatedly enlarged to cope with congestion, but is still"
"Espoon keskus Espoon keskus (Finnish for ""Espoo Centre"", ) is the central district of Espoo, the second biggest city of Finland and the administrative centre with the city hall of Espoo. The areas of Kiltakallio, Kirkkojärvi, Saarniraivio, Suna, Suvela and Tuomarila belong to Espoon keskus. To the east, Espoon keskus borders the city of Kauniainen, an enclave within the city of Espoo. Even though Espoon keskus is located at the approximate geographical centre of the city, it is not a major population or economic center. In fact, Espoon keskus has had a negative reputation among the people living in Espoo"
"Tourism in Finland Finland attracted over 6,7 million foreign tourists in 2017, with most, 3,6 million, coming from European Union states. In 2013 the value added by tourism was about 2.5% of the Finnish GDP, and provided around 136 700 jobs. Most visitors arriving to Finland come from: Finland is famous for its many lakes, nearly 200,000 of them (larger than 500 m²/0.12 acres). Tampere is the biggest city on the Finnish Lakeland with other major cities being Jyväskylä, Mikkeli, Lahti, Joensuu, Lappeenranta, Kuopio and Savonlinna. Finland is also known to have excellent water quality, and green deep woods and"
"the city of Tampere. 50% of commuting trips within the city limits of Helsinki are made using public transport and only 28% using a private car, while 48% of the households have access to a car. The ridership is typical to a European city, but if Helsinki were in U.S., it would have the second highest ridership after New York. Partly due to lack of trams or rapid transit outside the Helsinki Region, the ridership in other cities in Finland is significantly lower. The Helsinki Metro, opened in 1982, was the first, and so far the only, rapid-transit metro system"
"as video game developers Rovio and Remedy Entertainment. The city of Espoo is officially bilingual. The majority of the population, 83.6%, speaks Finnish as their mother tongue, while a minority of 8.3% speaks Swedish. 8% of Espoo's population has a first language other than Finnish or Swedish. The name ""Espoo"" probably comes from the Swedish name for the River Espoo, ""Espå"" (or ""Espåå""), which in turn comes from the old Swedish word ""äspe"", meaning a border of aspen, and the Swedish word for ""river"", ""å"", thus ""a river bordered by aspen"". The name was first mentioned in 1431. The banks"
"background, corresponding to 8.1% of the population. Proportionally speaking, Finland has had one of the fastest increases in its foreign-born population between 2000 and 2010 in all of Europe. The majority of immigrants in Finland settle in the Helsinki area, although Tampere, Turku and Kuopio have had their share of immigrants in recent years. On 1 January 2011 there were almost 229,000 people (11.1%) living in Slovenia with foreign country of birth. At the end of March 2002 when data on the country of birth for total population were for the first and last time collected by a conventional (field)"
"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 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. The city and the surrounding (Rural municipality of Rovaniemi) were consolidated into a single entity on 1 January 2006. The new municipality has an area of , thus making it the largest city in the European Union by land. Rovaniemi has an approximate population of . Rovaniemi"
"and short distance trains operate in areas with fewer passengers. The Helsinki area has three urban rail systems: a tramway, a metro, and a commuter rail system. Light rail systems are currently being planned for Helsinki and also for Turku and Tampere, two of the country's other major urban centres. In Finland there have been three cities with trams: Helsinki, Turku and Viipuri. Only Helsinki has retained its tramway network. The trams in Viipuri, having been lost to Soviet Union in 1945, ceased operations in 1957, while the Turku tramway network shut down in 1972. In november 2016, Tampere city"
"Vantaa Vantaa (; ) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is part of the inner core of the Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. With a population of (), Vantaa is the fourth most populated city of Finland. Vantaa is bordered by Helsinki, the Finnish capital, to the south; Espoo to the southwest; Nurmijärvi to the northwest; Kerava and Tuusula to the north; and Sipoo to the east. The city encompasses , of which is water. The largest airport in Finland, and the main airport and airline hub of Greater Helsinki, the Helsinki Airport, is"
"Finnish, a Uralic language unrelated to the Scandinavian languages; next come the Finland-Swedes (5.3%). Finland is the eighth-largest country in Europe and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. The sovereign state is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital city of Helsinki, local governments in 311 municipalities, and one autonomous region, the Åland Islands. Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, which produces one third of the country's GDP. Finland was inhabited when the last ice age ended, approximately 9000 BCE. The first settlers left behind artefacts that present"
"two lakes, Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. Since the two lakes differ in level by , the rapids linking them, Tammerkoski, have been an important power source throughout history, most recently for generating electricity. Tampere 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"". Helsinki is approximately south of Tampere, and can be reached in 1h 31m by Pendolino high-speed rail service and 2 hours by car. The distance to Turku is roughly the same. Tampere–Pirkkala Airport is Finland's"
"theatre, and Tapiolasali, with 800 seats, suitable for concerts. Espoo Cultural Centre The Espoo Cultural Centre (; ) is a culture centre in Tapiola, Espoo, Finland. It is most famous for hosting the central library of Tapiola. Near the culture centre is the Tapiola swimming pool and the Tapiola Garden hotel. The Espoo Cultural Centre hosts arts events, hosts activities to further culture in Espoo, offers cultural and public services, and hosts parties, meetings, fairs, and private events. The cultural centre houses the Espoo musical academy, the Espoo city orchestra Tapiola Sinfonietta, the Tapiola library, the Espoo city cultural office,"
"lack of housing. Some residents began to move to the neighbouring cities of Espoo and Vantaa, resulting in increased population growth in both municipalities. Espoo's population increased ninefold in sixty years, from 22,874 people in 1950 to 244,353 in 2009. Vantaa saw an even more dramatic change in the same time span: from 14,976 in 1950 to 197,663 in 2009, a thirteenfold increase. These population changes prompted the municipalities of Greater Helsinki into more intense cooperation in areas such as public transportation – resulting in the foundation of HSL – and waste management. The increasing scarcity of housing and the"
"Tartu Tartu (, South Estonian: ""Tarto"") is the second largest city of Estonia, after Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn. Tartu is often considered the intellectual centre of the country, especially since it is home to the nation's oldest and most renowned university, the University of Tartu. The city also houses the Supreme Court of Estonia, the Ministry of Education and Research, and the new building of the Estonian National Museum, opened to the public in October 2016. It is also the birthplace of Estonian Song Festivals. Situated southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Tartu"
"in the Nordic identity group as important or very important for them. 52.2% have the same attitude towards the ""Baltic"" identity group, according to a research study from 2013 Tallinn is the capital and the largest city of Estonia. It lies on the northern coast of Estonia, along the Gulf of Finland. There are 33 cities and several town-parish towns in the country. In total, there are 47 ""linn""a, with ""linn"" in English meaning both ""cities"" and ""towns"". More than 70% of the population lives in towns. The 20 largest cities are listed below: Estonia has a rich and diverse"
"Lepistö. Espoo's city council has 75 members. Following the municipal election of 2017 the council seats are allocated in the following way: National Coalition Party 26 seats, Greens 17, Social Democrats 10, True Finns 7, Swedish People's Party 6, Centre Party 3, Left Alliance 3, Christian Democrats 2 and Liberal Party 1. Support for the center-right National Coalition Party is high in Espoo. Results of the Finnish parliamentary election, 2011 in Espoo: Espoo is the home for True Finns chairman Timo Soini. Espoo is twinned with: The most common surnames in Espoo and their frequencies as of 2014: Notes Sources"
"of the three Sami languages spoken in Finland. The largest groups of residents not of Finnish background come from Russia (14,532), Estonia (9,065), and Somalia (6,845). One third of Finland's immigrant population lives in the city of Helsinki. The number of people with a foreign mother tongue is excepted to be 170,000 in 2030, or 23% of the population. Greater Helsinki generates approximately one third of Finland's GDP. GDP per capita is roughly 1.3 times the national average. Helsinki profits on serviced-related IT and public sectors. Having moved from heavy industrial works, shipping companies also employ a substantial number of"
"to increase local train traffic on the ""rantarata"" (Helsinki-Turku) tracks between Helsinki and Espoo. Espoo railway station Espoo railway station (, ) is a railway station in the district of Espoon keskus in the city of Espoo, Finland. It is between the stations of Tuomarila and Kauklahti, about from the Helsinki Central railway station. Before October 25, 2015, Espoo was the station in Espoo city that also served long-distance trains, but since then Leppävaara railway station has had that role in Espoo. The old Espoo station was built in 1903 according to plans by the architect Bruno Granholm. The station"
"most populous city in Finland until the end of the 1840s, and it remains a regional capital and an important business and cultural center. Because of its long history, it has been the site of many important events, and has extensively influenced Finnish history. Along with Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, Turku was designated the European Capital of Culture for 2011. In 1996, it was declared the official Christmas City of Finland. Due to its location, Turku is a notable commercial and passenger seaport with over three million passengers traveling through the Port of Turku each year to Stockholm"
"and reindeer husbandry. Enontekiö is located in the region of Lapland in the outermost northwest tip of Finland. The bulge between Swedish and Norwegian border, which is occupied by the municipality of Enontekiö, is called ""Käsivarsi"" (Finnish for ""arm""), because before World War II, Finland's borders had the shape of a woman's figure (""Suomi-neito"") and the area looked like her raised right arm. The municipality occupies a large and sparsely populated area of (more than three times the area of Luxembourg). Thus Enontekiö is Finland's third-largest municipality in size, after Inari and Sodankylä, and with a population density of only"
"of over 1.1 million. The Greater Helsinki region is the largest urbanised area in the country with 1,420,284 inhabitants and is by far the most important economic, cultural, and scientific region of Finland. Five out of Finland's 15 universities and most of the headquarters of notable companies and governmental institutions are located in Greater Helsinki, as is Finland's main airline hub and airport, Helsinki Airport, which is located in Vantaa. In the strictest sense, the Finnish Capital Region consists of four municipalities with city status, Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen, whose total population is about 1.1 million (2014). This area"
"University of Tampere The University of Tampere (UTA) (, ) is a public university in Tampere, Finland offering undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes with 20,178 degree students and 1,981 employees as of 2016. Founded in 1925 in Helsinki as the Civic College () and from 1930 onwards known as the School of Social Sciences (), the institution relocated to Tampere in 1960 and was renamed as the University of Tampere in 1966. In 2016, its budget was €184.6 million of which 59% was government funding. The university will merge with Tampere University of Technology to create the new Tampere University"
"residential area undergoing significant redevelopment and together with neighbouring Pyynikki it forms an important historical area of Tampere. Tampere's sporting scene is mainly driven by ice hockey. The first Finnish ice hockey match was played in Tampere, on the ice of Pyhäjärvi. Tampere is nicknamed the hometown of Finnish ice hockey. Two exceptional ice hockey teams come from Tampere: Ilves and Tappara. They both have had a great impact on Finnish ice hockey culture and are among the most successful teams in Finland. The Finnish ice hockey museum, and the first ice hockey arena to be built in Finland, the"
"retail trade company in Finland in 2012. HOK Elanto has business e.g. in hotels, shopping centers, restaurants and petrol stations (Energy in Finland). Jukka Mäkelä is member of Helsinki district administration of Chamber of Commerce (valtuuskunta) in 2013. In the municipal elections Jukka Mäkelä got 1,973 votes out of 113,000 in 2008. Jukka Mäkelä Jukka Mäkelä (born July 7, 1960 in Espoo) is a Finnish politician from the National Coalition Party and the current city manager/mayor of Espoo, the second largest city of Finland, since January 1, 2011. He was elected to the Parliament of Finland (""Eduskunta"") in the 2007"
"employing a total of about 14,400 people. Because in most parts of Finland the density of population is low, Finland is not optimally suited for railways. Commuter services are nowadays rare outside the Helsinki area, but express trains interconnect most cities. As in France, the majority of passenger services are connections to the capital, Helsinki. In 2010s, VR has maken connections faster by reducing stops at minor stations and increasing running speeds with new locomotives and renovated high-speed trains. VR provides car transport services. Seven stations allow loading and unloading of cars on trains: Helsinki, Turku and Tampere in the"
"Espoo Cultural Centre The Espoo Cultural Centre (; ) is a culture centre in Tapiola, Espoo, Finland. It is most famous for hosting the central library of Tapiola. Near the culture centre is the Tapiola swimming pool and the Tapiola Garden hotel. The Espoo Cultural Centre hosts arts events, hosts activities to further culture in Espoo, offers cultural and public services, and hosts parties, meetings, fairs, and private events. The cultural centre houses the Espoo musical academy, the Espoo city orchestra Tapiola Sinfonietta, the Tapiola library, the Espoo city cultural office, the Tapiola general service point, and the Espoo folk"
"be found in Siuruankylä, Pudasjärvi. The trondhjemite gneiss is aged 3,500 million years. Two famous Finnish melodic death metal bands, Kalmah and Eternal Tears of Sorrow have been formed in Pudasjärvi. Results of the Finnish parliamentary election, 2011 in Pudasjärvi: Pudasjärvi Pudasjärvi is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The city has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Pudasjärvi is by area the second largest town in Finland (as of 2006,"
"city to replace some of the more popular bus lines (""see Tampere light rail""), as well as initiating commuter rail service on the railroad lines connecting Tampere to the neighbouring towns of Nokia and Lempäälä. In 2007, Tampere switched to a new model of government. Since then, a mayor and four deputy mayors have been chosen for a period of two years by the city council. The mayor also becomes the seat of the city council for the duration of the tenure. =Mayors over time= For a list of notable persons, see . The most common surnames in Tampere and"
"is Paulina Ahokas. Previous Managing Directors have included Carl Öhman, Kaarina Suonio, and Kalervo Kummola. As of the year 2012, the Tampere Hall has been nominated seven times as the best congress venue in Finland. Tampere Hall The Tampere Hall () is the largest concert and congress centre in the Nordic countries, located in the southern edge of Sorsapuisto, in the centre of Tampere, Finland. Opposite of the Tampere Hall is the main building of the University of Tampere, and the Tampere railway station is only half a kilometre away. The main auditorium has capacity of 1,756 seats. Due to"
"Jukka Mäkelä Jukka Mäkelä (born July 7, 1960 in Espoo) is a Finnish politician from the National Coalition Party and the current city manager/mayor of Espoo, the second largest city of Finland, since January 1, 2011. He was elected to the Parliament of Finland (""Eduskunta"") in the 2007 parliamentary election, but he was resigned after he was elected to the post of mayor. He is married and he has three children. Jukka Mäkelä was a member in the HOK Elanto administration board (hallintoneuvosto) during 2008-2012. HOK Elanto is part of S Group (SOK). This is third biggest company and leading"
"plain. About 85% live in towns and cities, with one million living in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area alone. In Arctic Lapland, on the other hand, there are only 2 people to every square kilometre. Finland is a relatively ethnically homogeneous country. The dominant ethnicity is the Finnish people but there are also notable historic minorities of Swedes, Sami and Roma people. As a result of recent immigration there are now also considerable groups of ethnic Russians, Estonians and Somalis in the country. The official languages are Finnish and Swedish, the latter being the native language of about five per cent"