Helsinki

**Helsinki** () is the capital city of Finland. Helsinki is the largest city in Finland. 604,380 (31.12.2012) people live in Helsinki, and 1,360,000 live in the Helsinki metropolitan area.

Helsinki is in the south of Finland, on the coast of the Gulf of Finland. The city is in the Uusimaa region. When one looks from Helsinki, Tallinn is on the opposite side of the sea, but it is too far away to see. A poetic name for Helsinki is "the daughter of the Baltic Sea".

## History

In 1550, Swedish king Gustav Vasa commanded people to build a new city and move there. His idea was to build a new place to trade, which would be more popular than Tallinn. The idea did not work well, and many people returned from Helsinki to their homes. Later Sweden built the fortress Suomenlinna in Helsinki. After Russia had taken Finland from Sweden in several wars, they started developing Helsinki. Helsinki became the capital of autonomous province of Finland. When Finland became independent in 1917, Helsinki stayed as the capital city.

## Geography

Helsinki spreads around several bays and over several islands. Some famous islands include Seurasaari, Lauttasaari and Korkeasaari - which is also the country's biggest zoo - as well as the fortress island of Suomenlinna (Sveaborg).

The metropolitan area of Greater Helsinki also includes two of Finland's biggest cities, Espoo to the west of Helsinki, and Vantaa to the north. These two cities, along with Helsinki itself and the small town of Kauniainen (which is in fact surrounded by Espoo), make up the Capital Region (_Pääkaupunkiseutu_ in Finnish or _Huvudstadsregionen_ in Swedish). There are other towns nearby that are part of Greater Helsinki, including Järvenpää, Kerava, Tuusula, Nurmijärvi, Sipoo, Kirkkonummi, Mäntsälä and Vihti. They have become popular places for Helsinki commuters to live.

## Transport

The public transportation network in Helsinki and its area consists of
- many bus routes serving most of the region. They are operated by different companies under contract to HSL.
- one metro line (with two branches) between Helsinki and its eastern suburbs. The line first opened in 1982 and was extended to Espoo in 2017. The line was extended with five new stations in 2022, continuing the Espoo metro.
- eleven tram lines, located mostly in the city centre. A light rail line serving the northern suburbs has been completed in 2023.
- several commuter trains between Helsinki and nearby cities. Some lines go as far as Lahti, Riihimäki and Hanko.

Helsinki Airport is located in Vantaa about 20 kilometers north of Helsinki city center. The airport offers both domestic flights within Finland and international flights to Europe, Asia and North America.

Helsinki offers several boat services to Tallinn and Stockholm every day, along with ferries to places including the island of Suomenlinna.

## Other websites

- City of Helsinki web site - English version
- City portal of Helsinki - English version
- Finland Travel Community
- WorldFlicks in Helsinki: Photos and interesting places on Google Maps

## Infobox (finnish municipality)

- **name**: Helsinki
- **official name**:

City of Helsinki
- **native name**:  –
- **nickname**: Stadi, Hesa
- **settlement type**: City
- **image skyline**: Helsinki montage 2015.jpg
- **imagesize**: 280px
- **image caption**: Clockwise from top: Helsinki Cathedral, view of central Helsinki, Headquarters of Sanoma, Helsinki city centre at night, beaches at Aurinkolahti, Parliament House, Helsinki, Parliament House and Suomenlinna.
- **image shield**: Helsinki.vaakuna.svg
- **image map**: Helsinki uusimaa.png
- **map caption**: Location in the Uusimaa Regions of Finland, region and the Helsinki Sub-regions of Finland, sub-region
- **mapsize**: 270px
- **established title**: Charter
- **established date**: 1550
- **established title2**: Capital city
- **established date2**: 1812
- **website**: [http://www.hel.fi/hki/Helsinki/en/Etusivu www.hel.fi]