The Finland Portal
Finland (Finnish: Suomi [ˈsuo̯mi] (
listen); Swedish: Finland [ˈfɪ̌nland] (listen)), officially the Republic of Finland (Finnish: Suomen tasavalta; Swedish: Republiken Finland (listen to all)), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with 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 across Estonia to the south. Finland covers an area of 338,455 square kilometres (130,678 sq mi) with a population of 5.5 million. Helsinki is the capital and largest city, forming a larger metropolitan area with the neighbouring cities of Espoo, Kauniainen, and Vantaa. The vast majority of the population are ethnic Finns; Finnish, alongside Swedish, are the official languages. Finland's climate varies from humid continental in the south to the boreal in the north. The land cover is primarily a boreal forest biome, with more than 180,000 recorded lakes.
Finland was first inhabited around 9000 BC after the Last Glacial Period. The Stone Age introduced several different ceramic styles and cultures. The Bronze Age and Iron Age were characterized by extensive contacts with other cultures in Fennoscandia and the Baltic region. From the late 13th century, Finland gradually became an integral part of Sweden as a consequence of the Northern Crusades. In 1809, as a result of the Finnish War, Finland became part of the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland, during which Finnish art flourished and the idea of 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. Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, tried to russify Finland and terminate its political autonomy, but after the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland declared independence from Russia. In 1918, the fledgling state was divided by the Finnish Civil War. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War, and Nazi Germany in the Lapland War. It subsequently lost parts of its territory, including the culturally and historically significant town of Vyborg, but maintained its independence. (Full article...)
Selected article -
Selected image -
Photo credit: commons:User:AngMoKio
Mika Häkkinen driving a Mercedes-Benz DTM racing car at Stars and Cars in Stuttgart, Germany.
Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that Finland became a member state of the International Labour Organization 100 years ago today?
- ... that Finnish politician Kaarina Suonio answered the world's first GSM phone call?
- ... 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 Anna-Liisa Tiekso dropped out of university in 1951 to become the youngest member of the Finnish parliament?
- ... that Finland's minister of science and culture Hanna Kosonen is a world champion in ski orienteering?
- ... that Plevna in Tampere, Finland, was the first building in the Nordic countries and the Russian Empire (of which Finland was part at the time) to be lit by electric lights?
Wikiprojects
You are invited to participate in Finland WikiProject, a WikiProject dedicated to developing and improving articles about Finland.
More did you know -
- ...that the prototypes for the WW II German U-boat fleet (Type II pictured) were designed by a Dutch company and built in Finland at the Crichton-Vulcan shipyard?
- ...that while repelling Soviet advances across the frozen Lake Suvanto, Finland managed to capture 12 anti-tank guns, 140 machine guns, 200 light machine guns and 1500 rifles in the Battle of Kelja in 1939?
- ...that Major Carl Mothander, the leader of Swedish volunteers in the Estonian War of Independence, later wrote books on Estonian politics that were banned in Finland?
- ...that the Korpela movement was a short-lived cult during the 1930s in Northern Sweden and Finland whose controversial sexual rituals eventually led to the arrest of 60 followers?
- ...that in 1745, Daniel Juslenius, a Finnish Fennoman, finished the first formal Finnish dictionary?
Good article -
Lågskär (Swedish for "low skerry") is a small island within the Åland's archipelago of Finland. It belongs to the municipality of Lemland. It is situated about 24 kilometres (15 mi) south of Mariehamn in the Baltic's Sea of Åland. The main island of Lågskär measures 61 hectares (150 acres) in area. Rock stacks, sea cliffs and rocky shores are found along the coastline of the island.
As a breeding ground for waterfowl, Lågskär has the status of an Important Bird Area (IBA) and is frequented by ornithologists who use the Lågskär Lighthouse buildings during their stay. In the past, several vessels have sunk off the coast. (Full article...)General images
2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi Räikkönen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. (from Culture of Finland)
Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927 (from Culture of Finland)
Kastelli Giant's Church in Pattijoki by Pöljä culture (from History of Finland)
Eero Järnefelt, Burning the Brushwood, 1893 (from History of Finland)
Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry. (from Culture of Finland)
A smoke sauna (savusauna) in Enonkoski (from Culture of Finland)
An old drawing of the city of Turku in the 18th century (from History of Finland)
Linus Torvalds, a famous Fennoswede software engineer, best known for initiating the development of the Linux kernel (from Culture of Finland)
In 2011 figure skater Kiira Korpi was ranked 4th in the world. (from Culture of Finland)
A reconstruction of a 12th-century Perniö costume (from History of Finland)
Pieces of the Antrea Net (8,300 BC), the oldest-known fishing net in the world. (from History of Finland)
Students on Helsinki's Esplanadi wearing their caps on Vappu (from Culture of Finland)
A summer cottage (mökki) on a lake island (from Culture of Finland)
Prehistoric red ochre painted rock art of moose, human figures, and boats in Astuvansalmi, Finland from ca. 3800–2200 BC. (from Culture of Finland)
The area controlled by Finland at its largest, in 1942 (from History of Finland)
Janne Ahonen is considered one of the best and most successful currently active ski jumpers. (from Culture of Finland)
A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes. (from Culture of Finland)
The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music. (from Culture of Finland)
Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics (from Culture of Finland)
In the sauna, by Pekka Halonen, 1925 (from Culture of Finland)
Ancylus Lake covered major part of Finland (7,500–6,000 BC) (from History of Finland)
Signing 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)
Stone Age stone axe engraved with human face found from Kiuruvesi. (from History of Finland)
Women in sauna with Vihtas.
Grand Duchy of Finland, 75 kopek assignat (1824) (from History of Finland)
The Swedish empire at its largest. Most of present-day Finland was part of Sweden proper, rike, shown in dark green. (from History of Finland)
The 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)
Northern Europe in 814 (from History of Finland)
Alvar Aalto, Viipuri Library (1927–35) (from Culture of Finland)
Midsummer bonfire (kokko) in Mäntsälä (from Culture of Finland)
Finnish folk dancers in a 1907 postcard sent from Mustamäki, Finland (from Culture of Finland)
Homann'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)
Three Finnish Romani women in Helsinki, Finland, in 1930s. (from Culture of Finland)
President K. J. Ståhlberg in his office in 1919. (from History of Finland)
A peasant girl and a woman in traditional dress from Ruokolahti, eastern Finland, as depicted by Severin Falkman in 1882 (from Culture of Finland)
Apocalyptica's Perttu Kivilaakso playing metal music live. (from Culture of Finland)
.jpg)
.jpg)
_en2.png)
Related portals
Selected panorama -
Topics
| History |  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geography | |||||
| Politics | |||||
| Economy | |||||
| Society |
| ||||
Categories
Recognized content
.jpg)
Things you can do
- Add the {{Portal|Finland}} template to existing See also sections of Finland-related articles.
- Tag the talk pages of Finland-related articles with the {{WikiProject Finland}} template. (Tip: Use PetScan to find articles that are not tagged yet. Just replace the category "Finnish films" with another category and adjust "Depth" if needed. This tool is helpful for tagging.)
- Rate unassessed articles according to the guidelines.
- Translate a Finnish-language article into English.
- Expand a stub into a full article.
- Help with the articles needing attention (watch).
- Create a requested article (watch).
- Support fresh articles (watch).
- Patrol the recent changes.
- Add the following pages to your watchlist:
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
