Helsinki
Helsinki[a][b] is the capital and most populous city in Finland. It is located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and serves as the seat of the Uusimaa region in southern Finland. Approximately 0.67 million people live in the municipality, with 1.25 million in the capital region, and 1.58 million in the metropolitan area. As the most populous urban area in Finland, it is the country's most significant centre for politics, education, finance, culture, and research. Helsinki is situated 80 kilometres (50 mi) to the north of Tallinn, Estonia, 360 kilometres (220 mi) to the north of Riga, Latvia, 400 kilometres (250 mi) to the east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 300 kilometres (190 mi) to the west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Helsinki has significant historical connections with these four cities.
Not to be confused with the film Hellsinki. "Helsingfors" redirects here. For ships with the name, see SS Helsingfors. Not to be confused with Hälsingfors.
Helsinki
Helsingfors (Swedish)
12 June 1550
8 April 1812
715.48 km2 (276.25 sq mi)
214.42 km2 (82.79 sq mi)
501.74 km2 (193.72 sq mi)
680.12 km2 (262.60 sq mi)
3,698.99 km2 (1,428.19 sq mi)
26 m (85 ft)
674,963
Largest in Finland
3,147.85/km2 (8,152.9/sq mi)
1,360,075
2,000/km2 (5,200/sq mi)
1,583,038 (metro)
428/km2 (1,110/sq mi)
helsinkiläinen (Finnish)
helsingforsare (Swedish)
Helsinkian (English)
76.1% (official)
5.5% (official)
18.3%
14.3%
68.3%
17.4%
+358-9
Together with the cities of Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen – and surrounding commuter towns,[10] including the neighbouring municipality of Sipoo to the east[11] – Helsinki forms the metropolitan area. This area is often considered Finland's only metropolis and is the world's northernmost metropolitan area with over one million inhabitants. Additionally, it is the northernmost capital of an EU member state. Helsinki is the third largest municipality in the Nordic countries, following Stockholm and Oslo. Its urban area is the second largest in the Nordic countries, after Stockholm. Helsinki Airport, located in the neighbouring city of Vantaa, serves the city with frequent flights to numerous destinations in Europe, North America, and Asia.
Helsinki is a bilingual municipality with Finnish and Swedish as its official languages. The population consists of 76% Finnish speakers, 6% Swedish speakers, and 18% speakers of other languages, which is well above the national average.
Helsinki hosted the 1952 Summer Olympics, the first CSCE/OSCE Summit in 1975, the first World Athletics Championships in 1983, the 52nd Eurovision Song Contest in 2007 and it was the 2012 World Design Capital.[12]
Helsinki has one of the highest standards of urban living in the world. In 2011, the British magazine Monocle ranked Helsinki as the world's most liveable city in its liveable cities index.[13] In the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2016 liveability survey, Helsinki ranked ninth out of 140 cities.[14] In July 2021, the American magazine Time named Helsinki as one of the world's greatest places in 2021, as a city that "can grow into a burgeoning cultural nest in the future" and that is already known as an environmental pioneer in the world.[15] In an international Cities of Choice survey conducted in 2021 by the Boston Consulting Group and the BCG Henderson Institute, Helsinki was ranked the third best city in the world to live in, with London and New York City coming in first and second.[16][17] In the Condé Nast Traveler magazine's 2023 Readers' Choice Awards, Helsinki was ranked 4th as the friendliest cities in Europe.[18] Helsinki, along with Rovaniemi in Lapland, is also one of Finland's most important tourist cities.[19] Due to the large number of sea passengers per year, Helsinki is classified as a major port city,[20] and in 2017 it was rated the world's busiest passenger port.[21]
Etymology[edit]
According to a theory put forward in the 1630s, at the time of Swedish colonisation of the Finnish coast, colonists from Hälsingland in central Sweden arrived at what is now the Vantaa River and called it Helsingå ('Helsinge River'), giving rise to the names of the village and church of Helsinge in the 1300s.[22] This theory is questionable, as dialect research suggests that the settlers came from Uppland and the surrounding areas.[23] Others have suggested that the name derives from the Swedish word helsing, an archaic form of the word hals ('neck'), which refers to the narrowest part of a river, the rapids.[24] Other Scandinavian towns in similar geographical locations were given similar names at the time, such as Helsingør in Denmark and Helsingborg in Sweden.
When a town was founded in the village of Forsby (later Koskela) in 1548, it was called Helsinge fors, 'Helsinge rapids'. The name refers to the Vanhankaupunginkoski rapids at the mouth of the river.[25] The town was commonly known as Helsinge or Helsing, from which the modern Finnish name is derived.[26]
Official Finnish government documents and Finnish language newspapers have used the name Helsinki since 1819, when the Senate of Finland moved to the city from Turku, the former capital of Finland. Decrees issued in Helsinki were dated with Helsinki as the place of issue. This is how the form Helsinki came to be used in written Finnish.[27] When Finland became a Grand Duchy of Finland, an autonomous state under the rule of the Russian Empire, Helsinki was known as Gel'singfors (Гельсингфорс) in Russian, because the main language of Grand Duchy of Finland was Swedish.
In Helsinki slang, the city is called Stadi (from the Swedish word stad, meaning 'city'). Abbreviated form Hesa is equally common, but its use is associated with people of rural origin ("junantuomat", lit. "brought by a train") and frowned upon by locals.[1][28] Helsset is the Northern Sami name for Helsinki.[29]
Culture[edit]
Museums[edit]
The biggest historical museum in Helsinki is the National Museum of Finland, which displays a vast collection from prehistoric times to the 21st century. The museum building itself, a national romantic-style neomedieval castle, is a tourist attraction. Another major historical museum is the Helsinki City Museum, which introduces visitors to Helsinki's 500-year history. The University of Helsinki also has many significant museums, including the Helsinki University Museum "Arppeanum" and the Finnish Museum of Natural History.
The Finnish National Gallery consists of three museums: Ateneum Art Museum for classical Finnish art, Sinebrychoff Art Museum for classical European art, and Kiasma Art Museum for modern art, in a building by architect Steven Holl. The old Ateneum, a neo-Renaissance palace from the 19th century, is one of the city's major historical buildings. All three museum buildings are state-owned through Senate Properties.
The city of Helsinki hosts its own art collection in the Helsinki Art Museum (HAM), primarily located in its Tennispalatsi gallery. Around 200 pieces of public art lie outside. The art is all city property.
Helsinki Art Museum will in 2020 launch the Helsinki Biennial, which will bring art to maritime Helsinki – in its first year to the island of Vallisaari.[157]
The Design Museum is devoted to the exhibition of both Finnish and foreign design, including industrial design, fashion, and graphic design. Other museums in Helsinki include the Military Museum of Finland, Didrichsen Art Museum, Amos Rex Art Museum, and the Tram Museum.