Helsinki

Helsinki (pronounced with the stress on the first syllable in Finnish: {{IPA|}}), or Helsingfors in Swedish {{Audio|sv-Helsingfors.ogg|listen}}, is the capital of Finland. It is located in the southern part of Finland on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, at {{coor dm|60|10|N|24|56|E|}}. Helsinki forms a conurbation with three other cities, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen, which are together called the capital area. This area has about 975,000 citizens. The Greater Helsinki area contains a lot more municipalities and has a total population of 1,232,741 million (2004).

Culture

Main article: Culture of Helsinki

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Carl Ludvig Engel (1778-1840) designed several neo-classical buildings in Helsinki. He was kept in Helsinki by a unique assignment, as he was elected to plan a new centrum all on his own, which later on was also referred to as The White City Of The North. The city became shallow and wide at the time when most buildings had only two or three floors. In the middle of the city, on the northern side of the Senate Square, he planned an enormous Cathedral, which was finished in 1852, twelve years after C. L. Engel's death.

Related Topics:
Carl Ludvig Engel - Neo-classical - Senate Square - Cathedral

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Helsinki is, however, perhaps even more famous for its numerous Art Nouveau buildings, designed in the early 1900s and strongly influenced by Kalevala, which is a very popular theme in the national romantic art of that era.

Related Topics:
Art Nouveau - Kalevala

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Kiasma, opened in 1998, is the city's contemporary art museum. There is an active ICT and digital cultures scene in Greater Helsinki.

Related Topics:
Kiasma - ICT and digital cultures scene in Greater Helsinki

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Valon Voimat "Forces of Light" is an annual winter arts festival.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Helsingin Juhlaviikot is an annual arts and culture festival, which takes place every August.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Helsinki is also the birth place of several international celebrities, including the bands HIM, The Rasmus and The 69 Eyes who all have achieved extremely high levels of fame and success both at home and abroad, thus bringing many tourists eager to see the home city of their idols to Helsinki.

Related Topics:
HIM - The Rasmus - The 69 Eyes

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~