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).

Services

Education

Helsinki has 190 comprehensive schools, upper secondary schools and 15 vocational institutes. Half of the 41 upper secondary schools are private or state-owned. Higher level education is given in eight universities (see the section "Universities" below) and four polytechnics.

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Traffic

In Helsinki, public transport is mostly managed by Helsinki City Transport. The diverse public transport system consists of trams, VR lähiliikenne commuter trains, the Helsinki Metro and bus lines. The Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council manages traffic to the surrounding municipalities of Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen.

Related Topics:
Public transport - Helsinki City Transport - Tram - VR lähiliikenne - Commuter train - Helsinki Metro - Bus - Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council

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Today, Helsinki is the only city in Finland to have trams or metro trains. There used to be two other cities in Finland with tram traffic: Turku and Viipuri (Vyborg). However, Turku abandoned trams in 1972 and Viipuri (at that time part of the Soviet Union) abandoned them in 1957.

Related Topics:
Turku - Viipuri - 1972 - Soviet Union - 1957

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The metro line, opened in 1982, was the first, and so far the only, metro line in all of Finland. For the first 16 years of its existence, the line was topologically only one straight line, but in 1998 a fork was added at Itäkeskus metro station, dividing the remainder of the line into two branches with three stations each. Metro is an especially important method of transportation for commuters in the growing suburbs of Eastern Helsinki, and there are also plans to further expand the system to Espoo (see Länsimetro), but lack of agreement over financing has caused delays to the project. If the plans for automation in the system are approved, the Helsinki Metro will operate without drivers in 2010.

Related Topics:
1982 - Topologically - 1998 - Itäkeskus metro station - Espoo - Länsimetro

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Air traffic is handled from the international Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and Malmi Airport. Ferry connections to Tallinn and Stockholm are serviced by various companies, including Silja Line, Viking Line, SeaWind Line, Linda Line, Nordic Jet Line and Tallink (see Ruotsinlaiva). In summer, passenger ferries to Travemünde, Germany are also available. Copterline provides fast helicopter flights to Tallinn.

Related Topics:
Helsinki-Vantaa Airport - Malmi Airport - Tallinn - Stockholm - Silja Line - Viking Line - SeaWind Line - Linda Line - Nordic Jet Line - Tallink - Ruotsinlaiva - Travemünde - Germany - Copterline

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• See also: Spårakoff

Other services

The largest hospitals of Finland are located in Helsinki, for example HYKS and many private hospitals. Also police and fire departments serve citizens.

Related Topics:
HYKS - Police - Fire departments

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