Destination Finland

State of Finland

As a Nordic country and EU member state, Finland is a modern welfare state. The country is situated between East and West, and the geopolitical location gives students the opportunity to explore neighboring countries and cultures during their study period.

There are around 5.4 million people living in Finland, with majority concentrating on the Southern region. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of the ground area, but the most sparsely populated one in the European Union.

Finland has been historically long time part of Sweden, but from 1806 on it was an autonomous part of the Russian Empire. The Finnish declaration of independence from Russia was in the year 1917. Finland joined the United Nations in 1955, OECD in 1969 and the European Union in 1995.

Nature and Climate

Finland's unspoiled forests and thousands of islands and lakes offer plenty of opportunities for visitors to enjoy beautiful natural surroundings. The national parks include many unique natural sights, such as rapids, rift valleys and eskers. Localities with outstanding picturesque scenery or panoramic views have also been selected for preservation. There are a total of 35 national parks in Finland. An important role of national parks is to provide opportunities for recreation, hiking and similar outdoor pursuits. Provided certain basic rules are adhered to, anyone may wander freely inside a national park. Many parks now feature nature trails, as well as information boards pointing out facets of interest. Many parks also have cooking places and tent sites. Some parks even boast a large camping site, complete with rentable cabins or unlocked huts. Protecting nature is one of the main functions of national parks. The national parks are protected areas for the more valuable and characteristic habitats and land forms in the country, such as the archipelago, lakes, forests, peat lands and fells.

Finland is full of interesting contrasts, such as the four seasons, the midnight sun and the period of darkness, urban and rural, East and West - you name it. Four times a year, nature changes its uniform completely - color, light, temperature, sounds and smells. A small country holds a quite big amount of variety. In Finland all the four seasons have their characteristics in different parts of the country. The maximum and the minimum temperatures at January vary between -3°C and -30°C. There is also a time in winter in Lapland when the sun won´t rise at all for weeks. On the contrary the sun won’t go down for 73 days in the summer. The average temperature in sauna is +70-100°C. That is about +70-100°C warmer than the water where Finns like to swim in winter.

West Finland climate is quite mild, in Pori for example the average temperature of the coldest months of January and February varies from -6 degrees to -8 degrees. In summer the average temperature rises in July and August up to 18-20 degrees.

Source: http://www.visitfinland.com/

Famous Finns

         Heads of State:

C.G.E. Mannerheim:         Marshall of Finland during the Second World War

Sauli Niinistö:                    Current president

Tarja Halonen:                  The first female president of Finland

Martti Ahtisaari:               Former president who has undertaken key UN tasks. In 2008 he received the Nobel Peace Prize.  

Sportsmen and women:

             Mika Häkkinen:             Two-time F1 Formula world champion
             Kimi Räikkönen:           A Finnish World Rally driver and former Formula One driver
             Sami Hyypiä:                 Football player (Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen)
             Tommi Mäkinen:          Has won several Rally championships
             Marcus Grönholm:       Has won several Rally championships
             Teemu Selänne:           Famous NHL player
             Saku Koivu:                   Famous NHL player
             Kalle Palander:             Alpinist skier

Other Famous Finns:

                                                                                   
Jorma Ollila:           Chairman and former CEO of Nokia       
Linus Torvalds:      Inventor of the Linux system 
Mika Waltari:          Famous Finnish author, his production includes for example "Sinuhe the Egyptian"      
Renny Harlin:          Finnish Hollywood director, films such as "Cliffhanger", "Die Hard" and "Driven"   
Aki Kaurismäki:     Finnish film director, has won awards for example in Cannes                            
Alvar Aalto:             World famous Finnish architect and designer                    
Jean Sibelius:        Famous composer         
The Rasmus:          Finnish band      
HIM:                           Another Finnish band          
Santa Claus:           Lives in Lapland, Finland