Whenever I think of the Finnish capital, this beautifully located, little big city, where past history embraces the most elegant modernity, and which is characterized by an indescribablke charm and pleasantness, of course I smile!
Helsinki (or Helsingfors as it is called in Swedish) was founded in 1550 by King Gustav Vasa of Sweden and was intended to compete with the Hansa city of Reval (now Tallinn, Estonia) which lies on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland. The first inhabitants were burghers of nearby Raumo, Ulgsby, Borga and Ekenas, who had been ordered to move to this new town. Helsinki was originally located at the mouth of the Vantaa River, at a point about 3 miles (4,8 km) north of its present-day location, and was moved down to the latter site in 1640 in order to obtain more open access to the sea. (As it has been proven by the archaeological exploration of a nearby Viking village from around 1000 AD, the settlement had been inhibited about 500 years earlier by Viking.)
The town was ravaged by a plague in 1710 and burned to the ground in 1713. Its redevelopment was hindered by Russian attacks later in the 18th century, but in 1748 the settlement became more secure when a fortress, called Sveaborg by the Swedes and Soumenlinna by the Finns, was constructed on a group of small islands outside the harbour. The fortress which was also renown as "Gibraltar of the North" in its time, is now listed as part of the World Heritage by UNESCO.
When Russia invaded Finland in 1808, Helsinki was again burned to the ground. In 1809 Finland was ceded to Russia, and in 1812 the Russian tsar Alexander I moved to capital of the grand duchy of Finland from Turku (Abo) to Helsinki, and the centre of the town was been completely reconstructed. The newly built impressive, neoclassical public buildings included the state council building, the main building of Helsinki University, and the Lutheran cathedral, completed in 1852.
As its population is 550 000, and even with the metropolitan area hardly exceeds one million, Helsinki is rightfully called a "little big city", and indeed, it retains a small-town feel. There are no high-rise buildings, and the market square is still surrounded by 19th century architecture.
Although in its centre almost every famous sight is in walking distance, Helsinki offers various forms of entertainment. The visitor may discover the city by several means of transportation. Instead of the traditional sightseeing buses we would recommend trams, rented bikes or even rowboats, since the multitude of bays and lakes inside and outside the city limits are connected by a large network of canals. Only 6 percent of the population are Swedish, and, even though they speak perfect Finnish, all the street signs are bilingual. Tourist guides are guide in English, German or French.
Finland boasts the largest number of museums per capita in the world: there is one for every 5000 citizens, and the annual number of visitors exceeds 5 million, more than the population of the entire country. Most of these museums are located in and around the capital. The national art foundation's Ateneum is the principal gallery and covers Finnish and international art from the 19th century. The National Museum, also located in the city centre, has extensive collections of Finno-Ugric ethnological artefacts. The Raitioliikennemuseo, with a dozen old "rattlers", is a delightful tram museum - to mention only a few. Ferries and motorboats shuttle from Helsinki to Suomenlinna Island, a popular place for picnics as well as home for more museums, of which the Ehrensvard Museum, covering the history of the island's fortress from Swedish heyday to mayday, is the probably the best.
Besides the museums there are several outstanding buildings in the Finnish capital.
Garam Katalin