Visiting Finland has been likened to stepping into a refreshing shower on a hot day. Even in the cultured capital, Helsinki, the air is clean, and the countryside has a cool beauty. The western coast is fringed with countless islands, while the southern Saimaa district is drenched by myriad sapphire lakes. Here you can sail, fish, or take a relaxing sauna – followed, of course, by a dip in the lake. In Kuusamo, there are ancient forests where bears and wolves roam, and where lichens glisten on the trees lining the waymarked walking trails.
And in Lapland, far to the north, the indigenous
Sami people still tend their reindeer herds – when they’re not surfing the Internet: Finland is one of the most technologically switched-on countries in the world. It is also renowned for its design and architecture, in particular those of Alvar Aalto, whose humanist approach to modernism extended into fields such as glassware, furniture and major buildings.
Indeed, besides such innovation, Finland’s rich and sometimes turbulent history is also revealed in its buildings: onion-domed Orthodox churches speak of the days when it was part of Russia, while fortresses like Suomenlinna Castle recall centuries of Swedish rule. During the first millennium BC, various peoples settled in Finland, including the nomadic Saami, who inhabited the north of the country, and the Tavastians from central Europe. Competition for influence in the area was fierce, with a tug-of-war between Sweden and Russia continuing for hundreds of years.
In 1917, Finland was an autonomous region within the Russian Empire but, in the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution, Finland declared independence, which the new Soviet Government accepted after brief efforts to re-assert control. Further fighting between the two took place on the fringes of World War II, between 1939 and 1941. Under a formal peace treaty signed in 1947, the Finns agreed to cede territory to the Soviet Union and pay reparation.
Finland's scenery and climate has marked seasonal variations, particularly in the north; in Lapland, with its austere winter and midnight sun. Autumn is also worth seeing for, in September, the first frosts produce the vivid colors of ‘Ruska’. In southern Finland, spring comes earlier and summer is longer. Such variation ensures that Finland contains whatever a visitor is seeking.
GeographyFinland is situated in the far north of Europe, bordered to the west by Sweden and the Gulf of Bothnia, to the north by Norway, to the east by the Russian Federation and to the south by the Gulf of Finland. There are about 30,000 islands off the Finnish coast, mainly in the south and southwest, and inland lakes containing a further 98,000 islands. The Saimaa lake area is the largest inland water system in Europe. Of the total land area, 10% is under water, and 65% is forest; Finland is situated almost entirely in the northern coniferous zone. In the south and southwest, the forest is mainly pine, fir and birch. In Lapland, in the far north, trees become more sparse and are mainly dwarf birch. Eight% of the land is cultivated.
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