Sign in with Facebook"Helsinki" Helsinki by kris-t
Helsinki Travel Guide: 3,614 reviews and 7,274 photos
Helsinki also called "Stadi" in local slang, is the capital of Finland. It is located in the southern part of Finland on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. The population of Helsinki is about 560,000.
Helsinki forms a conurbation with three other cities, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen, which are together called the capital area. This area has mo than 975,000 citizens.
Founded in 1550 as a rival to the Hanseatic city of Tallinn by the King Gustav I of Sweden, Helsinki struggled in its infancy. For a long time it remained as a small low-key coastal town, overshadowed by the more thriving trade centers in the Baltic region. Construction of the Suomenlinna sea fortress helped to improve its status, but it was not until Russia defeated Sweden in the Finnish War and annexed Finland as autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland in 1809 that Helsinki began to truly change.
To help reduce the Swedish influence, tsar Alexander I of Russia had the capital moved from Turku to Helsinki.
Alexander II of Russia served as Emperor of Russia from 1818 to 1881. He was also the Grand Prince of Finland.
A statue of Emperor Alexander II erected in 1894 is located in the center of the Senate square.Today it is one of the major tourist landmarks on the city.
Reviews (2)
The Helsinki Cathedral
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(2)
This neoclassical Lutheran Cathedral was built in 1830-1852. Interesting that statues of the Apostles made of zinc on... more travel advice
Senate Square
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(2)
You will find Senate Square in the oldest part of central Helsinki. The Helsinki Cathedral, the Government Palace,... more travel advice
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Comments (3)
How on earth did you know that Helsinki is called "stadi"? :) Very nice colors you have in cathedral photos. Just saw a TV series of Canada (by Zoe D'Amato) and my wife said that Canada is now climbing high in our wish list! Cheers from F!
Nice photos from the year 2000. Did you scan them, or did you have a digital camera already? (I ask because I didn't go digital until I joined Virtualtourist in 2004. But I am usually the next-to-last person to acquire a new technology that others have been using for years.)
Thank you! No, I did not have a digital camera back in 2000... I did scan them, got the scaner which work with the negative tape. I got my first digital camera only in 2003 for my New Zealand trip, was waiting till it will be a reasonable combination of price and quality. I don't jump in a new technology also, it always overpriced and need an improvement at the beginning :)
Oh, I see you visited Helsinki, did you like it?