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Finland

The first written sources mention Finland date back to the 12th and 13th centuries. Around that time, the crusades brought Finland into the sphere of power of the Roman Pope and the medieval network of Hansa traders.

The easternmost part of Sweden 1323-1803. After the Treaty of Nöteborg in 1323, most of Finland was a part of Sweden. For about 500 years, Finnish history has been Swedish history. The region of Finland was Sweden’s buffer against the East, and the borders shifted many times in various wars.

Finland was as a part of the Russian Empire in 1809-1917

6. Decembers 1917 Finland declares independence

1941-1944  World WarII continues as Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union

1945-1991 time of rebuilding, industrialization, and the Cold War.

Finland joined the EU in 1995 and was one of the first countries to adopt the euro as its currency.

Helsinki

Places to see

  • Helsinki center,  Helsinki's strikingly original Art Nouveau railway station which was designed by Eliel Saarinen Helsinki's Rock Church, designed by Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen in the late 1960s, Sibelius Monument and Park to the great Finnish composer 

  • Suomenlinna Fortress One of the world's largest sea fortresses, the 18th-century fort on Suomenlinna is a 15-minute ferry ride from Helsinki's Market Square

  • Rovaniemi and the Arctic. The Arctic Circle runs across northern Finland, right through the town of Rovaniemi, there is Santa Claus Village and Arkticum Science museum.

  • Levi, a center for all winter recreation, you could enjoy a dogsled safari and northern lights between September and March.

  • Turku city, it is the country's oldest town and until 1812 its capital with medieval buildings and  examples of Art Nouveau and modern architecture, such as the Sibelius Museum

  • Tampere city is the third largest town in Finland, famous due to Tampere Cathedral is known for its unusual paintings and frescoes depicting skeletons in black hooded capes,  November Tampere Jazz Happening, a tradition now for more than 35 years, there are  200 public saunas

  • The country's second oldest town, Porvoo, is 48 kilometers east of Helsinki. It rises from a picturesque riverfront lined with little red wooden buildings, through a charming tangle of old streets and ochre-colored wooden houses to its hilltop medieval cathedral, Edelfelt-Vallgren Museum

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