Knowing Helsinki – Part 1

Helsinki is the capital of Finland, a state that gained independence from Russia relatively recently, in 1917. The memory he left the Russian occupation was not very good and Finland fought a couple of times against the Soviet Union during World War II. The metropolitan area includes several neighboring towns, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen, to raise more than a million inhabitants. Helsinki was founded in the sixteenth century by King Gustav I of Sweden and the Swedish influence still survives as the street names are in Finnish and Swedish. Well, here I have been cheating since Finland was part of Sweden for 700 years and they are the official languages of the State.

Photography by Eoghan OLionnain

The first years of the city were poverty and disease. (más…)