Finland (in Finnish Suomi), officially the Republic of Finland, lies in Northern Europe. It is one of Nordic countries. Finland borders with Sweden, Norway and Russia and across the Gulf of Finland, it borders with Estonia. The capital city is Helsinki on the south of the country. Official languages are Finnish and Swedish. Finland is a member of the European Union since 1995.

Helsinki

The capital and the largest city of Finland with population of approximately 565,186 citizens. In Helsinki live most of immigrants from various countries, largely from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. There is over 130 nationalities. National Museum of Finland, the biggest historical museum, can be found in Helsinki. The museum shows historical collections from the prehistoric times to 21st century. Great cultural life provides also Helsinki's theaters (The Finnish National Theater, The Helsinki City Theater), galleries (Ateneum Art Museum, Sinebrychoff Art Museum), parks (The Central Park). For a public transportation may be used metro, tram, bus and others.

Culture

Finnish culture is interesting in many ways (architecture, music, art, sport). Linus Torvalds comes from this country and he markedly influenced the computer's culture, when he made basics for a new operation system called Linux. Sport is very popular in Finland. Mika Häkkinen and Keke Rosberg are Formula one World Champions in years 1988, 1998 and 1999. Not only Formula one's drivers are great. Finnish racers are famous in rally too (Tommi Mäkinen, Marcus Grönholm). Finland has also its own ice hockey team and football team, so sport has a big upcountry here. The Finnish music is represented in a few genres such as folk music, classical, opera, rock, jazz etc. The classical music scene exists for more than a hundred years and it is still favorite genre and popular music scene is refreshed by lately established bands like Nightwish , HIM and others.

Climate

Finland has four seasons. Thanks to the northern position of this country, the seasons are well recognizable. Winters are cold, summers are quiet warm. Summer temperatures can rise to almost 30 degrees Celsius and winter temperatures may be about 20 minus degrees Celsius and this is not uncommon! A quarter of the country is located above the Arctic Circle.

Summary

The Land of the Thousands Lakes with its own traditions has something for everyone. Families can spend a great time in JukuJukuMaa, individuals can explore the capital city Helsinki, visit the Science Center Tietomaa or just go to the nature. You can get to the country by land, sea or air. If you decide to visit Finland repeatedly, you will not regret.