Portal:Finland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Republic of Finland (Finnish: Suomen tasavalta Swedish: Republiken Finland) is a Nordic country in northeastern Europe, bordered by the Baltic Sea to the southwest, the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west. Finland has land frontiers with Sweden, Norway and Russia. The Åland Islands, off the southwestern coast, are under Finnish sovereignty while enjoying extensive autonomy. The Finnish name for Finland is Suomi; in Swedish it is Finland.
Finland gained independence from Soviet Union on 6 December 1917. Prior to that, it had been part of the Kingdom of Sweden and Imperial Russia. After fighting two wars with the Soviet Union in the mid-20th century, it has grown quickly from a largely agrarian society to one of the world's most developed countries. Finland has a high standard of living, one of the best educational systems in the world, and is home to many technological phenomena such as Nokia, Linux and IRC.
Finland has been a member of the European Union since 1995.
Turku (IPA: [ˈturku], Swedish: Åbo ) is a city in Finland, founded in the 13th century. Turku is the fifth largest city in Finland, with a population of 174 824 (2004), and is located in the south-west of the country at the mouth of the Aura river. It is the capital city of both the region of Finland Proper and the province of Western Finland, as well as being the centre of the country's third largest urban area with over 300,000 inhabitants.
Turku is the oldest city in Finland, having been founded on an as of yet undetermined date during the late 13th century. It has a long history as the country's largest city and administrative centre, but has during the last two centuries lost that status to Helsinki. As a remnant of the its long history, the city hosts a number of important historical landmarks, such as the Turku Castle and the Cathedral of Turku. It also has one of the largest Finland-Swedish populations in the country.
Due to the city's location, the sea is also an important part of the its history and present. Today the Port of Turku is possibly the most important seaport in the whole of Finland.
- ... that there are 187,888 lakes, 179,584 islands, 5,100 rapids, 450,600 summer cottages and 2 million saunas in Finland?
- ... that the Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance signed between Finland and the Soviet Union was a major factor in Finnish foreign policy until the fall of the Soviet Union, leading to the coining of the term Finlandisation?
- ... that the Finnish Civil War and the Continuation War have been the two most controversial and emotionally loaded events in the history of modern Finland?
- ... that the Finnish markka was abolished in 2002, when twelve European Union member states (including Finland) adopted the euro as their currency?
- ... that Finland won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 with Lordi?
- June 12: Finland, Estonia and Greece ratify the EU's Treaty of Lisbon
- May 25: Dima Bilan wins the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest for Russia
- May 21: Eurovision 2008: First semi-final held in Belgrade
- May 15: Finnair negotiating possible partnership with major Indian airlines
- April 26: Iraqis begin second round of negotiations in Finland
- April 19: Bus crash in Spain leaves 9 Finnish tourists dead
- April 18: Public disclosure made of final report on deaths of nine in Finnish school shooting
- April 13: Teräsbetoni frontman J. Ahola on representing Finland at Eurovision 2008 & more
- March 27: Teräsbetoni's 'Myrskyntuoja' tops Finnish album chart
- March 8: Nightwish added to billing of UK's Bloodstock Open Air festival
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