Portal:Finland
The Finland Portal
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, opposite Estonia. Finland covers an area of 338,145 square kilometres (130,559 sq mi) and has a population of 5.6 million. Helsinki is the capital and largest city. The vast majority of the population are ethnic Finns. The official languages are Finnish and Swedish, of which 84.9 percent and 5.1 percent of the population speak the first as their mother tongue. Finland's climate varies from humid continental in the south to boreal in the north. The land cover is predominantly boreal forest biome, with more than 180,000 recorded lakes.
Finland was first settled around 9000 BC after the last Ice Age. During the Stone Age, various cultures emerged, distinguished by different styles of ceramics. The Bronze Age and Iron Ages were marked by contacts with other cultures in Fennoscandia and the Baltic region. From the late 13th century, Finland became part of the Swedish Empire as a result of the Northern Crusades. In 1809, as a result of the Finnish War, Finland was captured from Sweden and became a Grand Duchy of Finland, an autonomous state ruled by the Russian Empire. During this period, Finnish art flourished and the idea of full independence began to take hold. In 1906, Finland became the first European state to grant universal suffrage, and the first in the world to give all adult citizens the right to run for public office. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, Finland declared its full independence. In 1918 the young nation was divided by the Finnish Civil War. During World War II, Finland fought against the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War, and later against Nazi Germany in the Lapland War. As a result, it lost parts of its territory but retained its independence. (Full article...)
Selected article -
The Battle of Ruovesi was a major battle during the Finnish Civil War and on the Eastern Front of World War I fought in Ruovesi, Finland from 5 February to 19 March 1918 between the Whites and the Reds with support from Russian volunteers.
The fighting took mostly place in the villages of Pekkala, Jäminkipohja ja Pihlajalahti in the southern part of the Ruovesi municipality. The Ruovesi village itself, and the northern parts, were held by the Whites. The Reds were aiming from the south to the Tampere–Haapamäki railway, in order to the reach the vital junction of Haapamäki, located 40 kilometres northeast of Ruovesi. Major fighting also occurred in the eastern village of Väärinmaja, but it was connected to the Battle of Vilppula. (Full article...)Selected image -
Photo credit: commons:User:AngMoKio
Mika Häkkinen driving a Mercedes-Benz DTM racing car at Stars and Cars in Stuttgart, Germany.
Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that the United States severed diplomatic ties with Finland in 1944 because of a personal letter sent to Hitler?
- ... that Sodankylä Old Church is one of the oldest preserved wooden churches in Finland?
- ... that Kimmo Leinonen helped establish both the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame and the IIHF Hall of Fame?
- ... that tourists on holiday trips arranged by the Finland travel agency Keihäsmatkat were encouraged to drink alcoholic beverages, partly to avoid culture shock?
- ... that Venla Luukkonen is the first Finnish person to win the World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship at black belt level?
- ... that Kaija Saariaho's 2021 opera Innocence includes traditional Finnish cow-herding calls?
WikiProjects
You are invited to participate in Finland WikiProject, a WikiProject dedicated to developing and improving articles about Finland.
More did you know -
- ...that according to Lapsiporno.info, a blacklist of websites compiled by the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation included those containing legal pornography?
- ...that Ismo Alanko Säätiö's accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen has been dubbed the "Jimi Hendrix of the accordion" by the Finnish music press?
- ...that the Christmas carol Personent hodie, first published in the 1582 Finnish song book Piae Cantiones, is thought to be a parody of a 12th-century carol?
- ...that Anssi Koivuranta is leading the 2008–09 Nordic Combined World Cup right now?
- ...that the Finnish tango is an established variation of the Argentine tango and one of the most enduring and popular music forms in Finland?
Miikka Sakari Kiprusoff (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈmiːkːɑ ˈsɑkɑri ˈkiprusofː]; born October 26, 1976), nicknamed "Kipper", is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League for the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames between 2000 and 2013. He was selected in the fifth round, 116th overall, by the Sharks in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, and has also played professionally for TPS of the Finnish SM-liiga, as well as for both AIK IF and Timrå IK of the Swedish Elitserien.
Kiprusoff represented Finland several times on the international stage, earning silver medals at the Ice Hockey World Championships in 1999 and 2001, as well as leading the Finns to a surprise second-place finish at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. He also helped the Finnish national team win the bronze medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics. (Full article...)General images
In the news
- 2 April 2024 – Viertola school shooting
- A student is killed and two others are injured in a shooting at a school in Vantaa, Uusimaa, Finland. A 12-year-old student is detained. (AP) (Yle)
- 1 March 2024 – 2024 Finnish presidential election
- Alexander Stubb is sworn in as the 13th President of Finland. (Reuters)
- 11 February 2024 – 2024 Finnish presidential election
- Alexander Stubb is elected President of Finland with 51.6% of the vote.(Yle)
- 27 January 2024 – Israel–Hamas war
- The United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Italy, Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany suspend humanitarian aid to UNRWA over allegations that some UNRWA staff members were involved in the Hamas-led attack on Israel. (BBC News) (CBS News)
- 14 December 2023 – Finland–United States relations
- Finland announces the creation of a defense cooperation agreement with the United States. The agreement will grant Finland access to American military resources for use in defensive operations, while the US will gain military access to Finland in the event of conflict. (Reuters)
- 29 November 2023 – Finland–Poland relations, Finland–Russia relations
- National Security Bureau chief Jacek Siewiera announces that Poland will send "a team of military advisors" to the Finland–Russia border in response to an official request for allied support. Finland says it was unaware of the Polish offer. Russia warns against the move, viewing the concentration of troops on the border as a threat. (Reuters)
Related portals
Northern Europe
Other countries
Selected panorama -
Topics
Categories
Recognized content
Things you can do
- Add the {{Portal|Finland}} template to existing See also sections of Finland-related articles.
- Tag the talk pages of Finland-related articles with the {{WikiProject Finland}} template. (Tip: Use PetScan to find articles not tagged yet by replacing the category "Finnish films" with another category and adjust "Depth" if needed. This tool is helpful for tagging. See also the list of pages not tagged yet.)
- Rate unassessed and unknown-importance articles according to the guidelines. (This tool is helpful for doing these.)
- Translate a Finnish-language article into English.
- Expand a stub into a full article.
- Help with the articles needing attention (watch) and cleanup.
- Create a requested article (watch).
- Support fresh articles (watch).
- Patrol the recent changes.
- Add the following pages to your watchlist:
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus