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 -
Beherit is a Finnish black metal band from Rovaniemi. The band was formed in 1989 by Nuclear Holocausto Vengeance (Marko Laiho), Jari Vaarala (Demonic Fornication) and Sodomatic Slaughter (Jari Pirinen), with the purpose of performing "the most primitive, savage, hell-obsessed black metal imaginable". "Beherit" is the Syriac word for Satan. Through the uncommercial nature of their music, visuals, and live performances, the band quickly attracted a cult following. Besides the "raw" sound, the band's music is noted for its avant-garde side and emphasis on atmosphere. Beherit are now regarded as a pioneer in their genre.
As a full band, Beherit released one full-length album and many demos and compilations of raw and minimalistic black metal. They disbanded soon after the release of the experimental 1993 album Drawing Down the Moon, which is now considered a classic of the genre. Laiho, the group's frontman, continued as a solo project and released two more albums under the band's name, H418ov21.C in 1994 and Electric Doom Synthesis in 1995. These albums are usually categorized as dark ambient. Although they were completely electronic, the albums carried the atmosphere of the band's black metal recordings. Original members Nuclear Holocausto and Sodomatic Slaughter reformed the band in 2008, now a four-piece featuring new members Ancient Corpse Desekrator and Abyss. (Full article...)Selected image -
Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that Venla Luukkonen is the first Finnish person to win the World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship at black belt level?
- ... that Charlotte Haining was an International Jury Member for the selection of Finland's 2020 Eurovision Song Contest entry?
- ... that politician Kalervo Kummola introduced karaoke to Finland?
- ... that Finnish politician Maija Rask earned a PhD at the age of 61 after a career as a nurse, teacher, member of Parliament, and minister of education?
- ... that a song about an esports team went viral in Finland?
- ... that records of transgender people in Finland stretch back to the 19th century?
WikiProjects
You are invited to participate in Finland WikiProject, a WikiProject dedicated to developing and improving articles about Finland.
More did you know -
- ...that the Finnish company YIT was responsible for the construction of the Finnish National Opera house, the Helsinki Fair Centre and Cirrus, the tallest high-rise building in Finland?
- ...that the paintings in the Espoo Cathedral were painted over in the 18th century, as they were thought to be "crude and superstitious'?
- ...that there are three unilingually Swedish municipalities in one province of mainland Finland?
- ...that Maria, the Finnish form of Mary, is the most popular Finnish name used during the modern era?
- ...that Finnish film director Valentin Vaala was reportedly so disappointed with his first film that he dumped the original camera negatives into the sea?
Kajaani (ca-YAA-nee; Finnish: [ˈkɑjɑːni]), historically known as Cajanaburg (Swedish: Kajana), is a town in Finland and the regional capital of Kainuu. Kajaani is located southeast of Lake Oulu, which drains into the Gulf of Bothnia through the Oulu River. The population of Kajaani is approximately Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character ""., while the sub-region has a population of approximately 51,000. It is the th most populous municipality in Finland.
The town was founded in the 17th century, fueled by the growth of the tar industry, but it was preceded by a long history of settlements. During the Great Northern War it succumbed to Russian forces, who ruined Kajaani Castle in 1716. Today, the local economy is mainly driven by the sawmill, lumber, and paper industries, although UPM Kymmene's paper mill, the main employer from 1907 until 2008, has since closed. Kajaani's church was built in 1896 in the Neo-Gothic style by the architect Jac Ahrenberg to replace an earlier church. Kajaani's town theatre was established in 1969. (Full article...)General images
In the news
- 22 May 2024 – Russia–NATO relations
- The Russian Ministry of Defence proposes to unilaterally adjust Russia's maritime border in the Baltic Sea, prompting comments of concern made by Baltic members of NATO, including Finland and Lithuania. The Ministry of Defense later retracts the proposal. (Reuters) (BBC 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)
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
- ^ "Population growth biggest in nearly 70 years". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2024-04-26. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2024-04-29.