Finland - 4 seasons, 4 reasons

36 Pages·2006·4.327 MB·English

Finland
4 seasons
4 reasons
www. visitfinland.com
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F
ac Facts about Finland • 338,000 square kilometres, the seventh largest
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a country in Europe
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o
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t F • water 10% of area, forest 69% of area
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la • 1,160 km long, 540 km wide
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• 187,888 lakes, 179,584 islands
• 5.2 million inhabitants, average population density 17
persons per km2
• Finnish-speaking 93.5%, Swedish-speaking 5.9%, Sami
(the indigenous language of the Lapp people) <1%
• Length of national boundaries: Sweden 586 km,
Norway 716 km, Russia 1,269 km
Finland’s location between East
(Russia) and West (Sweden) has
taught the nation to exist next door to
superpowers, which both of its
neighbours used to be in their time.
4 Seasons – 4 Reasons
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Finland
, an enchanting, different, even ex-
otic tourist destination, attracts increasing numbers of inter-
national visitors every year. Four distinct seasons give Finland
Table of contents
diversity. Sometimes sparkling snow covers the landscape,
sometimes the midnight sun reflects on the surfaces of its
Finland images 4
innumerable lakes. Sometimes the trees rustle in their au-
A common sense country 5
tumn splendour, sometimes the spring stealthily takes the
people from winter to summer. The great wilderness 7
Finland’s closeness to nature is one of its wonderments Finnish cuisine 7
to many visitors who come from other countries. Trustwor- Know-how 8
thy and honest, the Finnish people are easy to like. Thanks
Entertainment from sports to culture 8
to high technology, Finland is a smoothly functioning society.
Shopping spree 9
Technology coexists with untouched nature in an exciting
way.
Four seasons of activity 10
Finnish culture and design enjoy international acclaim.
Many people outside the country enthusiastically follow the Winter 11
Finnish way of life and want to get to know it better. The age- Spring 12
old principle of everyman’s rights gives even the visitor wide Summer 14
liberties to pick berries or mushrooms from someone else’s
Autumn 16
forest, or just to wander in the wild.
Finland offers a versatile menu. Both genuine Finnish
The four regions 18
fare and international cuisine are well represented. Visitors
The south 19
may find it interesting to sample our traditional delicacies,
such as thick pea soup or salmon cooked over an open fire. The west 22
Finland is a large country with no more than some five The east 24
million inhabitants. No wonder, therefore, that it offers wide The north 26
vistas and open spaces. Congestion is rare. A boat trip
through the Finnish archipelago, which is one of the most
Getting to Finland 28
beautiful in the world, is an unforgettable experience.
Finland facts 29
We Finns would like to warmly welcome our interna-
Finnish Tourist Board offices 32
tional guests to experience this many-faceted country and
to explore its many options. Map of Finland 34
Jaakko Lehtonen
Director General
Finnish Tourist Board
4 Seasons – 4 Reasons
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Finland images
Finland is a country of intriguing opposites. In summer, its green forests bask
in warm sunshine. In winter, the landscape rests under a blanket of snow in
various shades of white.
The country is tucked away in the far north, yet it is one of Europe’s ac-
claimed conference venues. By area Finland is the seventh largest country
in Europe, yet it only has an average of 17 inhabitants per km2. The figures,
however, vary a great deal by region - from the 203 per km2 in the
southernmost province to 2 per km2 in the far north.
Green forest, blue lakes. That is the first impression of the country from
the air. Yet, in the middle of this seemingly endless blue-green plateau there
are cities vibrant with life and industries the world looks up to. In just forty
years, the previously agricultural country has become a technologically ad-
vanced, prosperous society.
The Finns’ quiet and even reserved appearance covers a friendly and
honest soul. People go to their wood-processing, engineering, electronics or
service sector jobs on weekdays and love to retreat to their holiday homes
on remote lakeshores for weekends and holidays.
4 Seasons – 4 Reasons
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Finland superlatives
A common sense country Quality of life: world sixth in United Nations
Common sense, no fuss, making things work. That pretty survey of quality of life
much sums up how Finland and the Finns operate. Finland
Public sector honesty: the least corrupt country in
was part of Sweden from the 12th century to 1809 and
the world (Transparency International 2002)
Imperial Russia from then until independence in 1917, but
its people were never assimilated. Now Finland is a mem- Islands: the archipelago off southwest Finland is
ber of the European Union and holds many important the biggest in the world, measured by the
posts within the United Nations. number of islands (more than 20,000)
The challenges of overwhelming nature, sparse popu-
lation and harsh climate have made Finns stubbornly self- Lakes: 187,888 lakes, their average area 18
sufficient. All through history, it has been “every man for hectares (a lake has a surface area of at least
himself”. In the case of Finland, this includes women, too. 500 square metres)
Women have traditionally contributed to the existence of
Forest: covers 69% of Finland’s land area, the
the family. In times of crisis, they have supported the sur-
highest proportion in the world
vival of the whole nation. It was only natural that Finnish
women were the first in Europe to be granted the vote in
1906, more than a decade before independence.
Urbanisation started late in Finland. Migration to towns
began in the 1950s, and today two-thirds of the popula-
tion live in urban centres. Finland largely avoided the
negative side effects of urbanisation. There are no slums
as housing construction kept pace with the influx, and the
environment is clean. The crime rate is low compared with
other European countries or the US, and surveys show
that Finnish public officials are the least corrupt in the
world.
4 Seasons – 4 Reasons
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4 Seasons – 4 Reasons
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Finland is a large country and its people want to be
able to reach each other. The road and rail networks
reach everywhere, and the domestic flight network is
dense. Telephone lines go to the smallest of villages, and
the advent of wireless telephony has caused a nation-
wide mobile phone boom.
Finns are peace-loving people. For example, the hero
of the folk epic, Kalevala, is a poet rather than a warrior.
Seven hundred years of living between Sweden and Rus-
sia, two superpowers at loggerheads, taught resilience. A
Protestant outlook on life has helped; hard work and pa-
tience have often been winning strategies. Today, Finland
actively participates in UN peace-keeping operations in
various parts of the world.
The driving force of the Finns is quiet passion. Whether
for their international sports stars or their sovereignty,
they remain steadfast in their principles and beliefs. If
things go badly, they don’t surrender, they adapt. Eventu-
ally a chance will come to turn things for the better.
The great wilderness
Closeness to nature is clearly a national trait. No wonder.
The country is predominantly nature with its vast forests
and almost two hundred thousand lakes.
The forest was long the natural habitat of the Finns,
providing both shelter and subsistence. Even today, many
people long for the tranquillity of nature. They think noth-
ing of spending the whole day in the woods picking ber- Finland superlatives
ries or mushrooms, or stalking their favourite game.
For many visitors, it is just this tranquillity that appeals Childcare: world’s lowest infant mortality rate
to them most. What is more, this natural breathing space
Investment in education and the arts: 7.2% of
is always close at hand. Even in the biggest cities, nature
GNP invested in education, the highest figure
is accessible in matters of minutes rather than hours.
within the OECD (western industrialised coun-
Finland is a clean country. A kind of national environ-
tries and Japan)
mental conscience has taken care of installing strict
guidelines on waste and emissions.
Literacy rate: 100%; almost all the world records
related to public libraries
Finnish cuisine
Traditional Finnish home fare is a mixture of east, west Arts and museums: world’s highest per capita
and local. From the east come many types of soups and rate of public funding
casseroles, stuffed cabbage rolls and Karelian pies, not to
Coffee consumption: 14 kg per person annually,
mention brown bread. The west contributes fish dishes
more per capita than any other nation
and hard bread. The meat is predominantly beef or pork.
Finnish beer has won international prizes, but for many Newspapers: third in the world in terms of
people, cold milk is the preferred drink with meals. With newspaper circulation relative to population with
the exception of fruit and berry wines, wine production is 456 newspapers per 1,000 inhabitants
virtually non-existent, but Finnish vodka and liqueurs are
known internationally. Lifestyle: a sauna for every household in Finland;
Along with increasing urbanisation and the high living another world record
standard, international cuisine has become common-
place. Indian, Chinese, Turkish and Mexican flavours are
not unknown, together with other faraway tastes. Many
international fast food chains have a widespread pres-
ence in Finland.
4 Seasons – 4 Reasons
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Know-how
Finnish education consistently tops sur-
Finland superlatives
veys by the Organisation for Economic
Telecommunications: approximately 87 mobile Co-operation and Development
phone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants; more (OECD). The literacy rate is 100%, the
mobile phone than fixed network subscriptions government spends liberally on education
and the comprehensive school system
Internet use: second position in the world,
enjoys a high degree of academic freedom.
surpassed only by the United States
In only a few decades, Finland has built itself a highly-
educated workforce.
Forest industries: one of the world’s leading
The high quality of education also includes sophisti-
exporters of forest products; in exports of paper
cated language skills. That is why the visitor will have no
and paperboard second in the world after
problems getting along in Finland in the English lan-
Canada
guage.
Motor sport: three Formula 1 world champion- Wood processing and the pulp and paper industries
ships (Keke Rosberg 1982, Mika Häkkinen 1998 are natural in a country with more than two-thirds of its
and 1999); four rally world championships to land area covered with forest. Because much of Finland’s
Juha Kankkunen (still unequalled), three for energy and raw materials have to be imported, other main
Tommi Mäkinen industries are more specialised, such as shipbuilding,
engineering and electronics.
The size of the country and the climate have been offered
as explanations for Finland’s rapid rise to the top in global
electronics. Perhaps another reason is the people’s un-
prejudiced attitude to new inventions. Internet penetration
is among the highest in the world and the world’s largest
mobile phone manufacturer comes from Finland.
Entertainment from sports to culture
Finns manufacture paper, build ships and engage in e-
commerce. But they do have leisure time, too. Sport is the
national pastime, with skiing, ice hockey, soccer and For-
mula 1 competing for top ratings. Golfing in Finland offers
4 Seasons – 4 Reasons
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a unique experience. There are two world-class casinos,
and millions of people participate in Lotto or play horses
at trotting tracks every week.
For the more culturally oriented, Finland has some
1,500 events throughout the year. From outdoor concerts
to opera festivals, from art exhibitions to international film
festivals, the offering caters for all tastes. Finnish com-
posers, conductors, opera singers and film directors fea-
ture among internationally acknowledged names. Thea-
tres stage plays by international as well as Finnish writ-
ers. Films are easy to follow in Finnish cinemas as they
are played using the original soundtrack with local-lan-
guage subtitles.
A visit to a local dance pavilion in the countryside on a
warm summer weekend is an unforgettable experience
in present-day folk tradition. And what is the biggest hit?
Unbelievably, the passionate tango.
Shopping spree
International coexists peacefully with national in shops
and department stores. The souvenir-hunter, however,
might like to look at the more typically Finnish items.
Finnish design follows Nordic ideals - purity of form,
functionality and skilful use of materials. Finnish glass,
furniture and fashion are top contenders for the visitor’s
attention. Traditional “puukko” knives, quality furs, cook-
ing utensils, ceramics, jewellery, chocolates and electron-
ics are also worth a closer look. Wood and textile
handicrafts have more historical roots.
Even music might be a good choice. Many Finnish
bands play music with English lyrics, and the language of
classical music is international.
4 Seasons – 4 Reasons
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Four seasons of activity
The four distinctly different seasons create four different Finlands in the
course of the year: the long winter months with magnificent starry skies and
awesome polar lights, the vigour of awakening nature in spring, the white
nights and warmth of the summer, and the blazing colours of autumn.
Events: DECEMBER-MARCH: St Lucia Festival • Christmas Markets • Dec 6th Independence Day celebrations
• Turku Christmas City of Finland • Puijo (Kuopio) Christmas Village • New Year celebrations • Arctic Lapland
Rally, Rovaniemi • Northern Lights Festival, Rovaniemi • Tunturi Blues, Saariselkä • Ounasvaara Winter Games,
Rovaniemi • Salpausselkä Ski Games, Lahti • Kick-Sled World Championships, Multia
Polar lights, Aurora Borealis
4 Reasons – 4 Seasons