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A Brief History
As a result of the Napoleonic war settlement, Finland became part of
Russia as an autonomous Grand Duchy in 1809, having formerly been under
Swedish rule. Swedish laws were retained and the country was allowed to
keep its own currency, mail and railway systems. After the collapse of
Tsarist rule in Russia in 1917, Finland declared itself independent on
December 6 of that year.
In 1919 the present constitution was
adopted and Finland became a republic. The current president, Tarja
Halonen, is the first Finnish female president. She took the office in
March 2000.
Finland - A
few facts
Four distinct seasons and an exotic location attract visitors to
Finland, the most north-easterly country of the European Union and
neighboured by Sweden, Norway and Russia. The location between East and
West is an exciting one; St. Petersburg is only about 350 kilometres
away from the Finnish capital of Helsinki, while Tallinn in Estonia can
be reached in 90 minutes by fast ferry. The Baltic Sea provides a
passage to Central and Eastern Europe.
Finland
today
Finland has been an EU member since 1995. Modern Finland is a prosperous
country with a high level of social security, a high standard of living
and advanced technology. One of the most important high-tech
corporations in the world, Nokia, is originally a Finnish company and
has its headquarters in Espoo, Finland.
The People
Just 5 million nature-loving Finns make up the population. A quiet,
reserved but friendly and honest people renowned for their skills in
furniture-making, ship-building, technology and of course, motor rally
drivers, skiers and their great musical composer, Jan Sibelius. Most
people are Christians of the Lutheran order with approx 2% Orthodox.
Finnish and Swedish are the national languages but English is widely
spoken.
Food & Drink
Finnish cuisine is mainly European with renowned regional specialities
and a strong emphasis in fish, particularly salmon, trout, perch and
herring. Reindeer is popular in Lapland and arctic berries make
delicious deserts, sauces and liqueurs. The most consumed drinks are
beer and vodka! In common with most Scandinavian countries, hotels offer
a help-yourself buffet breakfast with a wide choice of cereals, fruit
juice, cold meat, fish, eggs, cheese and pastries.
Geography
Finland is the seventh largest country in Europe with a total surface
area of 338,000 sq. km (130,500 sq. miles). The country is very sparsely
populated, with only 5.2 million residents.
Climate
Pure, clean and stimulating. In the winter to the
North and East temperatures fall to -20C with only 3 hours daylight and
snowmobiling, husky rides and skiing are the order of the day. In summer
Finland is one of the sunniest places in Northern Europe with almost 24
hours of perpetual daylight and gorgeous balmy days where people enjoy
their lake-side summer houses, saunas and boats and swim in the warm,
clear waters.
At Midsummer, the sun is about half way
between the zenith and the horizon at noon, passing across southern
Finland for 19-20 hours, but never setting in northern Finland.
Lapland’s nature
is austere but beautiful
The different parts of Lapland are clearly distinct. The south and the
west are maritime, they have rivers and rich flora. Central and eastern
Lapland are known for their tree-covered fells.
Northern Lapland is more barren, and only stunted deciduous trees and
bushes grow above the tree limit.
The
domes of the fells are bare and easy to cross. Pine, usually accompanied
by lichen, dominates Lapland’s forests. Nature, forests, waterways and
the landscape have had a profound effect on the lives of Lapland’s
inhabitants. The shamans, who are also known to have dwelled in Lapland,
based their beliefs on natural phenomena and the course of life and
nature.
Lapland’s Wildlife
The reindeer is an inherent part of Lapland’s nature and is one of the
north’s favourite animals. The 200,000 strong reindeer stock is an
essential source of livelihood for the people of
Lapland.
The golden eagle can also be spotted in Lapland. The birch groves are
home to other birds common in Lapland – the meadow pipit, the Lapland’s
most common predator, the fox, roams the forests. Wolves and arctic
foxes are rare. You can also come across bears in the forests of eastern
Lapland or on the lower slopes of the fells. The most common bird of
prey is the rough-legged buzzard. wheatear and the willow
warbler.
Other northern birds include the snow bunting, the willow
grouse and the Siberian jay. Birds found typically in the heaths of
Lapland are the golden plover; by the rapids, the water ouzel; and in
the peatlands, the sandpiper, the ruff, the crane and the bean goose.
Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) - nature’s most
beautiful light show
Encyclopaedias define the Aurora Borealis as a colourful light
phenomenon, which shows itself when charged particles, protons and
electrons, carried by solar winds hit the upper parts of the Earth’s
atmosphere.
The definition – which is probably scientifically correct – seems
anaemic for those who have seen the spectacular Aurora Polaris or Aurora
Borealis phenomenon also known as the Northern Lights, in its full
brightness – quickly changing colours, power and changing form, it
produces a significant natural light show.
The form and colour changes
The Northern Lights usually perform at a height of 100 kilometres. There
are enormous changes in colour and form. One can observe the Northern
Lights as a peaceful east-west line, a curve or beams of light, quickly
moving and pulsating forms. The most common colours are greenish yellow
and red. Some observers claim that the Northern Lights also make sounds
as they blaze across the sky.
This however, has not been scientifically proven. Esa
Turunen a Doctor of Philosophy from the Geophysical Observatory in
Sodankylä has been researching the Northern Lights in Lapland. Turunen
says that the Northern Lights appear in our sky about 200 nights per
year, unfortunately the sky is not always clear and they can not be seen
through cloud cover. On average there are approximately 2 bright clear
nights per week.
They give as much light as the moon
The strongest and brightest Northern Lights give as much light as the
moon. The most anxious “Northern Lights tourists” are the Japanese. Many
guest groups in Lapland ask the night porters of hotels to wake them at
any time of night if the Northern Lights are to appear. And no wonder –
the Japanese believe that the Northern Lights bring happiness and male
children. The Northern Lights appear on every planet in our solar system
with a magnetic field and an atmosphere. The sun was most active in 2000
and 2001, which made the Northern Lights appearance more
likely.
Lakes and
forests
Finland is known as the 'land of the thousand lakes', but in fact there
are 187,888 of them. The lakes are a veritable maze with their profusion
of bays, headlands and islands, sometimes opening out into broader
waters.
From June to August people swim and go
boating in the lakes and rivers. In winter, when the lakes are
ice-covered, people ski and skate on them. Finland has 33 national parks
around the country for hiking and outdoor activities.
The Arctic Circle
Lapland among other Arctic areas has something unique and world known –
The Arctic Circle - a border where north of it the sun does not set in
mid-summer and does not rise in mid-winter.
For a long time the Arctic Circle has been important to astronomers. As
a natural element, it is comparable to the North and South Poles, the
Equator as well as the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer.
The Arctic Circle encompasses the northern hemisphere at about the 66.5°
line of latitude. In Finnish Lapland the meridian’s western border is at
about 24° and the eastern border at about 29.5°.
The Arctic Circle
is perpetually moving, Arctic Circle’s geographical position is not
static, in fact it can move almost 2 meters in a day and more than 100
metres per year. With modern technology the location of the Arctic
Circle can easily be pinpointed in real-time
Lapland Culture
The culture of Lapland is a mixture of
north and south, east and west. It is Lapp and Finnish but also Swedish,
Norwegian and even Russian. The times of logging camps and the gold rush
have added spice to the culture.
Today, to find culture, is to find and recognise those spiritual
resources in which the people of Lapland base their livelihood. The
culture of Lapland is broadly understood as the way of life and how to
make a living. The nature of Lapland, enterprises and the sources of
livelihood, new as well as old, form an important part of that cultural
background, which the people of Lapland build their identity in this
ever integrating world.
Due to the size of Lapland, the cultural differences are
remarkable in the various areas. In west Lapland, a tight hundred-year
border co-operation with Sweden has characterised
the way of life in that area. The most charming feature is the language
spoken on both sides of the border “meän-kieli” – a very special “own”
language – fishing traditions and the many happenings. In east Lapland,
logging has always been a dominant factor and dictates the lifestyle.
You can still experience a touch of the old logging camp
tradition in the Salla and Savukoski areas and villages. In north
Lapland Saami is the most interesting living form of culture.
Languages
Finland is officially bilingual: Finnish, a Finno-Ugric language, is
spoken by 93 %, and Swedish by 6%. About 1,700 people in Lapland speak
Sami languages.
Religion
Christianity reached Finland about 1,000 years ago, more or less
simultaneously from the East and West. As a consequence, both the
Evangelical-Lutheran Church and Orthodox Church have the status of
official religions. Some 86% of the population belong to the former and
1% or so to the latter. People have the freedom of religion stated in
the law.
Every month of the
year there is some kind of cultural happening in Lapland. Musical
events like jazz and opera to figure skating, sculpting and
ice-sculpting, indoor- and outdoor theatre, cartoon and film festivals,
gold panning…and everything related to the beautiful nature of Lapland.
Gold
The gold rush was an enchanting addition to Lappish culture. This
valuable metal was most intensively mined in the 1900’s and 1940’s. In
many places in Lapland it is still a livelihood for some. Visit the
Tankavaara Gold Village in Sodankylä to become acquainted with the
history and today’s gold mining.
Handicrafts
In Lapland, handicrafts presents a rare living cultural tradition.
Craftsman’s working conditions can be first-rate or quite modest and the
work is based on traditional or modern techniques. Due to the climate,
nature and sparse population, the working methods and conditions differ
greatly from other areas of Europe.
Handicraft workers
and artists create a cache of cultural travel objectives, with a chance
to see live working situations and see what northern cultural creators
are made of. Most craftsmen will invite tourists in to see their working
conditions and products, this way they too become acquainted with the
customer.
Land Area
Lapland is 98 937 km², this large area represents 30% of Finland’s total
land area, of this area 93 057 km² is land and 5 944 km² is
water.
Cities and
Municipalities
Rovaniemi is Lapland’s administrative capital with 35 377
(2004) inhabitants. The other cities in Lapland are Kemi (22 907
inhabitants), Tornio (22 204 inhabitants) and Kemijärvi (9 529
inhabitants). The province of Lapland has 18 municipalities: Simo, Ranua,
Posio, Keminmaa, Tervola, Province de Rovaniemi, Salla, Pelkosenniemi,
Savukoski, Sodankylä, Kittilä, Inari, Utsjoki, Ylitornio, Pello, Kolari,
Muonio, Enontekiö.
Population
In
Lapland there are 186 443 inhabitants (2004) with an average population
density of about 2 people/km² (national average 16,8). The indigenous
people of Lapland are Saami with a population of about
7000.
Photographic Equipment
Most photographic equipment does not function correctly in lower
temperatures. Most manufacturers of camcorders advise against their use
in temperatures lower that -4C. Protective covers for such equipment can
be purchase at reputable photographic shops.
Please remember that there are few daylight hours in December.
Duty Free
Finland is part of the EU and therefore you are unable to purchase duty
free in Lapland. |
