Portal:Finland

The Finland Portal

Finland, or 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. Its capital and largest city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5.7 million. The official languages are Finnish and Swedish, the mother tongues of 83.5 percent and 5.0 percent of the population, respectively. Finland's climate varies from humid continental in the south to boreal in the north. Its land is predominantly covered by boreal forest, with over 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 Sweden following the Northern Crusades. In 1809, as a result of the Finnish War, Finland was captured from Sweden and became an autonomous grand duchy within the Russian Empire. During this period, Finnish art flourished and an independence movement gradually developed. (Full article...)

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Torvalds at the LinuxCon Europe 2014

Linus Benedict Torvalds (born 28 December 1969) is a Finnish and American software engineer who is the creator and lead developer of the Linux kernel since 1991. He also created the distributed version control system Git.

Torvalds was one of the recipients of the 2012 Millennium Technology Prize "in recognition of his creation of a new open source operating system for computers leading to the widely used Linux kernel". He is also the recipient of the 2014 IEEE Computer Society Computer Pioneer Award and the 2018 IEEE Masaru Ibuka Consumer Electronics Award. (Full article...)

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A lakeside smoke sauna ("savusauna") in Kannonkoski.

Did you know (auto-generated)

... that the 1972 Finnish film The Sheep Eaters gathered more than a million viewers opposite the 1975 Ice Hockey World Championships match between Finland and the Soviet Union?
... that Finnish-American model Selene Mahri married three millionaires and is credited with inventing the saying "Marriage is a question of give and take. You give. I take"?
... that the Grand Prix of Finland was held again in 2022 after Russia was banned from hosting international figure skating competitions?
... that the filmmakers of 100 Litres of Gold brewed 20 litres of sahti at the Finnish embassy in Rome for its premiere?
... that Joe Wirkkunen coached the Finland men's national ice hockey team after receiving a recommendation from Canada?
... that Turku remained the largest city in Finland after three quarters of it burned down?

WikiProjects

You are invited to participate in Finland WikiProject, a WikiProject dedicated to developing and improving articles about Finland.

More did you know - show different entries

...that the career of Tiia Piili, four-time FISAF World Champion in sport aerobics, was threatened when she got food poisoning attending a competition in Morocco?
...that Erkki Karu founded both Suomi-Filmi and Suomen Filmiteollisuus, the two largest film production companies during the 'Golden Age' of Finnish cinema?
...that "Blooddrunk", a track by Finnish band Children of Bodom about self-destructive behaviour, debuted at number one in Finland?
...that Taisto Mäki, one of the so-called Flying Finns, was the first man to run 10,000 metres in under half an hour?
...that when called by the opposition to quit after the Kauhajoki school shooting, Finnish politician Anne Holmlund refused and compared resigning her post as Interior Minister to "desertion"?

... that the asteroid 1536 Pielinen is named after Pielinen Lake (pictured) in Finland?

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Vainio in 1924 at age 71

Edvard August Vainio (born Edvard Lang; 5 August 1853 – 14 May 1929) was a Finnish lichenologist. His early works on the lichens of Lapland, his three-volume monograph on the lichen genus Cladonia, and, in particular, his study of the classification and form and structure of lichens in Brazil, made Vainio renowned internationally in the field of lichenology.

Young Vainio's friendship with university student Johan Petter Norrlin, who was nearly eleven years older, helped him develop an impressive knowledge of the local cryptogams (ferns, mosses, algae, and fungi, including lichens) and afforded him ample opportunity to hone his collection and identification techniques at an early age. It was through this association that Vainio met Norrlin's teacher, the prominent lichenologist William Nylander, who supported his early botanical efforts. Vainio's earliest works dealt with phytogeography—elucidating and enumerating the local flora—and are considered the earliest publications on phytogeography in the Finnish language. In these early publications he demonstrated an attention to detail and thoroughness that would become characteristic of his later work. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various Finland-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The decision of the Soviet of the People's Comissars' to recognise Finnish independence, signed by Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Grigory Petrovsky, Joseph Stalin, Isaac Steinberg, Vladimir Karelin, and Alexander Schlichter (from History of Finland)
Image 2A reconstruction of a 12th-century Perniö costume (from History of Finland)
Image 3President K. J. Ståhlberg in his office in 1919 (from History of Finland)
Image 4Northern Europe in 814 (from History of Finland)
Image 5In the middle is the patron saint of Finland, Saint Henry, on the right side of him is Bishop Konrad Bitz and on the left is Dean Magnus Stjernkors; from Missale Aboense (1488) (from History of Finland)
Image 6A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes (from Culture of Finland)
Image 7Midsummer bonfire (kokko) in Mäntsälä (from Culture of Finland)
Image 8In the sauna, by Pekka Halonen, 1925 (from Culture of Finland)
Image 9Finnish folk dancers in a 1907 postcard sent from Mustamäki, Finland (from Culture of Finland)
Image 10This 1825 map of the Grand Duchy of Finland is from a larger work, geographical atlas of the Russian Empire. (from History of Finland)
Image 11The area of Finland in the years 1920–1940. The 1935 county and municipality division on the map. (from History of Finland)
Image 12Lapua Movement supporters beating the "red officer" Eino Nieminen [fi] in front of the Vaasa courthouse during the 4 June 1930 riot. (from History of Finland)
Image 13Pieces of the Antrea Net (8,300 BC), the oldest-known fishing net in the world. (from History of Finland)
Image 14Painting of Lalli killing Henry. Painting by C. A. Ekman. (from History of Finland)
Image 15Women dressed in Finnish folk costumes (from Culture of Finland)
Image 16Signing the Helsinki Accords are the West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, East Germany's leader Erich Honecker, US president Gerald Ford and the Austrian chancellor Bruno Kreisky (from History of Finland)
Image 17Prehistoric red ochre painted rock art of moose, human figures, and boats in Astuvansalmi, Finland, from ca. 3800–2200 BC (from Culture of Finland)
Image 18Imagery collage of Birger Jarl conquering Häme and the construction of Häme Castle (from History of Finland)
Image 19Helsinki Accords Treaty (from History of Finland)
Image 20Map of Finnish areas ceded to the Soviet Union in 1944, after the Continuation War (from History of Finland)
Image 212007 Formula One World Champion Kimi Räikkönen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix (from Culture of Finland)
Image 22Turku Cathedral and its surroundings from 1814 (from History of Finland)
Image 23Winter War Monument in Suomussalmi, Kainuu, Finland (from History of Finland)
Image 24Mikael Agricola hands over the Finnish Translation of the New Testament to King Gustav Wasa. (from History of Finland)
Image 25President Urho Kekkonen's funeral procession in 1986 (from History of Finland)
Image 26A view of Pohjoisesplanadi in the center of Helsinki in 1891 (from History of Finland)
Image 27Finland Ostrobothnia regiment uniforms in 1705 (from History of Finland)
Image 28Pekka Halonen's painting "against persecutors" from 1896 depicts the warfare of the ancient Finns. (from History of Finland)
Image 29Identification document and tag of a Finnish war child (from History of Finland)
Image 30Grand Duchy of Finland, 75 kopek assignat (1824) (from History of Finland)
Image 31Janne Ahonen is considered one of the best and most successful currently active ski jumpers. (from Culture of Finland)
Image 32Wehrmacht soldiers with a local Sámi reindeer herder, Lappland, Sodankylä, Finland 1942 (from History of Finland)
Image 33Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics (from Culture of Finland)
Image 34Battle of Gangut (Hanko) was part of the Great Northern War during 1700–1721. (from History of Finland)
Image 35The public education system founded during earlier Swedish rule resulted the literacy of Grand Duchy of Finland being higher than its host country Russian Empire (map of 1897 census literacy data) (from History of Finland)
Image 36A smoke sauna (savusauna) in Enonkoski (from Culture of Finland)
Image 37Three Finnish Romani women in Helsinki, Finland, in 1930s (from Culture of Finland)
Image 38Sámi family in traditional costumes from Finland. (from Culture of Finland)
Image 39Marshal of Finland Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim visit in Germany, 1942 (from History of Finland)
Image 40Kastelli Giant's Church in Pattijoki by Pöljä culture [fi] (from History of Finland)
Image 41Linus Torvalds, a famous Fennoswede software engineer, best known for initiating the development of the Linux kernel (from Culture of Finland)
Image 42Kalmar Union in 1400s (from History of Finland)
Image 43Captain Aarne Juutilainen at the front at Kollaa during the Winter War (from History of Finland)
Image 44An old drawing of the city of Turku in the 18th century (from History of Finland)
Image 45Finnish Guards' Rifle Battalion, 1850s (from History of Finland)
Image 46Jean Sibelius at work in his study (from History of Finland)
Image 47Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry (from Culture of Finland)
Image 48A group of Finnish soldiers operating a Bofors gun during the Continuation War in 1943 (from History of Finland)
Image 49Badge of the Finnish White/Civil Guard (from History of Finland)
Image 50Alvar Aalto, Viipuri Library (1927–35) (from Culture of Finland)
Image 51The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music (from Culture of Finland)
Image 52Students on Helsinki's Esplanadi wearing their caps on Vappu (from Culture of Finland)
Image 53In 2011 figure skater Kiira Korpi was ranked 4th in the world. (from Culture of Finland)
Image 54The part of Finland controlled by the Reds at its largest in February–March 1918 (from History of Finland)
Image 55Jussipaita (transl. Jussi sweater); a traditional sweater from the Finnish region of Southern Ostrobothnia (from Culture of Finland)
Image 56Kreeta Haapasalo Playing the Kantele in a Peasant Cottage (1868), by Robert Wilhelm Ekman (from History of Finland)
Image 57The first government of independent Finland. P. E. Svinhufvud, the first Prime Minister of Finland, sitting at the head of the table. (from History of Finland)
Image 58Battle of Valkeala was part of the Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790). (from History of Finland)
Image 59Apocalyptica's Perttu Kivilaakso playing metal music live (from Culture of Finland)
Image 60Homann's map of the Scandinavian Peninsula and Fennoscandia with their surrounding territories: northern Germany, northern Poland, the Baltic region, Livonia, Belarus, and parts of Northwest Russia. Johann Baptist Homann (1664–1724) was a German geographer and cartographer; map dated around 1730. (from History of Finland)
Image 61The ruins of Vammala burned by the Reds, during the Civil war (from History of Finland)
Image 62Stone Age stone axe engraved with human face found from Kiuruvesi. (from History of Finland)
Image 63Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927 (from Culture of Finland)
Image 64Memorial of the Mannerheim Cross Knights of Parikkala, Finland (from History of Finland)
Image 65The Swedish empire at its largest. Most of present-day Finland was part of Sweden proper, rike, shown in dark green. (from History of Finland)
Image 66The area controlled by Finland at its largest, in 1942 (from History of Finland)
Image 67Women in sauna with Vihtas
Image 68A peasant girl and a woman in traditional dress from Ruokolahti, eastern Finland, as depicted by Severin Falkman in 1882 (from Culture of Finland)
Image 69People gathered in the Senate Square for a demonstration against the February Manifesto in March 1899. (from History of Finland)
Image 70The Finno-Soviet Treaty (from History of Finland)
Image 71Portrait of Finnish poet Elias Lönnrot who wrote "the Kalevala" (1802 - 1884) (from History of Finland)
Image 72S/S Urania in Hanko harbor in 1893, with 509 emigrants on board on their way to America (from History of Finland)
Image 73Stone Age dwelling named Kierikki 5000–3000 BC (from History of Finland)
Image 74A summer cottage (mökki) on a lake island (from Culture of Finland)
Image 75Ancylus Lake covered major part of Finland (7,500–6,000 BC) (from History of Finland)
Image 76(1809 Diet of Porvoo) The sovereign's pledge, printed in Finnish (from History of Finland)
Image 77Eero Järnefelt, Burning the Brushwood, 1893 (from History of Finland)

In the news

29 April 2026 –: Finnish elevator manufacturer Kone announces the acquisition of its German competitor, TK Elevator, in a €29.4 billion (US$34.4 billion) deal, described by Bloomberg L.P. as one of Europe's largest private equity-related takeovers and the largest corporate acquisition in Finland. (AFP via Barron's) (Bloomberg)
29 March 2026 – Russo-Ukrainian war: Several unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are detected across southeastern Finland. One of the UAVs is identified as Ukrainian after it crashes near Kouvola. (Yle)
5 February 2026 – 2026 Winter Olympics: The match between Finland and Canada in the women's ice hockey tournament at the Winter Olympics is postponed to February 12 after a norovirus outbreak affected 13 members of the Finnish team. (NBC)
21 January 2026 – Greenland crisis, Tariffs in the second Trump administration: United States president Donald Trump announces he will cancel the planned tariffs on Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom after reaching an agreement with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte for a Greenland framework. He also stated at the World Economic Forum that he has ruled out sending forces amidst invasion fears. (BBC News) (Fortune)

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