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Helsinki, or Helsingfors in Swedish, is the capital of Finland. It is located in the southern part of Finland on the shore of the Gulf of FinlandThe Gulf of Finland is an arm of the Baltic Sea that extends between Finland (to the north) and Estonia (to the south) all the way to the city of Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities around the gulf include H. Helsinki forms a conurbation with three other cities, EspooEspoo Esbo in Swedish) is a city on the Southern coast of Finland sharing a boundary with Helsinki to its east and Vantaa to its north. Together with Kauniainen (which is very small, and entirely enclosed by Espoo) these form the Helsinki Metropolitan Are, VantaaVantaa Vanda in Swedish) is a municipality in Finland. It borders Helsinki, the Finnish capital, on the north and east. Other neighbouring municipalities are Espoo in the west, Nurmijarvi, Kerava and Tuusula in the north and Sipoo in the east. Helsinki, E and KauniainenKauniainen Grankulla in Swedish) is a small municipality of 8,622 inhabitants (as of 2003 12-31) in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland. Kauniainen is completely surrounded by the municipality of Espoo. The local taxation rate in Kauniainen is the low, which are together called the capital area. The Greater Helsinki area has a total population of 1.2 million.

1 History

Main article: History of HelsinkiThe history of Helsinki. The Swedish king Gustav Vasa had a great interest to build up at the rapids of the river Vantaa a community that would transfer all trade, both export and import, to one place in Finland. In 1550 he ordained that a new town, Helsi

King Gustav I of SwedenGustav I of Sweden Gustav Vasa or Gustav Eriksson Vasa ( 1496 1560), became king of Sweden in 1523 and was the first monarch of the house of Vasa. He had become regent of Sweden in 1521 after leading the rebellion against the sitting monarch of the Kalmar had a great interest to build up at the rapids of the river Vantaa a community that would transfer all trade, both export and import, to one place in Finland. In 1550 he ordained that a new town, Helsingfors, should be founded. At that time, however, Helsinki was little more than a place for the King and his retinue to stay while they were away from the capital TurkuTurku bo in Swedish, Aboa in Latin, is a city in Finland, founded in the 13th century. The exact year of foundation is not commonly agreed, but tradtionally it is often dated from the year 1229. According to documents, this was the year the bishop´s see w on hunting trips. It was thanks to the paternal solicitude for his people that the city was founded. Gustav believed that a town standing directly opposite Tallinn, which was a remarkable Hanseatic centre, was needed to attract to it the trade hitherto the monopoly of foreigners, mostly Germans, Russians and Dutchmen.

Finland was in those days the eastern province of the Swedish state. After northern Estonia, including Tallinn, became a part of Sweden in 1561, the rivalry between Tallinn and Helsinki ceased to matter Gustav Vasa's economic plans. When the city later was moved to the southernmost peninsula of the neighbouring area, it was only because there were more favourable conditions for a harbour. The original foundation was at the mouth of the Vantaa river, but the population eventually migrated somewhat to the west in order to take advantage of better sea-anchorage. Helsinki only became the capital of Finland in 1812 after Finland had been captured from Sweden by Russia.