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| Indeed there is a mystical feeling in the approach to Helsinki whether one is a Finn or not. It has something to do with the town's geographical location, way up here on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, the eastern arm of the Baltic that extends to St. Petersburg. Helsinki today is a clean-limbed, modern, efficient city; cold, crisp and clean in winter, bright, warm and sunlit in summer. At latitude 60 degrees north the light here becomes intense whenever the clouds disperse. |
Founded in 15502000 was a special year for the Finnish capital, simultaneously celebrating its 450th anniversary and its status as one of the nine EU-designated cities of culture. June 12 is Helsinki Day, commemorating the day in 1550 when King Gustav Vasa of Sweden gave the order for the establishment of a new town that was later to become Finland's capital. Finland was then part of the Swedish realm, a link that was not severed until |
Last moments of sunshine before a thunderstorm |
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