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Helsinki horizon
1809, when Finland became a Grand Duchy, with a degree of self-rule, but governed by Russia until independence in 1917.

Two Helsinki Helpers waiting to serve visitors to the city.

Back in the era of Gustav Vasa the new town was conceived as a commercial rival to the Estonian capital, Tallinn, a member of the German-dominated Hanseatic League, located a short sea journey from Helsinki on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland. Thus, Helsinki grew out of a small settlement at the mouth of the River Vantaa to become capital of Finland in 1812.

A past and a future

The city that is proud of its past is likely to take good care of its present and invest in its future. Helsinki today is a place that is strikingly modern, clean, efficient and safe. Always essentially a Scandinavian, therefore western, city through its long connection with Sweden, Helsinki is now more western than ever through its position as the capital of a member state of the European Union.

The annual Finnish fireworks championship above the South Harbour.