Then and now in photos: Helsinki 50 years after the Cold War summit

Life & societyHistory

In August 1975, Helsinki found itself in the global spotlight. Leaders from 35 countries gathered in Finland’s capital to sign the Helsinki Final Act, a landmark agreement in the Cold War era that helped lay the groundwork for dialogue between East and West. It was one of Finland’s most significant diplomatic moments, launching what would become the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Fifty years later, Finland again welcomes representatives from across the OSCE region to mark the anniversary. While the political landscape has shifted in countless ways, the values agreed upon in 1975 around cooperation and human rights remain deeply relevant today. The 2025 commemorative events reflect on those ideals and their enduring role in European security and diplomacy.

To honour the moment, we’re stepping into a visual time machine. These ten sets of photographs pair archival images from 1975 with new ones taken in the exact same locations this year. Some scenes are nearly unrecognisable; others appear untouched. Together, they tell the half-century story of urban transformation in Helsinki.

1. Porthaninkatu and Toinen linja, Kallio

From below street level, a deep construction site with rocky terrain and scaffolding fills the foreground, while tall buildings and a crane rise in the background.

Photo: unknown/Helsinki City Museum

A wide city view shows tall buildings at an intersection with tram tracks, pedestrians, a scooter rider and a distant green-domed cathedral beneath sunny skies.

Photo: Emilia Kangasluoma

Construction at this busy Kallio corner foreshadowed the city’s underground future in 1975. The underground structures, like many in the network, were built to serve a dual purpose: metro transit and civil defence, functioning as bomb shelters if needed. Above ground, Kallio has transformed over five decades: from a working-class district into a more expensive and trendy neighbourhood.

2. Tervasaari shoreline

Two people sit on a grassy shore, facing a cityscape with buildings, cranes and industrial structures across the water.

Photo: Eeva Rista/Helsinki City Museum

An sunny scene shows sailboats, square floating objects and buildings across the water, with a gravel path and grass in the foreground.

Photo: Emilia Kangasluoma

A couple sits beside the water in 1975, with coal piles and the Hanasaari power plant behind them. Today, the view is cleaner and greener: Helsinki Energy (Helen) stopped using coal in Hanasaari in 2023, marking a major step toward a carbon-neutral city.

3. Hakaniementori

Four workers with shovels pave the street in front of a multistorey building, with some actively working and others standing in the background.

Photo: unknown/Helsinki City Museum

An angled view of a city street shows a pedestrian crossing, bus stops, a metro sign and office buildings with company logos, all beneath an overcast sky.

Photo: Emilia Kangasluoma

In 1975, the site at Hakaniementori was a bustling construction zone, part of Helsinki’s first metro digging works. The metro opened in 1982 with 17 stations and has since expanded to 30, stretching from Kivenlahti in the west to Mellunmäki and Vuosaari in the east.

4. Köydenpunojankatu and Kalevankatu, Kamppi

Railroad tracks run across a muddy foreground, while a road, parked cars and a varied cityscape with utility poles and an overcast sky fill the background.

Photo: unknown/Helsinki City Museum

An overcast city street intersection shows tram tracks, a motor scooter, tan apartments, a white hotel and wires stretching overhead.

Photo: Emilia Kangasluoma

In the 1975 photo, the Valio building on Kalevankatu marks the spot where Nobel Prize–winning chemist Artturi Ilmari Virtanen once worked on groundbreaking food preservation methods. The location is now a hotel, and the surrounding area has been completely transformed. Kamppi’s harbour tracks have vanished, making way for a mix of housing, offices and cultural spaces.

5. Mariankatu, Kruununhaka

A man runs with a small dog along a cobblestone city street, with 1970s cars parked to the left and buildings with balconies lining the street behind.

Photo: Eeva Rista/Helsinki City Museum

Two men walk along a street lined with parked cars and colourful buildings; one wears a blazer and satchel, the other a camo jacket and jeans.

Photo: Emilia Kangasluoma

This quiet stretch of Mariankatu still looks much the same as it did in the 1970s, with rows of historic buildings and a calm, residential feel. While cobblestones have been replaced with pavement, the overall atmosphere of Kruununhaka remains steady, more lived-in than polished, and slightly out of step with the pace of the city centre just a few blocks away. It’s a part of Helsinki where change happens slowly, if at all.

6. Pohjoisranta, looking toward Katajanokka

A black and white city scene shows a street with a pedestrian crossing and parked cars in the foreground, with brick buildings and an orthodox church in the background.

Photo: Eeva Rista/Helsinki City Museum

An eye-level shot shows a pedestrian crossing, signs and distant pedestrians, with a red boat and a strip of sea separating the viewer from brick buildings and a church.

Photo: Emilia Kangasluoma

In 1975, parked cars lined the waterfront as Pohjoisranta served as a key route for traffic heading out of the city centre. Today, a bike path runs where the cars once stood, part of Helsinki’s broader transformation into a more cycling- and pedestrian-friendly city. Across the water, Uspenski Cathedral and the red-brick warehouses of Katajanokka remain a distinctive part of the skyline.

7. Kaisaniemenkatu near Rautatientori

A 1970s street scene shows buses, trams, cars and people waiting to cross in the foreground, with commercial buildings and a train station behind.

Photo: Eeva Rista/Helsinki City Museum

An urban scene shows intersecting roads and pedestrian crossings, a cobblestone square with benches and trees, and in the background parked buses, office buildings and a train station.

Photo: Emilia Kangasluoma

Buses crowded Kaisaniemenkatu in 1975, the road thrumming with traffic and serving as a central conduit just outside Helsinki’s main station. The left-most building, constructed in 1967, was nicknamed Makkaratalo (the “Sausage House”) for the cylindrical concrete cantilever around the facade. During major renovations in 2005, there was an opportunity to remove the “sausage,” but it was instead marked for preservation due to its architectural and historical value. Originally designed with car ramps and rooftop parking, the building reflected a time when Helsinki was planning for a car-oriented future. Today, the ramps are gone, and the area has shifted toward wider sidewalks, bike lanes and pedestrian space.

8. Merihaka from Siltavuorenranta

Calm waters reflect city buildings in black and white, with an overturned boat and supported tree in the foreground, and a bridge, tall buildings and crane across the water.

Photo: Patrick Oras/Helsinki City Museum

A waterfront scene shows a gravel path beside a dock with buoys, facing grey buildings, a bridge, and a large pile of dirt and stone across the water.

Photo: Emilia Kangasluoma

Merihaka’s striking concrete towers rise in this 1970s view, part of a distinctive housing project that stood apart from most of Helsinki’s more traditional neighbourhoods. Today, a new bridge has replaced the old one, with a tram line under construction along the shoreline to better link Merihaka with the rest of the city. The trail here is also a recent addition, part of a 15-kilometre loop that traces the city’s inner coastline.

9. Mannerheimintie, Kamppi

A black and white city street scene shows a wide empty road with cigarette ads along a construction site, varied buildings, a bus and a bare tree beneath a blue sky.

Photo: Kari Hakli/Helsinki City Museum

A city street scene shows a cobblestone street, tall buildings, trees and flower-filled planters lining the brick sidewalk.

Photo: Emilia Kangasluoma

In 1975, this lot at the corner of Mannerheimintie and Bulevardi sat empty after a previous building had been demolished. Like many parts of central Helsinki in the postwar decades, the area was in transition, shaped by shifting plans for development. Today, it houses a modern office building and sits at a key junction between the city centre and Kamppi.

10. Finlandia Hall from Töölönlahti

A view across the water shows a modern white building reflected on the surface, with tree branches in the foreground and older buildings and a crane behind it.

Photo: Volker von Bonin/Helsinki City Museum

A view through leafy branches shows a bay with a city skyline across, featuring varied buildings, a steepled tower, a crane and a blue sky.

Photo: Emilia Kangasluoma

This view across Töölönlahti toward Finlandia Hall places us near the very heart of the OSCE story. Designed by Alvar Aalto, the white marble building hosted the historic summit in 1975 and continues to host major events today.

As Finland commemorates the 50th anniversary of the OSCE, Helsinki offers both a physical and symbolic backdrop: a place where diplomacy was once signed into history, and where everyday life continues to evolve.

Text by Tyler Walton, July 2025

New York’s Met Museum showcases beloved Finnish painter Helene Schjerfbeck

Arts & cultureVisual arts

In the art world, it doesn’t get more prestigious than a solo show at New York’s Metropolitan Museum. With Seeing Silence: The Paintings of Helene Schjerfbeck (December 5, 2025–April 5, 2026), the Met is staging its first-ever exhibition of a European woman painter born in the 19th century.

The extraordinary career of Helene Schjerfbeck (1862–1946) spans a fascinating journey, from the romanticism of the Golden Age of Finnish art to gripping self-portraits from the World War II era. She played a crucial role in the birth of Finnish modern art. In the 1880s, she spent time in France and England, and she continued to stay in touch with European art and fashion trends after her return.

“Schjerfbeck’s story is unique,” says Dita Amory, curator of the exhibition. “Living in Finland, far removed from the centres of cultural ferment in Europe, Schjerfbeck evolved her idiosyncratic brand of modernism without reference to other artists, experimenting in a new, radical language.”

[Editor’s note: The “schj” at the beginning of her name is pronounced like “sh” in English. It’s not a Finnish-language name; Schjerfbeck’s first language was Swedish, which is still one of Finland’s official languages.]

Distinct artistic language

A person walks past several paintings hanging on a gallery wall.

A visitor at Helsinki’s Ateneum Art Museum passes Helene Schjerfbeck’s Self-portrait, Black Background (1919), hanging beside a Paul Gauguin painting and others.Photo: Emilia Kangasluoma

Seeing Silence includes 59 works that “trace her entire career in discrete passages that reflect her changing artistic language,” says Amory.

Helsinki’s Ateneum Art Museum is loaning many of the paintings in the Met show, and Ateneum director Anna-Maria von Bonsdorff is serving as consulting curator. “Schjerfbeck is known internationally for having a very distinctive, signature style,” she says. “It’s interesting how she did those paintings, not just what they represent. She’s not just presenting an apple or herself or a simple view.

“She created a figurative modernism that concentrates on what’s most important and on artistic technical development. Schjerfbeck was interested in using different types of media and in reworking her paintings over long periods of time.”

While The Convalescent, which Schjerfbeck painted in her mid-20s, is among Finland’s most beloved paintings, “the modern part of her career is more interesting from a contemporary point of view,” says von Bonsdorff.

No-filter goblin mode

Three paintings side by side show self-portraits in styles progressing from realistic to abstract: a young woman, a middle-aged woman and an older woman.

Schjerfbeck painted self-portraits throughout her lifetime with frankness and intensity. From left: Self-portrait (1884–1885), Self-portrait, Black Background (1919) and Self-portrait with Red Spot (1944).Photos: Jenni Nurminen, Hannu Aaltonen, Hannu Aaltonen/Finnish National Gallery/Ateneum Art Museum

The curators agree that the most fascinating Schjerfbeck works are her self-portraits, painted from her teenage years until just before her death at 83.

This extraordinary series mirrors the evolution of her style, from French-styled naturalism to stark, nearly abstract modernism with influences from Japanese art. Her endless, fraught variations on self-portrayal presage the selfie culture of our century, from idealised filters to brutally honest “goblin mode.”

“Her late self-portraits share a raw, self-reflective examination of pending death unlike anything seen anywhere else,” says Amory.

“People are really astonished by the frankness and the intensity,” von Bonsdorff says. “The late self-portraits are done with really forceful brush strokes. She put all her energy and concentration into doing them. Once you’ve seen those paintings, you never forget them.”

Von Bonsdorff has presented Schjerfbeck works in many settings, including a 2014 retrospective at the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt, Germany. Collaborating on the show was that museum’s director, Max Hollein. He’s been fascinated by Schjerfbeck ever since – and is now director of the Met.

“The idea for this exhibition came from Hollein, as Schjerfbeck is one of his favourite artists,” says von Bonsdorff.

Financial, medical and romantic setbacks

A woman looks at a large painting on a gallery wall, showing a child sitting in a wicker chair.

Anna-Maria von Bonsdorff, director of the Ateneum Art Museum and consulting curator for the Met’s Schjerfbeck exhibition, says The Convalescent (1888) represents only one facet of the artist’s wide-ranging career.Photo: Emilia Kangasluoma

The first major exhibition devoted to Schjerfbeck in the US “will be a revelation to Met audiences,” according to Amory. “They will find the very compelling story of Schjerfbeck’s life a fascinating introduction to a woman who painted for 80 years despite considerable adversity.”

That included financial, medical and romantic setbacks throughout her life, most of which was spent living with her mother, scraping by on a small pension.

Yet Schjerfbeck was fortunate to grow up in the Nordic region, where women enjoyed more opportunities for artistic education and expression than elsewhere in the 19th century. That’s evident in the recent array of major international exhibitions featuring her Nordic contemporaries Hanna Pauli, Harriet Backer and Hilma af Klint.

“Nordic women artists had a very different status compared to others in Europe, thanks to the educational system,” says von Bonsdorff. “Schjerfbeck was admitted as a student when she was 11 because she was so talented.”

Ateneum has focused on that legacy in its exhibition Crossing Borders: Travelling Women Artists in the 1800s (through August 24, 2025), presenting 19th-century women artists who paved the way for Schjerfbeck and other early modernists such as Ellen Thesleff, herself the subject of a future Ateneum exhibition.

“It’s about time that we privilege these overlooked artists, whose art is as fine in every way as their male counterparts,” says Amory.

By Wif Stenger, July 2025

A night hike into the heart of Finnish folk music

Arts & cultureCulture

A mosquito buzzes by your ear. Your socks are already wet from the puddles soaking through your trail shoes and the person ahead of you nearly slips on the smooth granite. Behind you, a stream of colourful raincoats stretches deep into the pine forest.

Still, no one complains. In the air is the sound of laughter, a faint smell of mosquito repellent and somewhere in the distance, the sound of a fiddle.

Welcome to Kaustinen, a tiny municipality in western Finland with just over 4,000 inhabitants, best known as the home of the largest folk music festival in the Nordic countries. Here, the week-long celebration of traditional music begins not with fireworks or grand openings, but with something far more memorable: a night hike into the forest.

A festival like no other

Two people dance in front of musicians as a crowd of people watch.

Johanna Laurila and Hendrik Clercx couldn´t resist the music but started dancing – something that often happens in Kaustinen.

It’s raining, as it sometimes does in a Finnish summer. But at the car park of a small village school in Järvelä, people are lacing up their boots.

Spirits are high. The Kaustinen Folk Music Festival is about to start once again.

The night hike is open to all and offers two routes: a 4.5 km or a longer 15 km loop. Along the trail, participants stop to enjoy live folk music: sometimes at a clearing in the woods, sometimes beside a fire.

This year, rain meant the instruments couldn’t make it into the forest. But the musicians still played in the schoolyard before departure. The group Me Esiintyjät (We, the Performers) set the mood with a lively waltz and an upbeat tune. Some hikers, undeterred by the drizzle, even danced.

A musical path through the woods

People in rain gear walk along a path through a forest.

A little rain doesn’t bother the hikers as Finns are well accustomed to rainy days.

The hike starts through soft pine forest, then narrows into smaller and muddier trails. A local guide from the Perhonjokilaakson Retkeilijät (Perhonjoki Valley Hikers) club leads the group of over a hundred participants into the trees.

Raindrops ripple through puddles. A lone bird chirps. The forest smells of moss and rain. Though the hike began at 8 pm, the sky is still light. In Finland, darkness barely comes at all in early July.

Large, moss-covered boulders lie in a forest. In the background a cliff rises.

The legend has it a troll lives somewhere in these cliffs.

The group snakes deeper into the woods, eventually arriving at a place that feels like it belongs in a fairytale: the Pööskallio cliffs. According to local folklore, trolls live here among the massive boulders. Standing there, it’s not hard to believe.

Time for a break. People sip from thermoses, unwrap chocolate bars and lean against rocks.

Music brings people together

Three smiling people talk in front of a forested cliff.

Ilya Crols (left), Joosje Holstein and Hendrik Clercx met each other at a music camp. The hike was a welcoming break for them, since the past few days have been all about making music.

Among the hikers are Joosje Holstein from the Netherlands and Ilya Crols and Hendrik Clercx from Belgium. They’re here as part of Ethno Finland, a youth music camp that gathers young folk musicians from all over the world.

A field of grass and flowers in seed, with a forest in the background.

The route of the night hike winds through diverse landscapes, taking hikers first to the rocky outcrops of Pööskallio and then up to the heights of Isokallio.

“It’s so beautiful here in the forest,” Holstein says. “I never would’ve ended up in a place like this on my own.”

“And this evening light! It’s very special,” Clercx adds, looking up at the sky, now tinged with pink.

This is one of those moments when strangers become companions.

Isokallio: high point of the trail

Two young women pose with heads together in front of a forested landscape falling away into the distance.

Anni-Marija Vauhkala (left) and Tytti Huttunen recently graduated from Kaustinen’s music-focused upper secondary school. Vauhkala’s main instrument is violin, Huttunen plays cello.

Around 10 pm, the group reaches Isokallio, the highest point on the trail. The view opens up over the forest, stretching far in every direction.

At the summit stands a traditional Finnish kota (a wooden hut) where a fire glows gently in anticipation of sausages.

Anni-Marija Vauhkala and Tytti Huttunen are standing barefoot on a mossy mound.
Their shoes were already soaked, so they just gave up. But the discomfort doesn’t matter.

“I grew up surrounded by forest, so this feels like home,” Vauhkala says.

“Starting the festival with a long walk in nature – what could be better?”

Huttunen nods.

“I love hiking, and combining it with live folk music. It’s just an amazing experience.”

Back to where it all began

A folk music band, Me Esiintyjät (We, the Performers), is a group of young musicians who only play at the annual night hike event.

As the final kilometres pass, the group descends through the forest, returning to where they started. Folk music can be heard from afar, gently warming the evening air.

The rain has eased.

It’s nearly midnight, but no one’s in a hurry to leave. There’s talk about saunas and swims in the Perho River, of what concerts to catch tomorrow, of how unexpectedly magical this rainy evening turned out to be.

In Kaustinen, folk music never sleeps even in the rain, and not even in the middle of the night.

Text and photos by Emilia Kangasluoma, July 2025

Practical tips

  • The Kaustinen Folk Music Festival is held annually in July in western Finland.
  • The night hike is suitable for most fitness levels. Wear sturdy shoes and prepare for changing weather.
  • Kaustinen is about 40 minutes by car from Kokkola, or 5 hours by train or bus from Helsinki.

Finnish design by Artek still resonates, nearly a century after the company began

Arts & cultureDesign

I fell in love with Finnish design a long time ago.

When I moved recently from Toronto to Helsinki, I wanted to simplify my life. I gave away most of the contents of my house and arrived with just a few cherished possessions, including a vintage Artek Stool 60.

That piece became the starting point around which I designed my ideal apartment.

I added a few more stools, an Aalto Daybed, a vintage Chair 611 with pink webbing, some Kori pendant lamps and a Harri Koskinen Lento table – all Artek products. As I posted my finds on social media, a friend saw the stools and joked that soon I could open a kindergarten.

Those Artek pieces, along with some flea market treasures and a few items from Finnish design shops, now furnish my flat.

A new kind of living

A room in a furniture store contains items including chairs, glassware, and pictures hanging on a green wall.

Artek came onto the scene in the 1920s as a bold new proposition, blending idealism with innovation in its furniture.Photo: Emilia Kangasluoma

Artek was founded in 1935 by modernist design pioneers Aino and Alvar Aalto, art patron Maire Gullichsen and art historian Nils-Gustav Hahl. It set out to promote a new kind of living – one that merged art and technology into functional, elegant design.

The name Artek itself reflects the fusion of art and tech, concepts that were integral to the modernist movement in the 1920s. The company was a bold new proposition, blending idealism with innovation.

Multiple celebrations

A black-and-white photo shows a woman and a man steering a sailboat with a forested coast in the background.

Modernist design pioneers Aino Aalto and her husband Alvar were two of the cofounders of Artek in 1935.Photo: Alvar Aalto Museum

On the occasion of the company’s 90th anniversary in 2025, Artek’s flagship store in central Helsinki released a special anniversary collection, including an Artek + Moomin line featuring the Moomin characters created by Finnish artist and author Tove Jansson. (The first Moomin book was published in 1945, so it turns 80 the same year Artek turns 90.)

The Artek + Moomin line consists of classic Aalto furniture engraved with Jansson’s early drawings and handwritten texts. One stool reads, “Oh! How brave you are!” while another exclaims, “Well strike me pink!”

The showroom display recreated Jansson’s studio, complete with seashells, an easel and seaside-themed curtains. It included a guestbook from Villa Mairea, the iconic residence the Aaltos designed for the Gullichsens, opened to a 1940s entry by Jansson, who left a note and a watercolour of the house.

Preloved Finnish design

A man in a light sweater sits in a room with furniture and decorations.

Artek 2nd Cycle recirculates Artek furniture and is more than just a shop, says its manager, Antti Tevajärvi.Photo: Emilia Kangasluoma

Artek’s influence extends far beyond commemorative collections. Its commitment to sustainability and design longevity is embodied by Artek 2nd Cycle, a platform launched in 2006 to recirculate well-worn yet still-functional Artek furniture. Its manager, Antti Tevajärvi, sees it as more than a shop. “Artek 2nd Cycle is a continuous research platform into the past 90 years of Artek’s strong design heritage,” he says. “We’re always celebrating Artek, even when it’s not an anniversary year.”

Originally created to showcase the patina and longevity of Aalto stools, 2nd Cycle opened its own store in 2010 in Helsinki’s Design District. For lovers of Finnish design, a visit can feel a bit like a pilgrimage. The vast subterranean shop houses an eclectic mix of Artek originals – some lovingly worn, others rare.

Still in production

A man in a furniture store carries a yellow stool past a long table flanked by chairs and other furniture.

The vast subterranean space of Artek 2nd Cycle houses an eclectic mix of Artek originals.Photo: Emilia Kangasluoma

In addition to staples like the Stool 60, visitors might encounter Maire Gullichsen’s elegant glass lamp, Maija Heikinheimo’s brass and copper coffee pot or Yrjö Kukkapuro’s sculptural Karuselli lounge chair. The store’s ever-changing inventory tells the story of Finnish homes and tastes across generations. Artek “has a very special pocket in the history of the international modernist movement,” says Tevajärvi.

Almost 100 years after Artek started, many of the items created by the original founders and the designers who came after them are still in production. The company remains relevant – not just in curated museum displays or chic interiors, but also in the everyday lives of those who make use of its designs.

“Perhaps it’s the organic modern form, the use of natural materials, the innovative engineering with a human touch or a combination of these things which continues to fascinate our followers,” Tevajärvi says.

By Karen MacKenna, July 2025

The Alvar Aalto Museum’s Aalto2 Centre features Artek designers in Visibly Invisible: Artek’s Drawing Office 1936–2004 until September 14, 2025.

Fit as a Finn: The story behind Finland’s affinity for exercise

Life & societySports

Let’s talk about fitness – not the kind that wins gold medals or graces Olympic podiums, but the kind that belongs to everyone: the delightfully casual variety, where the only goals are rosy cheeks, a light sweat and a brighter mood.

On any given Sunday in Finland, you’ll spot brisk walkers chasing their daily 10,000 steps, or, come winter, skiers slinging through snowy forests that look like the setting of a Nordic nature documentary.

What drives Finns to jump onto their bikes at the first hint of spring, or to hit the trails for Nordic walking (fitness walking with poles that resemble ski poles, so that your arms also get a workout – a Finnish invention)?

The early days of fitness in Finland

Two men are cross-country skiing through a snowy landscape.

Cross-country skiing has long been part of Finnish life. These two men were photographed skiing through deep snow in 1917.Photo: Axel Tammelander/Vapriikki

There was a time when fitness and sports weren’t part of the daily conversation in Finland.

A few centuries ago, most Finns got their physical activity from everyday life. Chopping wood, hauling water and ploughing the fields left little need (or energy) for recreational jogging.

If people moved for reasons other than survival, it was usually in the form of games, competitions or community gatherings – not something we would call “exercise” in the modern sense of the word.

Something began to shift in the 19th century. Perhaps it was the influence of public enlightenment or the spread of health trends from continental Europe, brought over by Finland’s intellectual elite. Whatever the reason, more people began to participate in sports for enjoyment.

When Finland’s first sports club, Segelföreningen i Björneborg (Pori Sailing Club), was founded in 1856, it planted the first seed of a growing movement. Soon, sports clubs began to spring up across the country like wildflowers in spring.

A women’s gymnastics team practices indoors in an old black-and-white photo, wearing period-appropriate, loose-fitting exercise outfits.

Women practice gymnastics in an undated historical photo. Gymnastics played a role in promoting public health in Finland.Photo: Matti Luhtala/Vapriikki

Civic organisations such as temperance societies, youth associations and labour unions also adopted physical fitness as part of their mission. For example, sharpshooter battalions and volunteer fire brigades promoted physical activities, particularly skiing competitions.

By the late 19th century, gymnastics had become a part of school curricula, with exercise serving as a way to improve the physical health of citizens.

Olympic victories in the early 20th century sparked a true sports craze and bolstered national pride. Finland won its first two Olympic medals in 1906, and by the 1924 Paris Olympics, the tally had risen to 37.

A shift in everyday life

Two men with skis stand in front of a gas station during winter while another man without skis stands nearby.

The Pirkka Ski Race began in the 1950s and continues today. Covering 90 kilometres (56 miles), the trail attracts more than 1,000 participants each year.Photo: U.A. Saarinen/Finnish Heritage Agency

As the new century progressed, the everyday lives of Finns changed significantly. A growing number of people moved from the countryside to urban areas, and many jobs began to demand mental acuity rather than physical strength.

Exercise was no longer an automatic part of daily life. To maintain physical fitness, people had to start working out intentionally.

Four men run on a sports field in a historical black-and-white photo.

Men run across a sports field in 1948, reflecting the postwar emphasis on physical fitness and organised athletics in Finland.Photo: U.A. Saarinen/Finnish Heritage Agency

Lauri “Tahko” Pihkala, one of Finland’s most vocal advocates for physical fitness, promoted the idea that a strong, active population was essential – not just for individual health, but for the strength of the nation as a whole. Physical conditioning was seen as a matter of civic duty and national defense.

People were encouraged to take up skiing and jogging, not because they needed to get from one place to another, but for the sake of movement itself. The founding of Suomen Latu (literally “Finland’s trail”) in 1938 marked a turning point: Finland now had its first organisation dedicated specifically to promoting recreational fitness among ordinary citizens.

The five-day workweek and the fitness boom

A man exercises on wooden outdoor fitness equipment located in a wintery forest.

A man uses wooden outdoor fitness equipment in Pirkkola, northern Helsinki, in the winter of 1974. Photo: Eeva Rista/Helsinki City Museum

A significant shift in Finnish behaviour occurred in the late 1960s, when many workplaces adopted the five-day workweek. By then, a majority of Finns were living in cities, and with more free time on their hands, people began exploring new ways to stay active beyond traditional pastimes like sauna sessions and berry picking.

Especially in urban areas, opportunities for exercise expanded significantly. By the 1970s, Finland had built dozens of swimming halls to provide year-round access to aquatic sports – an important form of fitness and recreation, especially in winter, when outdoor swimming wasn’t feasible. Alongside swimming halls, most municipalities also developed sports fields and jogging tracks to encourage active lifestyles.

Fitness was in the air. And tracksuits were having a moment.

A man in a tracksuit poses with one hand resting on a bicycle and the other hand holding a jacket.

A man models the Perniön Urheilijat sports club tracksuit in 1974. Tracksuits became popular in Finland as recreational fitness grew in the 20th century.Photo: Kari Pulkkinen/Finnish Heritage Agency

As fitness culture grew, so did the demand for practical sportswear. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, there were few clothes designed specifically for exercise. But by the mid-20th century, more flexible, comfortable garments – such as tracksuits – became popular for their ease and style for workouts and casual wear alike.

Tracksuits became an iconic symbol of an era when awareness of exercise was spreading in Finland. Because some people took to wearing tracksuits all the time, not just for sports, the clothing was also the object of jokes about fashion sense – but it had found a lasting place in the national identity. As far as fashionability is concerned, tracksuits have experienced ups, downs and resurgences over the decades, and they can still inspire nostalgic or ironic reactions.

Fitness in Finland today

Two people run across a muddy field during an orienteering event, with a forest in the background.

Orienteering has long been popular in Finland. This photo from 1983 shows two boys taking part in an event.Photo: Hannu Lindroos/Finnish Heritage Agency

Today, fitness is widely encouraged by public authorities at both national and municipal levels. From building bike paths and jogging trails to funding fitness centres, the message is clear: healthy citizens lead to a healthier society – and to lower public health costs.

So, what’s the deal with all this sweating? Are Finns chasing six-packs, better health or just a little peace of mind? Probably all of the above. Finland’s UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research says most working-age Finns exercise to stay in shape, clear their heads and keep the doctor away.

Walking and gym sessions are the go-to favourites, while kids stick to soccer like it’s a rite of passage. No matter where you live, there are plenty of opportunities: swimming pools, jogging trails, and outdoor gyms. There are even sets of open-air fitness stairs you can climb – usually well over 100, sometimes several hundred.

You may wish to take a cue from Finland’s current president, Alexander Stubb, a devoted triathlete who once said, “One hour of exercise brings two hours of energy to your day.”

Text by Emilia Kangasluoma, June 2025

How Finland’s Housing First model makes real progress against homelessness

Life & societyWellbeing

Finland is the only country in the EU where the number of homeless people has declined in recent years. This is mainly thanks to a strategy called Housing First.

Traditionally, housing has been seen as the final goal of a social recovery process. Housing First turns the idea on its head and puts housing at the top of the list: when you have a safe home, it’s easier to get back on your feet and start getting your life in order. This means that sobriety is not required before you can have housing, and that professionals at housing units will help with benefits, banking and health issues.

As part of commitment to the model, former homeless shelters have been converted into housing units to create new housing stock with supportive services. Since the launch of Housing First in 2008, the number of homeless people in Finland has decreased by 30 percent, and the number of longterm homeless people by more than 35 percent. The current government has a plan to eradicate longterm homelessness by 2027.

Providing people with homes sounds costly, but a study by the Finnish Ministry of the Environment shows it can actually save money. Finland has invested 250 million euros in building new homes and hiring residential support workers. At the same time, savings in emergency healthcare, social services and the justice system total as much as 15,000 euros a year for each formerly homeless person.

Leena, 48: “A home has to be visually pleasing”

Three photos side by side show views of an apartment, including a living room with houseplants, a bed with a bedside table, and a tidy kitchen.

Photo: Kaisu Kaplin

“Crafts and knitting have always been my thing. While living in this crisis apartment in a supported living unit, I make and sell mittens, socks and sweaters for my friends and acquaintances. I can knit for hours, and it sometimes makes my neck so stiff it’s almost funny. Making things with my hands is my passion, and it makes me feel safe.

I lived abroad for many years. I ended up losing my job, and after a while, my home too. Overnight shelters were available only occasionally, and when I couldn’t find a job, I saw no other option than returning to Finland. Luckily I got this place soon after my arrival.

This flat was furnished, but I made it cosier with house plants and curtains. For me, home has to be visually pleasing. I would like to swap this turquoise table for a white one, for example.

This is a temporary home, but as a perfectionist, I keep everything tidy and clean it often. I’m a professional chef, so I appreciate cleanliness and being able to cook my own meals. When you are homeless, what, when and how you eat is out of your own control.

The three things I love the most here are having a roof over my head, a door I can close and a tablet I can use to listen to crime podcasts.”

Markku, 53: “At home I can rest”

Three photos side by side show views of an apartment, including a monitor with a videogame on it, a leather footstool, and a living room with a red rug hanging on the wall.

Photo: Kaisu Kaplin

“The red rug holds great emotional value for me so I hung it in the best spot. It’s a wedding gift from my parents and reminds me of them. We didn’t speak to each other for almost 20 years, but have recently become close again. The salt crystal lamp is also a gift from my mother – she says it is believed to treat psoriasis.

Before losing my home, I lived in a much bigger place, so a lot of my things are now in storage.

You need a place you can leave and return to. When you have a home, you have your own space and it’s up to you to decide who gets to walk in. At home I can rest and have a break.

The leather footstool is one of my favourite items. I spend a lot of time on it playing Playstation games. An ice hockey game is my favourite.  Once I played it for 14 hours in a row.”

Heikki, 58: “I can decide whether I want to open the door or close it”

Three photos side by side show views of an apartment, including a white chair with festival ID badges on it, a sofa bed with shelves in the background, and a green armchair with a stack of newspapers on it.

Photo: Kaisu Kaplin

My sofa is so comfortable I rarely use my bed. I often fall asleep here with my television on. My life happens mostly outside, but in the evenings I don’t need to find a place to crash anymore – I can fall asleep on my own sofa, and that is so essential.

I have lived in this studio flat for a bit over two years now. For me, having my own space and the feeling of control are the most important things about it. I can decide whether I want to open the door or close it to protect myself from the outside world.

My home is my safe haven, and I don’t care so much about the material things in it. I got most of my furniture as donations and I mostly use it to pile clothes and papers on. I still definitely wanted some furniture; it would feel awful to live with just a mattress.

These festival passes from Puistoblues festival are my most valued possession, and I also have a lot of Puistoblues posters. I’ve volunteered at the festival for years now and really enjoy the team spirit we have with the group of volunteers. Festival passes remind me of past summers and the good times ahead next summer, too.”

Leena, Heikki and Markku are customers at Rinnekodit Housing First units. Their names have been changed to protect their privacy.

By Kaisu Kaplin, ThisisFINLAND Magazine, June 2025

Life in motion: A visual journey into what an active lifestyle means to the Finns

Life & societySports

Mauri Heino, 74, is a former gymnast and firefighter, who now spends his days road cycling and staying active in many ways. Keeping fit was part of the job during his 40-year firefighting career, and he hasn’t slowed down in retirement.

“I prefer starting cycling against the wind – it’s easier to return home with the wind at your back.”

A man plays disc golf in a springtime forest.

Timo Stenman, 62, starts most summer mornings with a round of disc golf.

“Disc golf is about chasing the feeling of success – while also getting exercise and escaping the worries of everyday life.”

A man roller-skis on an asphalt path lined with trees.For Jukka Toivanen, 60, sports are a way of life. He enjoys skiing, running, swimming and working out at the gym.

“The best part is hitting the track with like-minded people. It’s like putting money in the bank – time for yourself and guaranteed good feelings.”

A woman swims in a pool.For Helena Harju, 60, swimming eases her back pain and brings joy to her daily life. She loves being in the water every chance she gets.

“Getting started can be tough, but the decision to go swimming is always rewarding.”

A boy kicks a football toward a goal.Inspired by the World Cup, Tiitus, 11, took up football, which became a shared hobby with his father, Jaakko Vehkaperä, 49. For them, sports are a way to bond and spend time together.

“An easy game is enough – the most important thing is being together.”

A man performs a leg press at an outdoor gym.Roland Rasanen, 25, underwent surgery on both wrists due to physical work, and after recovery, he felt a strong desire to get moving again.

“At first, even carrying grocery bags felt heavy, but gradually, movement restored my strength.”

Now working with children and youth, he aims to inspire others about the importance of staying active for overall wellbeing.

Two young men play basketball outdoors.Pekka Partinen, 23, and Ville Holopainen, 22, belong to a group of friends who have known each other since primary school. Their shared love of sports has kept them close over the years.

“Sports keep your mind in order, and exercising together also maintains social connections. Good vibes multiply when shared.”

A woman stands on a golf course with a golf bag.For Annika von Behr, 52, golf offers the perfect mix of challenge and exercise – last year, she walked nearly 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) on the course. Annika also enjoys pilates, padel and jogging.

“Life without exercise is hard to imagine. I’m grateful for my health.”

A woman sits on a kayak holding binoculars.Ilona Koskela, 30, combines exercise and nature observation while canoeing.

“Paddling engages all the senses – the soundscape, scents and surrounding tranquility. In the sheltered waters of a river delta, I see species I wouldn’t encounter otherwise. While paddling, I feel connected to nature.”

A woman stands with her dog on a rocky hill in the forest.Tytti Lallo, 36, boosts her daily activity by walking with her dog Gadi, typically for an hour at a time. Now an older dog, Gadi has slowed down, swapping running for sniffing around.

“The proximity of the forested Central Park in Helsinki provides the perfect setting for relaxation – for both humans and dogs. In nature, you can spot deer and easily escape into the peaceful woods, far from loud noises.”

Photos and text by Mikko Suutarinen, June 2025

Finnish architect Sami Rintala tells us how saunas got hotter than ever

Life & societySauna

For the Finnish architect Sami Rintala, the joy of a good sauna is all about extremes.

“It’s about changing from hot to cold and how that is good for your mind,” he says, describing the appeal of one of his favourite pastimes.

Extremes are also at the heart of Rintala’s approach to designing saunas, something that is keeping his Norway-based architecture practice, Rintala Eggertsson, busy as different nationalities get the bug for this most Finnish of activities.

“Sauna architecture is about contrasts and primal values,” says Rintala. “You are working with elemental things: dark and light, cold and warm, private and public space.”

An unofficial sauna ambassador

A man stands in front of a wooden building and looks into the camera.

Photo: Dan Mariner

Since moving to Norway 20 years ago and working on a variety of sauna projects, Rintala has become an ambassador of Finnish sauna culture.

“As a Finn living abroad, you become an ambassador of your culture,” he says. “There could be worse things, because I really love sauna and bathing.”

In addition to Finland and Norway, Rintala’s firm has also designed saunas in the UK, and is working on projects in Romania and Japan at the time of writing. The Finnish Sauna, which Rintala designed for the 2022 London Festival of Architecture with students from the University of Westminster and support from the Finnish Institute, is now located on the Isle of Wight.

Similar wooden sauna huts are popping up all over the UK, from Brighton and Folkestone to the beaches of Pembrokeshire in Wales. The British Sauna Society says 73 such saunas are operating in the UK, mostly at beaches or lakes, up from 49 a year earlier. The increase has been fuelled by the growth of interest in wild swimming and healthy living.

Phone-free zones

Steam rises off an outdoor pool in front of a modernistic wooden building.

Sami Rintala’s firm designed a hilltop hotel, sauna and spa complex at Tahko, a ski resort in eastern Finland.Photo: Rintala Eggertsson Architects

Although the oldest public sauna still in use in Finland was built in 1906 in Pispala, Tampere, historians believe sauna culture got going around 10,000 years ago. The earliest saunas were pits dug into the ground with a pile of stones at the bottom, heated by a campfire. Where Finland differs from other countries is that its early inhabitants never swayed from their love of sauna.

“People living in Finland needed saunas because of the climate,” says Rintala. “Plus, with so many forests, there was always wood to build them and firewood to burn.”

He thinks people also crave somewhere to escape from the encroachment of technology, and saunas are phone-free zones: “Maybe saunas are the only place where people can really talk without phones disturbing their conversations.”

He fires up his home sauna almost daily to sit and chat with his wife and 19-year-old son.

“We have the best discussions there,” he says.

Sauna beats shopping centres

An aerial shot shots several wooden buildings in a rocky landscape.

Sami Rintala helped design a cluster of shelter and sauna buildings on Kalsholmen, a remote island off the coast of Norway.Photo: Rintala Eggertsson Architects

A desire for social cohesion is reviving demand for public saunas, which fell out of favour as more people opted for private saunas.

“Public saunas are a meeting place,” says Rintala, adding that 20 years ago there were only two or three public saunas in Helsinki compared to more than 20 today. The best-known is Löyly, which is Finnish for “sauna steam,” a six-million-euro public sauna that opened in 2016, designed by architects Anu Puustinen and Ville Hara of Avanto.

When temperatures are Arctic outside, there are few places to meet and socialise without buying anything. Rintala makes a comparison with a shopping centre:

“It’s much nicer to hang around chatting in a sauna where you are buying an experience rather than something material.”

Keep it simple

A man stands in a wood-panelled room and looks into the distance.

Photo: Dan Mariner

His advice for anyone working on a public sauna project is to keep things simple.

“If you want to make a sauna accessible for lots of people, make very simple bathing structures that are very cheap to use and to maintain,” he says. “There are no rules, other than to create a good bathing experience.

“One thing everyone should understand is that saunas are very humid, so it’s important to keep heating them after use so they can dry out. When it’s minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit) in the winter, you need to dry the wood before it freezes.”

His top tip is to keep windows small and forget about having a view: “Very large windows will ruin the correlation of the oven and the room. Plus, the bigger the window, the bigger the oven you will need. Views aren’t important. A sauna is a room where you close off the world to understand yourself and other people better. You can go out and see the landscape afterwards.”

And remember the food.

“Food and drink are important to the sauna experience,” Rintala says. “I like sauna evenings with friends. A perfect evening is about being in the sauna as long as possible and having your dinner afterwards. What you eat is personal, like what you wear, but I like a cold beer and some salty meat: you have everything you need.”

By Susie Mesure, ThisisFINLAND Magazine, June 2025