thisisFINLAND

Fresh air and quiet: App finds best Helsinki routes for bikers and hikers

See how Green Paths, a prototype app from the University of Helsinki’s Digital Geography Lab, helps cyclists and pedestrians in the Finnish capital area choose routes with the cleanest air and the least noise.

Life & society Nature

Fleeting fame: Finland’s “centre of population” exists in the middle of nowhere

Why are two people putting up a monument in the woods? They’re attempting to pin down Finland’s centre of population as it moves slowly south through the quiet forests outside the city of Hämeenlinna.

Life & society Sustainability

Circular fashion finds a good fit in Finland

From hip flea-market boutiques to luxury recommerce, Finland’s second-hand clothing scene signifies a shift toward a circular fashion economy.

700,000

Amount of trips Finns make to Lapland each year

Source: Statistics Finland

Life & society Sustainability

For many in Finland, sustainability is the obvious choice

Many Finnish people place great value on sustainability, and it shows in the way they choose to live their lives.

Life & society Finnishness

Rethinking Finnish sauna

Hidden beyond the building sites of the vast new urban district of Kalasatama lies Helsinki’s best-known secret, Sompasauna.

Arts & culture Music

Two Finnish musicians describe their country of crazy ideas

Finnish musicians Dalia Stasevska and Lauri Porra are a couple who enjoy breaking musical boundaries.

Life & society Webpick

Two Finnish universities place near the top of the Young University Rankings

The Times Higher Education Young University Rankings list the world’s best universities that are 50 years old or younger.

Life & society Architecture

Helsinki’s renovated Olympic Stadium launches into a new era

The Olympic Stadium was unveiled four years after extensive renovations began. Its 1930s functionalist architecture and design have been meticulously preserved and enhanced with 21st-century technology and facilities (see photo show).

37.2 °C (99 °F)

Record high temperature, measured in Liperi, July 2010

Source: Finnish Meteorological Institute

things you should and shouldn’t know