FINLAND
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Daughter of the Baltic
After Russia, the next stop was the Scandinavian country of Finland. Its capital Helsinki, located on the southern coast, is known as the Daughter of the Baltic. Architecturally, it bore resemblance to St. Petersburg with the orthodox church buildings and steeples. But the city was nice and neat, a big contrast to the deteriorated Russian city just visited. There was an immediate peacefulness, freshness and attractiveness about the city and I was readily absorbed by the place with its beautiful parks and sculptures. Swedish and Finnish are both official languages of Finland, reflecting past ruling of Finland by Sweden (13th century). Helsinki itself was founded by the Swedish King Gustavus Vasa in 1550. It remained a small town until 1809 when the Russian Empire conquered Finland but granted the territory autonomy by the Russian Czar. In 1812, Helsinki became Finland's capital and the town was completely rebuilt by order of Alexander I who commissioned the architect Carl Ludwig Engel to design the city in neo-classical style. In 1917, Finland became independent from Russia and Helsinki grew quickly into a modern city. There was not much sightseeing interests at Helsinki which has its activities concentrated around Senate Square with the Government Palace on one side, the University on another and the Cathedral on the third. Attached picture was taken in front of the cathedral. The construction going on at the square was for some kind of a fair for participants from different regions of the country. |
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