Helsinki, the capital of Finland, is located on the southern shore of the country, and has been referred to as "The Daughter of the Baltic Sea". A city of only about 560 000 people (about 1 million in the greater metropolitan area), Helsinki might more appropriately be called a town, but in fact it holds a sizeable percentage of Finland's total population of a little more than 5 million.

The architecture of Helsinki is a mixture of old and new, as you will see in these photos. I mostly concentrated on the old buildings, however, because I find them prettier and more fascinating than the new. This first part of my photo series concentrates mostly on the heart of the city, the downtown area. Part 2 expands out to such neighborhoods as Kaisaniemi, Hakaniemi, Sörnäinen, Kallio, Töölö, & Kamppi. Part 3 focuses on buildings in the Eira and Ullanlinna neighborhoods. Part 4 covers parts of Taka-Töölö, Meilahti, and Seurasaari. Part 5 depicts Katajanokka and Ruoholahti, and Part 6 shows Kaivopuisto Park and a scenic walk in eastern Helsinki, near Roihuvuori and Herttoniemi. All of these pictures were taken in the spring and summer of of 2004.

Some quick facts about Finland, a country of almost 188 000 lakes: Finland became independent on December 6, 1917, and joined the United Nations in 1955 and the European Union in 1995. The currency of Finland has been Euro since 2002. The official languages of Finland are Finnish and Swedish. If you are planning to visit Finland, see my Finland Tips page at http://www.geocities.com/idealist_1999/finland.htm