Between 1634 and 2009, Finland was administered as several provinces. Finland had always been a unitary state: the provincial authorities were part of the central government's executive branch and apart from Åland, the provinces had little autonomy. There were never any elected provincial parliaments in continental Finland. The system was initially created in 1634. Its makeup was changed drastically on 1 September 1997, when the number of the provinces was reduced from twelve to six. This effectively made them purely administrative units, as linguistic and cultural boundaries no longer followed the borders of the provinces. The provinces were eventually abolished at the end of 2009. Consequently, different ministries may subdivide their areal organization differently. Besides the former provinces, the municipalities of Finland form the fundamental subdivisions of the country. In current use are the regions of Finland, a smaller subdivision where some pre-1997 läänis are split into multiple regions. Åland retains its special autonomous status and its own regional parliament.
Western Finland was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland. Tampere was the largest city of the province.
Eastern Finland was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Western Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered Russia to the east.
The former Province of Western Finland in Finland was divided into seven regions, 34 districts and 192 municipalities.
Sub-regions are divisions used for statistical purposes in Finland. The country is divided into 69 sub-regions, which are formed by groups of municipalities within the 19 regions of Finland. These sub-regions represent a LAU 1 level of division used in conjunction with the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics.
Sokos is a chain of department stores in Finland that is part of the S Group, which also operates the hotel chain, Sokos Hotels.
Metropoli is a Finnish free-of-charge magazine aimed for young adults, available in various cities in Finland.
Bruno Ferdinand Granholm was a Finnish architect. He served as the chief architect of Rautatiehallitus between 1892 and 1926. Many of the station buildings he designed are still in use today, having aged surprisingly well.
Although Finland has no dedicated high-speed rail lines, sections of its rail network are capable of running speeds of up to 220 km/h (137 mph). The Finnish national railway company VR operates tilting Alstom Pendolino trains. The trains reach their maximum speed of 220 km/h (137 mph) in regular operation on a 75.7 km (47.0 mi) route between Kerava and Lahti. This portion of track was opened in 2006. The trains can run at 200 km/h (124 mph) on a longer route between Helsinki and Seinäjoki and peak at that speed between Helsinki and Turku. The main railway line between Helsinki and Oulu has been upgraded between Seinäjoki and Oulu to allow for trains to run at speeds between 160 km/h (99 mph) and 200 km/h (124 mph). Other parts of the Finnish railway network are limited to lower speed.
As of 2009, Finland has used three models for local public transport. The implementation of these models was regulated by national laws of passenger transport, which were abolished after European Union regulations and laws of public transport service (869/2009) came into effect on December 3, 2009. The Finnish government-owned railways are regulated by specific laws. The local railways in Helsinki are regulated by the city's own laws and regulations.
Highways in Finland, or Main roads, comprise the highest categories of roads in Finland:
OnniBus.com is a Finnish express coach operator. It commenced operating in 2011.
The Finnish national road 9 is a main route. It runs from Turku through Loimaa, Tampere, Jämsä, Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Outokumpu and Joensuu to the Niirala border guard station in Tohmajärvi, right next to the Russian border. The length of the road is 663 kilometres (412 mi).
The Mikkeli railway station is located in the city and central urban area of Mikkeli, Finland. It is located along the Kouvola–Iisalmi railway, and its neighboring stations are Mäntyharju in the south and Pieksämäki in the north.
