Helsinki is the capital, largest and most populous city in Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the Uusimaa region in southern Finland and has a population of 674,963. The city's urban area has a population of 1,360,075, making it by far the most populous urban area in Finland and the country's most important centre for politics, education, finance, culture and research. Helsinki is located 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia, 400 km (250 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 300 km (190 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It has close historical links with these three cities.
Carl Ludvig Engel, or Johann Carl Ludwig Engel, was a German architect whose most noted work can be found in Helsinki, which he helped rebuild. His works include most of the buildings around the capital's monumental centre, the Senate Square and the buildings surrounding it. The buildings are Helsinki Cathedral, The Senate, the Helsinki City Hall, and the library and the main building of Helsinki University.
Edea is a Finnish musical group. The Edea's song lyrics are written in an older form of the Finnish language and speak of old traditions as well. The mysterious runic symbols inscribed on the bows of Viking boats, door posts, drinking vessels, and amulets as well as the Finnish composer Sibelius are the source of Edea's music. Edea competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with their song, Aava.
The Finlandia Hall is a congress and event venue in the centre of Helsinki on the Töölönlahti Bay, owned by the City of Helsinki. The building, which was designed by architect Alvar Aalto, was completed in 1971. Every detail in the building is designed by Aalto. The designs were completed in 1962, with building taking place between 1967 and 1971. The Congress Wing was designed in 1970 and built in 1973–1975. In 2011, the building was expanded with new exhibition and meeting facilities. Finlandia Hall is known as the venue for the OSCE Summit held in August 1975, attended by 35 world leaders, including the leader of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev, and the President of the United States, Gerald Ford.
Esplanadi, colloquially known as Espa, is an esplanade and urban park in downtown Helsinki, Finland, situated between the Erottaja square and the Market Square. It is bordered on its northern and southern sides by the Pohjoisesplanadi and Eteläesplanadi streets, respectively. Aleksanterinkatu runs parallel to Esplanadi. Esplanadi is well known as a popular walking area, and street performances are also often held in the park.
The Royal Dramatic Theatre is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's five running stages.
The Theatre Academy is one of the three academies of the University of the Arts Helsinki and offers education in theatre and dance. It is Finland's largest education provider in its field and, with the exception of acting, the only one in the country. In September 2014, there were 349 students at TeaK: 315 in the bachelor and master programmes, and the remaining 34 were studying for a licentiate or doctoral degree.
Kaartinkaupunki is a neighbourhood in the southern part of Helsinki, Finland.
Hedvig Charlotta Raa-Winterhjelm, née Forssman, was a Swedish actress active in Sweden, Norway and Finland. She played a pioneer role in Finland by introducing Finnish as a stage language, becoming the first actor in Finland to speak her lines in the Finnish tongue.
The Helsinki Music Centre is a concert hall and a music center in Töölönlahti, Helsinki. The building is home to Sibelius Academy and two symphony orchestras, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.
Josef Julius Wecksell was a Finnish poet and playwright.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Helsinki, Finland.
Vivica Aina Fanny Bandler was a Finnish-Swedish theatre director and agronomist. She bought a theatre in Helsinki in 1955 and is credited for popularizing avant-garde Finnish theatre. She was also theatre director in Oslo (1967-69) and at the Stockholm City Theatre (1969-1979).
Gerda Helena Wrede-Paischeff, better known as Gerda Wrede, was a Finnish actor and speech therapist.
Everyman, Op. 83, is a theatre score—comprising 16 numbers—for soloists, mixed choir, orchestra, piano, and organ by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius; he wrote the music in 1916 to accompany a Finnish-language production of the Austrian author Hugo von Hofmannsthal's 1911 play of the same name.
The Lizard, Op. 8, is a theatre score for string ensemble—comprising six to nine musicians—by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius; he wrote the music in 1909 to accompany the Finnish author Mikael Lybeck's 1908 three-act, Symbolist play of the same name. The story, which takes place at the Eyringe family estate, is a romantic triangle: Alban, an overly-sensitive nobleman with an artist's soul, is engaged to Elisiv, the tender and virtuous nurse who had cared for his late father; however, he struggles to resist the carnal advances of his older cousin Adla, a cunning temptress whose plot to seduce him turns lethal. Sibelius contributed music for two scenes in Act II: Tableau 1, in which Alban plays his violin at the family burial chapel, hoping to summon his deceased relatives; and Tableau 3, in which Elisiv during a fever dream hears "strange" music and, later with three Eyringe ghosts, ponders the thin line between life and death.
Margarita Maria “Maggie” Gripenberg was a pioneer of modern dance in Finland. She was the first to introduce Dalcroze Eurhythmics to Finland and modeled her early works on the improvisational style of Isadora Duncan. As a dancer, choreographer and teacher, she laid the educational foundations for the study of movement and dance. She was recognized by numerous awards for her choreographic work as well as being honored with the Pro Finlandia Medal and as a knight of the Order of the White Rose of Finland.
Engels teater was a historic theatre in Helsinki in Finland, active between 1827 and 1860. It was the second theater in Finland after Bonuviers Teater in Åbo, and the first theatre in Helsinki. It was located on Esplanaden at the intersection with Mikaelsgatan and was the predecessor of the Swedish Theatre.
Lauri Asko Antero Sarkola is a Finnish actor and theater manager. He studied at the Svenska Teaterskolan from 1963 to 1966. He had a long career at the Swedish-speaking Lilla Teatern, where he first starred in 1967–1974 and served as deputy director from 1972 to 1974. In 1974–1981 and 1984–1997, Sarkola was the director of Lilla Teatern. From 1982 to 1985, Sarkola worked as a professor at the Helsinki Theatre Academy. He directed the Helsinki City Theatre from 1998 to 2016.
Karl August Wrede was a Finnish-Swedish architect. His buildings are mostly in the Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Gothic styles.
