Subject: soc.culture.nordic FAQ, part 4/8 (Finland)
Date: 3 Oct 1995 22:38:14 +0200
Summary: This posting is a part of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
         file for the newsgroup soc.culture.nordic. Its purpose is to
         introduce new readers to the group, provide some general information
         about the Nordic countries (Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and
         Iceland) and to cover some of the topics frequently discussed in 
         the group.

Archive-name: nordic-faq/finland
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Version: 1.3
Last-modified: 01/10/95 (dd/mm/yy)


 A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) -file for the newsgroup
 
 S O C . C U L T U R E . N O R D I C
 
 *** PART 4:  FINLAND ***
 
 
------------------------------
 
Subject: 4.1  Fact Sheet
 
 
        Name: Suomen Tasavalta / Republiken Finland
        Telephone country code:  358
        Area: 338,127 km2 / 130,125 sq mi
        Terrain: mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes
                 and low hills; fells and some mountains in the extreme
                 northwest.
        Highest mountain: Haltiatunturi (1,328 m).
        Natural resources: timber, copper, zinc, iron ore, silver
        Land boundaries: Russia, Sweden, Norway
        Population: 5,004,273 (1992)
        Population density: 14.8 persons per sq km
        Distribution: 62% urban, 38% rural. (1989)
        Life expectancy: women 80, men 72. (1992)
        Infant mortality: 6 per 1,000 live births. (1992)
        Capital: Helsinki/Helsingfors (pop. 501,514. Metropolitan area:
                 ca. 1 mill).
        Other major towns: (note: many places in Finland have two names, 
                           Finnish and Swedish)
                           Tampere/Tammerfors (174,859), Turku/bo
                           (159,916), Espoo/Esbo (179,054), Vantaa/Vanda
                           (159,213), Oulu/Uleborg (103,358)  (1992)
        Flag: a blue Nordic cross on white background.
        Type: Republic
        Head of state: President Martti Ahtisaari
        Languages: Finnish (93%), Swedish (6%) (both official), small Sami
                   and Romani minorities.
        Currency: markka (Finnish mark, FIM). For the current exchange
                  rate, see the URL  http://www.dna.lth.se/cgi-bin/rates
        Climate: cold temperate. Gulf stream warms up parts of the country,
                 Lapland is sub-arctic. Average temp. in Helsinki:
                 -9C - -4C in Feb., 12C - 22C in July.
        Religion: Evangelic-Lutheran (87%), Greek Orthodox (1%) (both
                  churches are official state-churches)
        Exports: paper, metal, machinery, ships, timber, textiles, chemicals,
                 electronics, furniture
 
 
------------------------------ 
 
Subject: 4.2  General information
 
 
4.2.1  Geography, climate, vegetation
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 Finland (Finnish: Suomi) is the fifth largest country in Europe, excluding
 the Russian federation. Roughly 1/3 of the country lies north of the 
 Arctic Circle. Finland shares a common border in the north with Norway, in
 the east a long border (1269 km) with Russia, on the south it is bordered
 by the Gulf of Finland, and on the west by the Gulf of Bothnia and Sweden.
 Most of Finland is lowland, but in the far northwest (the 'arm' of Finland)
 some mountains rise to over 1000m. Most of Finland is made of ancient
 granite bedrock, which has been shaped and fractured by numerous ice ages,
 the marks of which can be seen e.g in the complex lake system, the
 equally complex archipelagos and the huge boulders scattered all over the
 country.
 
 Finland has three main physical regions: the coastal lowlands, the inland
 lake system, and the northern uplands. The coastal lowlands extend along
 coasts of the Gulfs of Finland and Bothnia, off which lie thousands of
 rocky islands; the principal archipelagos are the land (in Finnish:
 Ahvenanmaa) Islands and the archipelago of Turku. The lake district is
 an interior plateau of southern central, heavily forested and studded with
 lakes, swamps and bogs. The northern upland, much of which lies north of
 the Arctic Circle, has rather poor soils and is the most sparsely populated
 region of Finland. In the far north, arctic forests and swamps eventually
 change to tundra.
 
 Finland's climate shows both maritime and continental influences.
 Surrounding seas cool the climate on the coast in spring but on the other
 hand warm it up in the autumn.The climate becomes more continental, i.e
 more extreme, the further east and north one goes. The furtherst north,
 however, has a rather marine climate because of the influence of the
 Arctic Ocean. The summer lasts 2 to 4 months, the growing season 4 to 6.
 
 The tourist cliche of Finland as 'the country of thousands of lakes' has
 some basis; in one count, a numnber of 187,880 islands was reached (but
 it all depends on what counts as a lake). They are often connected by 
 rivers and canals to form large lake-systems.  Finland's largest lake,
 Saimaa, is in fact a system of more than 100 interconnected smaller lakes.
 Finland's rivers are short and shallow, the longest being located in
 the north. Finland has about 30,000 coastal islands, of which the
 especially the southwestern archipelago is known for it's beauty.
 
 The country is situated entirely within the northern zone of coniferous
 forests.  Forests cover about 65% of the total area (45% pines, 37% spruces,
 15%). Oaks, lindens, elms, and ashes appear mostly in the southwest corner. 
 Among the large wild animals are e.g ear, elk, deer, lynx, wolverine
 and wolf. 
 
4.2.2  Economy
       ~~~~~~~
 
 Forests are Finland's most important natural resource, and paper, timber,
 etc. are a major source of national income.  The granite bedrock contains
 a diversity of minor mineral deposits, including copper, nickel, iron,
 zinc, chromium, lead, and iron pyrites. In recent years, diamonds have
 been found in eastern Finland, but they aren't mined yet. In addition, 
 limestone, granite and sand are quarried for building materials.
 
 Wood processing has traditionally been the most important economy. The
 metal and engineering industries have developed rapidly and today are the
 largest source of industrial employment. Since the 1950s large-scale swamp
 drainage, fertilizing, and reforestation have improved woord production.
 The state owns 20% of the forests;  the rest are privately controlled. The
 chemical, graphics, and food industries are also significant to the
 economy, followed by textile and electrochemical enterprises. Mining
 activity has decreased in importance, although Finland still produces 
 one-half of the copper and nickel needed for the domestic market.
 In 1960, 30% of Finland's work force was engaged in farming; by 1990
 the figure was less than 10%, and only 7% of the total land area was 
 cultivated.  Nevertheless, the agricultural sector produces a surplus 
 of dairy products, meat, and eggs. Wheat and rye are the most important
 bread grains;  other major crops include hay, potatoes, oats, and barley.
 Finland's climate and small farms favor dairy and livestock production,
 which account for most of the farm income.  The problems created by 
 overproduction have led to soil banking (a policy of purposely leaving 
 farmland uncultivated) and reforestation.
 
4.2.3  Population and language
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 Finland is a bilingual country (with a Swedish-speaking minority living
 mostly in the coastal areas), except for the autonomous island-province of
 land, which is monolingually Swedish-speaking. land, with ca. 25,000
 inhabitants, is a demilitarized area which has a flag of its own (a red
 Nordic cross outlined in yellow, on blue background) and a separate
 legistlation.
 
 The origin of Finns is still subject to a lot of discussion; the
 traditional theory is that Finns emigrated from the Urals to Finland
 ca. 2000 years ago, but the current view seems to be that the Finnish 
 people have evolved into what they are in Finland as a result of numerous
 successive waves of immigration coming from east, south and west. Whatever
 the roots of Finns are, a fact is that they speak a language that isn't
 Indo-European like the other Nordic languages, but Finno-Ugric; it's
 closest major relative is Estonian (but even those two languages aren't
 really mutually intelligible), and it's distantly related to Hungarian,
 Sami, and several minor languages spoken in European Russia and Siberia.
 The Swedish-speaking minority of Finland descends chiefly from the settlers
 that arrived with the Christian missionaries and crusaders in the early
 middle ages. They speak a dialect called 'finlandssvenska' that differs
 slightly from Swedish spoken in Sweden ('rikssvenska'), most notably for
 its Finnish intonation and some archaic vocabulary.
 
 In Lapland (the northernmost province of Finland), a small Sami (Lapp)
 minority still survives. Their number is only ca. 2500, but nowadays there 
 are schools for Sami-speakers and the language is considered official in
 municipalities with at least 7% of the population speaking Sami. For more 
 information about the Sami, see section 2.1. The Romani or Gypsies who
 arrived to Finland in late 16th century have long had to experience the
 prejudices of the majority population, but in recent years their
 situation has been improving, Romani language is taught at schools, etc.
 They number ca. 5500. 
 
4.2.4  Culture
       ~~~~~~~
 
 Finnish culture could be characterized as a mixture of Swedish and Finnish
 elements, with a touch of Russian influence especially in the eastern pro-
 vinces. Mikael Agricola (1510-57) established Finnish as a written language.
 The national epic Kalevala, collected from Karelian oral poetry by the
 scholar Elias Lnnrot, has had enormous effect on the forming of the
 Finnish culture in the last century, as did the poetry of Johan Ludvig
 Runeberg (1804-72) and the drama of the author Aleksis Kivi (1834-72).
 The scholar H.G.Porthan (1739-1804) awakened the public interest in
 Finnish mythology and folk poetry, and laid a firm basis to humanist
 sciences. Tove Jansson (b. 1914) has won popularity with her books about
 the Moomins.
 
 Music has had a special place in Finnish culture, the best known
 and loved composer being of course Jean Sibelius (1865-1957); others
 include Fredrik Pacius (1809-91), Oskar Merikanto (1868-1924), and
 Aarre Merikanto (1893-1958), Leevi Madetoja (1887-1947), and Uuno
 Klami (1900-61). Aulis Sallinen, Joonas Kokkonen and Magnus Lindberg are
 major contemporary composers. Hundreds of music festivals draw large
 crowds in the summer; among the best known are Kaustinen Folk Festival,
 Savonlinna Opera Festival which is held in a medieval castle, and Ruisrock
 in Turku.
 
 Finnish architecture has won international fame; it is represented by
 people such as Eliel Saarinen (and his son Eero Saarinen, who worked
 chiefly in North America) Wivi Lnn (1872-1966), and Lars Sonck (1870-1956)
 who were pioneers of the national romantic style. Neoclassicism was
 introduced by J. S. Siren (1889-1961), and functionalism by Alvar Aalto
 (1898-1976). Aalto is also well known as an urban planner, interior
 designer, and industrial and furniture designer. Reima and Raili Pietil 
 are contemporary architects well known for their unconventional,
 expressionistic style.
 
 Among painters, Albert Edelfelt (1854-1905) and Akseli Gallen-Kallela 
 (1865-1931) are the best known representatives of the golden era of Finnish
 painting; their styles were naturalism, realism, and symbolism, the themes
 often being taken from Finnish history or mythology. Helene Schjerbeck
 (1862-1946) was a leader in the break with realism, Hugo Simberg (1873-1917)
 was one of the foremost symbolists, and Tyko Sallinen (1879-1955) was one
 of the first expressionists.
 
4.2.5  Government
       ~~~~~~~~~~
 
 The Finnish constitution was adopted in 1919.  Finland is a republic,
 headed by a president elected for a 6-year term.  The president is
 chosen by the general electorate (all citizens over 18). Supreme executive
 power is vested in the president, who heads the country's foreign policy.
 Legislative power is shared by the president and the one-chamber parliament
 of 200 members.  The government which is headed by a prime minister, is
 responsible for the country's general administration. Judicial power is
 vested in independent courts of justice. Finland has had an ombudsman
 (oikeusasiamies), an impartial public officer whose duty is to handle
 public complaints against actions of the government, since 1919.
 
 The constitution of Finland allows freedom of religion, but the Evangelical
 Lutheran church is an official state church to which 87% of the population
 belongs to. The Orthodox church is also a state church, 1.1% of Finns are
 members (chiefly in the east); those with no church affiliation consti-
 tute 9.6% of the population.
 
 See section 4.4 for more information about the current parliament, cabinet
 and political parties.
 
 
------------------------------ 
 
Subject: 4.3  History
 
 
4.3.1  A chronology of important dates
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
       (for the period 1155-1809, see also the Swedish history section)
 
         
        800-1050 Viking age. Finns don't participate in Viking raids outside
                 the Baltic.
 
        1155     The First Crusade to Finland, launched by Swedes and led by
                 the English bishop Henry and the Swedish king Erik (later
                 canonized and made Sweden's patron saint, St.Erik). By 
                 this time Finland was, however, already mostly Christian so
                 the real motivations of the 'crusade' are obscure. SW Finland
                 appears to have been allied with central Sweden already in
                 the Viking age, so it has been hypothesized that the campaign
                 was a punitive expedition against an ally that become unre-
                 liable, perhaps because of the influence of Greek Orthodox
                 missionaries. In due time, Finland becomes an integral part
                 of the kingdom of Sweden.
 
        1156     According to the legend, bishop Henry is murdered by the
                 peasant Lalli on the frozen surface of lake Kyli. He is 
                 canonized St.Henry and becomes Finland's patron saint. 
 
        1229     The bishop's seat is moved from Nousiainen to Koroinen in
                 the vicinity of modern Turku; the year is considered to be
                 the founding year of Turku, which becomes the capital of 
                 the eastern half of the kingdom.
 
        1249     After a pagan uprising, the Second Crusade to Tavastia
                 (a province of western/central Finland) is launched and the
                 pagans are defeated.
 
        1293     The Third Crusade to Karelia, a province of eastern Finland,
                 establishes the borderline between Catholic/Lutheran West
                 and Orthodox East for the centuries to come. The castle and 
                 town of Viipuri/Viborg are founded to defend the border.
 
        1323     The peace of Nteburg (Phkinsaari) between Sweden and
                 Russia. Finland's eastern border defined for the first time.
 
        1362     Finns receive the right to participate in the election of
                 the king.
 
        1396-    The era of the Kalmar Union, with Finland, Sweden, Denmark
        1523     Norway and Iceland united as a single kingdom.
 
        1495-97  War against Russia. During a siege of Viipuri, just as the
                 Russians are about to get over the city walls, St. Andrew's
                 cross appears in the sky and the frightened Russians flee
                 from battle. In reality, what happened was probably the
                 exploding of a gunpowder tower.
 
        1527     Reformation. Finland becomes Lutheran with the rest of Sweden.
 
        1550     Helsinki founded by Gustav Vasa, but remains little more
                 than a fishing village for more than two centuries.
 
        1551     Mikael Agricola, a bishop of Turku, publishes his transla-
                 tion of the New Testament in Finnish.
 
        1595     The peace of Tyssin (Teusina); Finland's borders are
                 moved further east and north.
 
        1596-97  The so called Cudgel War. Manipulated by the usurper duke
                 Karl, Finnish peasantry rises into a rebellion prompted by
                 the worsened living conditions; after short-lived success,
                 the poorly armed peasants are brutally defeated by the
                 troops of Klaus Fleming, a Finnish aristocrat and regent
                 of Finland.
 
        1617     Karelia joined into Finland in the peace treaty of Stolbova.
 
        1630-48  Finns fight in the Thirty Years' War in the continent. The
                 Finnish cavalry, known as hakkapeliitta's, spreads fear among
                 the Catholic troops who're used to more orderly warfare.
 
        1637-40  Count Per Brahe as the general governor of Finland. Many
          and    important reforms are made, towns are founded, etc. His
        1648-54  period is generally considered very beneficial to the deve-
                 lopment of Finland.
 
        1640     Finland's first university founded in Turku.
 
        1714-21  Russia occupies Finland during the Great Northern War. The
                 period of the so called "Great Wrath".
 
        1721     The peace of Uusikaupunki gives Karelia to Russia.
 
        1741-43  The "War of the Hats". Adventurous politics by the "Hat"
                 party leads to a new disastrous war with Russia and a new
                 occupation of Finland, known as "The Lesser Wrath", which
                 ends in the peace treaty of Turku in 1743.
 
        1808-09  "The War of Finland". Russia attacks Finland in Feb. 1808
                 without a declaration of war; Finnish troops retreat all the
                 way to Oulu, which forces Russians to leave a large part of
                 their army as occupation forces, giving the Swedish general
                 Klingspor superiority in force. A reconquest starts in June
                 and Klingspor receives several victories; however, the
                 baffling surrender of the mighty Sveaborg fortress and
                 the fresh Russian troops received in autumn of 1809 force
                 the Swedish-Finnish troops to retreat all the way to Sweden
                 and Russia once again occupies Finland.
 
        1809     In the diet of Porvoo, while the war still goes on, the
                 Finnish estates swear an oath of loyalty to Emperor
                 Alexander I, who grants Finland a status of an autonomous
                 Grand Duchy, retaining its old constitution and religion.
                 A few months later the peace treaty of Hamina (Fredrikshamn)
                 is signed and Finland becomes under Russian rule.
 
        1812     Helsinki, being closer to Russia than the Swedish-oriented
                 Turku, is made the new capital. Karelia is joined to the
                 Grand Duchy as an act of goodwill.
 
        1809-99  Finland prospers under the extensive autonomy and more liberal
                 conditions than in the rest of Russian Empire. National
                 identity and nationalism awakens.
 
        1827     The great fire of Turku destroys most of the former capital.
                 The university is moved to Helsinki.
 
        1835     The first publication of the _Kalevala_, the Finnish national
                 epic. It was collected by Elias Lnnroth from traditional 
                 Karelian oral poetry, and became the most important source of
                 inspiration to Finnish nationalists when it appeared in its
                 final form in 1849.
 
        1866     Finnish becomes, alongside with Swedish and Russian, an
                 official language.
 
        1899     Russia starts a Russification policy of Finland with the
                 so called "February manifesto". After the initial shock and
                 disbelief, a well-organized passive resistance follows.
 
        1904     The dictatorical general governor and active adherent of
                 Russification of Finland, Nikolai Bobrikov, is assassinated
                 by the young clerk Eugen Schauman.
 
        1906     Finnish women receive the right to vote and to run for
                 parliament. Finland was the first country in Europe (and
                 second in the world, after New Zealand) to grant women an
                 equal right to vote in elections. The Finnish diet, which
                 up until now had been a system of four estates (nobility,
                 clergy, merchantry, peasantry), becomes a unicameral
                 parliament and a universal suffrage is declared.
 
        1917     As Russia plunges into the chaos of the October Revolution,
                 Finland seizes the opportunity and declares independence
                 on the 6th of December. 
 
        1918     A civil war erupts between "whites" and "reds", and ends in
                 "white" victory under the commander C.G.Mannerheim. Even
                 though the war is relatively brief, the casualties rise high
                 because of 'red' and 'white' terror, poor conditions at
                 prison camps and random executions of prisoners. The war
                 leaves bitter marks on the nation, which are eventually
                 healed in the Winter War of 1939-40, when both sides have to
                 unite forces against a common enemy.
 
                 The civil war increases scepticism towards the effeciency
                 of democratic institutions, and monarchists in the parlia-
                 ment succeed (chiefly because the Social Democrats had
                 not been allowed to partake in the parliament) in turning
                 Finland into a monarchy, and the German prince Friedrich
                 Karl of Hesse is invited to become King of Finland. However,
                 as Germany soon lost the World War I, Friedrich who had
                 delayed answering to the invitiation refused the crown so
                 Finland never officially had a king; as a result monarchism
                 in general suffered an inflation. In 1919 Finland gets a
                 republican constitution, with a strong position for the
                 president as a concession to the monarchists.
 
        1920's-  Finland prospers after the war and adopts a neutral Nordic
          30's   profile in its foreign policy, although with strong German
                 sympathies. In early 1930's fascism in the Italian fashion
                 emerges and the so called Lapua-movement attempts a coup
                 d'etat in 1932, but fails and is banned (ironically, using
                 the laws the movement was itself most eager to push
                 into force). The IKL ('Patriotic Movement'), an extreme right
                 party, is formed to continue the legacy of Lapua-movement,
                 but it never gains significant support and Finnish fascism
                 remains a fringe phenomenon.    
 
        1939-40  Soviet Union attacks Finland. Fierce Finnish resistance
                 surprises the overwhelming but poorly prepared Soviet
                 troops and the "Winter War" lasts for roughly three and
                 a half months, causing heavy casualties on the Soviet side.
                 Eventually Finland has to give in and cede Karelia to the
                 USSR, causing some 400,000 people to lose homes.
 
        1941-44  The Continuation War; Finland attacks the Soviet Union
                 with Germany, hoping to regain the lost areas, but 
                 eventually has to accept the borders of 1940 and, and also
                 cede Pechenga, lease Porkkala peninsula as a military base
                 for 50 years (SU returns it already in 1956) and pay war
                 reparations.
 
        1944-45  The War of Lapland. As a part of the peace treaty, Finland
                 has to force all German troops to leave Finland. Germans
                 put up a fight and burn much of Finnish Lapland as they
                 retreat.
 
        1947     Paris peace treaty. Finland assumes a policy of careful
                 neutrality (e.g declining to receive Marshall aid) and
                 realpolitik, taking into account Finland's geographical 
                 location next to the USSR. This policy becomes known as
                 the Paasikivi-Kekkonen line.
 
        1944-48  So called "Years of Danger" ('vaaran vuodet') when a
                 communist takeover was hanging in the air. Some leading
                 Finnish communists proclaimed that the "Czechoslovakian
                 model" was to be Finland's future as well. This ends in
                 the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation
                 and Mutual Assistance ('YYA' is the Finnish acronym)
                 with the Soviet Union in 1948. In it, Finland among other
                 things commits itself to defend its territory against 
                 Germany or any other country allied with Germany that might 
                 use Finland as a way to attack Soviet Union. The treaty
                 guarantees Finland's sovereignty in the years to follow, 
                 but places Finland in between the two blocs of the Cold War,
                 trying hard to please both sides.
 
        1950's-  "Finlandization" era. Finland remains an independent western 
          80's   European democracy, but falls into exaggerations in keeping
                 the eastern neighbour pleased. On the other hand, the 
                 bilateral trade arrangements with the Soviet Union are very
                 beneficial to Finnish economy, which make possible the
                 emergence of Finland as a rich welfare state.
 
        1952     The Olympic Games held in Helsinki.
 
        1955     Finland joins the United Nations and the Nordic Council.
 
        1960's-  A time of intensive urbanization, Finland turns from a
          70's   predominantly agrarian state into an urban one almost
                 "overnight". This results in severe unemployment, and large
                 numbers of Finns emigrate to Sweden in search of jobs.
 
        1973     Finland signs a free trade treaty with the EEC (a precedent
                 of the European Union), but remains outside the community.
 
        1975     The first CSCE conference in held in Helsinki. The 'spirit
                 of Helsinki' becomes to epitomize the process of detente
                 between East and West after the Cold War era.
 
        1987     Finland becomes a full member of EFTA (European Free Trade
                 Association). A special FINEFTA customs treaty had been in
                 effect already since 1961.
 
        1989     Finland becomes a member of the European Council.
 
        1994     On 16th of October Finns voted YES (57% vs. 43% NO) to 
                 membership in the European Union; the parliament ratified
                 the result after a long filibustering campaign by the
                 NO-side.
 
        1995     As of January 1st, Finland became a full member in the EU.
 
 
 
4.3.2  Grand Dukes and presidents of Finland
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
        For a list of kings and queens of Sweden-Finland, see Part 7 
        of the FAQ, section 7.3.1.
 
        Grand Dukes of the Grand Duchy of Finland
        =========================================
 
        Alexander I                     (1809-25)       
        Nicholas I                      (1825-55)       
        Alexander II                    (1855-81)       
        Alexander III                   (1881-94)       
        Nicholas II                     (1894-1917)     
 
 
        Regents of the period of Civil War
        ==================================
        
        Pehr Evind Svinhufvud           (1918)
        Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim     (1918-19)
 
        
        Presidents of the republic of Finland
        =====================================
 
        Kaarlo Juho Sthlberg           (1919-25)
        Lauri Kristian Relander         (1925-31)
        Pehr Evind Svinhufvud           (1931-37)
        Kysti Kallio                   (1937-40)
        Risto Heikki Ryti               (1940-44)
        Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim     (1944-46)
        Juho Kusti Paasikivi            (1946-56)
        Urho Kaleva Kekkonen            (1956-81)
        Mauno Henrik Koivisto           (1982-94)
        Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari    (1994-  )
 
 
------------------------------ 
 
Subject: 4.4  The Finnish parliament, government and political parties
 
 
<From Jorma Kypp, Hiski Haapoja et al>
 
 
4.4.1  The 1995 general elections
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 The Finnish parliament is unicameral, elected by citizens over 18 every
 fourth March (to commemorate the opening of the Estates' Diet by Tsar
 Alexander I in March 1809). The President, with the consent of the Prime
 Minister, can dissolve the Parliament and call for new elections. This 
 last occurred in 1975. In the election of March 1995 the 200 seats went 
 as follows:
 
 Party                          % of votes      Seats (change from -91)
 
 Social Democrats               28.3            63 (+15)
 Centre Party                   19.9            44 (-11)
 National Coalition (cons.)     17.9            39 (-1)
 Left-wing Alliance (comm.)     11.2            22 (+3)
 Greens                          6.5             9 (-1)
 Swedish People's Party          5.1            11 (0)
 Christian League                3.0             7 (-1)
 Young Finns                     2.8             2 (+2)
 Rural Party                     1.3             1 (-6)
 Ecological Party                0.3             1 (+1)
 Aaland representative                           1
 
 Voting percentage: 71.8
 
 Of the new MP's 143 are men and 67 women. The parliament elected in 1991
 had 77 women out of the total 200 MP's (a world record in it's time), 
 and as many women's organizations had set the goal as 101 women MP's
 to be elected, the result was clearly a disappointment and one of the most
 surprising elements of the elections.
 
 The Social Democrats got a great victory as a result of their being in
 the opposition in the last government. Centre party, the leading party of
 the previous governement, was the greatest looser of the elections, pro-
 bably because the party's split-up in the question of EU-membership. The
 National Coalition, the other major party in the government, was among the
 losers but was much less affected by government responsibility than the
 Centre. The gallups lied to the Greens once again and for the first time
 since its formation the party stopped growing. Young Finns got their
 first seats, not as many as they expected but it's a start. The Rural Party
 was one of the biggest losers of the elections; a once significant populist
 party, it has waned away almost completely and may soon disappear entirely
 from the Finnish political chart as it is currently in deep economical
 problems. The little known Ecological Party got its sole seat because of
 its candidate Pertti "Veltto" ("Slack") Virtanen, a well-known eccentric
 rock musician and psychologist, who was also a candidate in the presidential
 elections (and did surprisingly well).
 
 Riitta Uosukainen (Cons.) continues as Mrs. Chairman of the Parliament.
 
 
4.4.2  The new cabinet
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 The new cabinet appointed by president Ahtisaari is nicknamed "Rainbow
 cabinet" as it includes 7 Social Democrats, 5 Conservatives, 2 ("ex-")
 Communists, 2 Swedes, one Green and one independent minister. The only
 major party left out is the Centre, which dominates rural Finland. Cuts in
 agricultural support are expected. The notion of Conservatives and
 Communists in the same cabinet is unheard before, as is the presence of 
 the Green (party chairman Pekka Haavisto, who lost his seat in the
 Parliament), as Minister of Environment. 11 men and 7 women.
 
 Prime Minister: Paavo Lipponen (born 1941). The slow-speaking, 197cm
 tall chairman of the Social Democratic Party was the first Finnish
 politician to suggest EC membership, at a time when it was highly
 unrealistic and potentially career-damaging (anti-Soviet).
 
 Foreign Minister: Tarja Halonen (SocDem). A surprise choice. Red hair and
 onetime Minister of Justice is all I can remember. Unless I'm mistaken,
 our first female Foreign Minister.
 
 Minister of the Treasury: Iiro Viinanen (Cons.) The most hated member of
 the former cabinet continues to persecute women, children and the trade
 unions. He has also gained much respect among some people, which shows e.g
 in that he got one of the biggest shares of votes in the parliamentary
 elections of all candidates.
 
 Second Minister of Treasury: Arja Alho, a Social Democrat from Helsinki
 with an independent mind.
 
 Minister of Trade and Commerce: Antti Kalliomki, vice-chairman of the
 Social Democratic Party. A gray bore and former athlete.
 
 Minister of Interior Affairs (such as the Police): Jouni Backman (SocDem).
 A totalitarian character. 2nd minister Jan-Erik Enestam (Swedish People's
 Party), a municipal leader from Vstanfjrd.
 
 Minister of Labour: Liisa Jaakonsaari (SocDem, from Oulu). Faces a huge
 task of reducing the record-high unemployment. Good luck.
 
 Minister of Justice: Sauli Niinist, Chairman of the Conservatives.
 Lost his wife in a car accident earlier this year.
 
 Minister of Defence: Anneli Taina (Cons.) Apparently they decided to make
 this a permanent women's job. 
 
 Minister of Traffic: Tuula Linnainmaa (Cons.) A nobody.
 
 Minister of Education: the 30-year old Conservative Olli-Pekka Heinonen
 continues.
 
 Minister of Social and Health Issues: Sinikka Mnkre (SocDem)
 and Terttu Huttu (Comm.), a newcomer from Suomussalmi.
  
 Minister of European Affairs: Ole Norrback, the Ostrobothnian chairman of
 the Swedish People's Party and just about our most provincial politician.
 
 Minister of Culture: Claes Andersson, Comm. Chairman, poet, jazz 
 pianist, ex-football player, psychiatrist and father of six or more. It's
 not often that we see a Minister of Culture who actually understands
 something about culture.
 
 
4.4.3  The political parties
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 
 The Centre (Keskusta, abbr. Kesk) was called Agrarian League until 1965
 and still derives its main support from rural areas covering most of
 Finland. Not nearly all the voters have anything to do with farming, but 
 loyalty to the Centre is almost a family value in the provinces,
 particularly the two northern ones (Oulu and Lapland). The higher voting 
 percentage of the rural areas is an additional asset. The party has a 
 strong anti-EU wing, which has close ties with Vapaan Suomen Liitto (Union 
 of Free Finland), whose sole issue is to terminate the EU membership. 
 Esko Aho has been chairman of the Centre since 1990 and Prime Minister 
 since 1991. Other main politicians include the controversial Paavo Vyrynen, 
 Seppo Kriinen, Olli Rehn, Tytti Isohookana-Asunmaa, Anneli Jtteenmki.
 The chairman of VSL is the noted troublemaker Ilkka Hakalehto.
 
 The Social Democrats (SDP) are strongest in Southern industrial towns,
 also sharing much of the middle-class and official vote. Party chairman 
 Paavo Lipponen is the new Prime Minister. Other notable names: Arja Alho,
 Erkki Tuomioja, Pertti Paasio, Ulf Sundqvist, Antti Kalliomki, Lasse
 Lehtinen, Kalevi Sorsa. President Martti Ahtisaari, EU commissioner Erkki
 Liikanen and many trade union figures come from SDP.
 
 The National Coalition (Kokoomus, abbr. Kok), or Conservatives, presents
 itself as the party of entrepreneurs and patriots, winning 90 per cent
 shares of vote in army bases. Helsinki and the other main cities are 
 National Coalition strongholds. While most of rural Finland is dominated
 by the green of the Centre, Eastern Hme is blue for some reason. Chairman
 Sauli Niinist and his minions (Pertti Salolainen, Pekka Kivel, Ilkka
 Suominen, Harri Holkeri)  are currently worried about a new rival,
 Nuorsuomalaiset (Young Finns - the name harks back to the days of the
 Tsar), which appears as a more modern, "cool" urban alternative. Risto
 E. J. Penttil is the champion of the Young Finns, while the image of
 the National Coalition is burdened by the ruthless know-it-all Minister
 of Finance, Iiro Viinanen. Riitta Uosukainen is the first-ever Chairwoman
 of the Parliament. 
 
 The Left-wing Alliance (Vasemmistoliitto, abbr. Vas) is a 1990 attempt to 
 gather together the quarreling Communist movement. Some splits are still 
 visible both inside and outside of the party. Much stronger in the North 
 than in the South, the party gets most of its votes from industrial
 workers. The eternal struggle with SDP over trade unions goes on and on.
 The chairman is Claes Andersson, psychiatrist and novelist.
 
 The Swedish People's Party (SFP in Swedish, RKP in Finnish) unites the
 Swedish-speaking minority of the Southern and Ostrobothnian coasts,
 from leftist intellectuals through farmers and fishermen to nobility.
 The language issue gives SFP the stablest electorate of any Finnish party. 
 It manages to worm its way to most Finnish governments, thus having 
 influence far greater than its size. One of the 12 mandates is the 
 representative of Aland Islands, Gunnar Jansson, who technically is not 
 a member of the party as the islands have a political system of their own.
 
 The Greens first entered the Parliament in 1983. Their main concern
 is the environment (attitudes ranging from moderate to fanatical)
 but many counter-culture youths and citizens' rights activists feel home 
 here as well. Paradoxically, the nature party thrives mainly in the
 big cities (the "Neon Greens") as well as in the Universities.   
   
 The Christian League (founded in 1958) owes most of its seats to
 skilful electoral alliances which give the party benefit from votes
 originally given to other parties. Many of its faces represent
 Revivalist movements rather than mainstream Lutheranism. The
 chairman is Toimi Kankaanniemi.
 
 SMP (Finnish Rural Party, although changing the meaning of the letters is
 continually proposed) originated in 1959 as a rebellious (anti-Kekkonen) 
 fraction of the Agrarian League. The party's electoral success has been 
 very variable and despite government participation during the 1980s it 
 never achieved, or much sought for, respectability, preferring to fish 
 the populist vote with anti-refugee statements. The current state of
 SMP is chaotic, but it has happened before and SMP has risen like a 
 phoenix from the ashes.
 
 The Liberal Party lost its only MP, the party's chairwoman Tuulikki Ukkola,
 in the elections. LKP has a history of power despite its small size, 
 but is facing extinction and is hysterical about the threat of the Young
 Finns.
 
 The ultra green Ecological Party got one MP, one of the surprises of the
 elections.
 
 There are a dozen registered parties outside the Parliament. The law
 states that a party which twice consecutively fails to enter the
 Parliament must be dissolved, but usually they re-arrange themselves
 with the collection of another 5,000 signatures. Among them are three
 pensioners' parties (the least of them called Party of Shared Responsibility
 of Pension Receivers and Greens), the Women's Party and the Natural Law
 Party which aims to heal the Finnish economy by the means of yoga flying.
 The status of bad old IKL (the main Fascist party, banned in 1944) is 
 somewhat unclear at the moment.
  
 See the URL  http://www.mofile.fi/fennia/um  for official government
 information (foreign ministry press pages).
 
 
------------------------------ 
 
Subject: 4.5  Main tourist attractions
 
 
4.5.1  Helsinki
       ~~~~~~~~
 
 Helsinki (Swedish: Helsingfors) is the capital and largest city of Finland.
 It is in the southern coast of the country on the Gulf of Finland and 
 occupies the tip of a small peninsula. The 'cities' of Vantaa and Espoo
 are effectively suburbs of Helsinki, and together with Kaunianen, form
 the metropolitan where ca. 1 million people or nearly 20% if Finland's
 population live. 
 
 The city is protected from the sea by a fringe of islands, so that its
 harbor is almost landlocked.  It is underlain by hard rock, which shows
 in rounded masses, smothered and polished by ice sheets. Hollows in this 
 surface are occupied by lakes or the sea, although some have been filled
 with urban waste to create new land. Summers in Helsinki are rather mild,
 with an average temperature of 18C in July; winters are pretty long and
 cold, January temperatures averaging -6C. A belt of sea ice forms close to
 the coast during the winter months,but a passage is usually kept open by
 icebreakers.
 
 Helsinki was founded in 1550 by King Gustav Vasa to compete with the 
 Hansaetic city of Tallinn in Estonia, some 50km south across the Gulf of
 Finland, and merchants from several smaller towns were ordered by force
 to move to Helsinki. It didn't start out well, however; many of the
 merchants moved back to their own towns, the place of the town had to
 be moved a couple of times to more suitable locations, fires and war
 destroyed the town several times, and plague killed most of the
 ihabitants. For over two hundred years, Helsinki was little more than
 a fishing village, but things started to improve when the construction
 of the huge fortress of Sveaborg started in 1748 on the islands just
 outside Helsinki and brought tens of thousands of soldiers, builders,
 officers, etc. to Helsinki.
 
 In 1809 Sveaborg (the modern Finnish name is Suomenlinna) surrendered
 almost without a shot to a Russian army that was much smaller than the
 Swedish-Finnish garrison, and Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy of
 Russia. Helsinki was made capital in 1812, the university (founded 1640)
 was moved there from Turku in 1827, and the modern growth of the city
 started. The war had destroyed much of the old Helsinki, and the central
 city was rebuilt according to the plans of the German-born architect
 C.L.Engel in grand imperial scale to show the power of the Russian Empire.
 The city was bombed during the World War II, but not as badly as it might
 have because of the ingenious air raid defense (for example, a fake
 Helsinki was built next to the real one and set on fire to fool the
 Russian bombers). 
 
 The Helsinki accords was the "declaration of policy intent" signed in
 Helsinki in 1975, by the United States, Canada, the USSR, and
 32 European countries at the end of the Conference on Security and 
 Cooperation in Europe (1973-75).  The accords declared inviolable the
 frontiers of all the signatory nations, provided for scientific,
 technological, and cultural exchanges, and pledged the signatories to 
 respect human rights, including "freedom of thought, conscience, religion,
 or belief."
 
 The most important sights in Helsinki include the following:
 
 The Senate Square, in the very centre of Helsinki, is one of the most
 beautiful neo-classical squares in Europe. On one side of the square
 is situated the Senate palace, and on the other, the maiun building
 of Helsinki University; above them rises the Helsinki Cathedral (all
 are designed by C.L.Engel), and in the centre of the square is a statue
 of Emperor Alexander II. The university library is next to the main
 building of the university is considered to be perhaps Engel's finest
 work, especially the intererior is beautiful. Slightly "hidden" behind
 the square is the old House of the Estates, a fine piece of exuberant
 neo-renaissance architecture with golden decorations. Ateneum Art Museum
 located in the Rautatientori square nearby has the best collection of
 fine arts in Filnand; mostly Finnish painters and some foreign masters of
 turn of the century (the rest of the somewhat modest collection of foreign
 art is housed in the Sinebrychoff museum on Bulevardi street); on the same
 square is the railway station, designed by Eliel Saarinen, which is a
 large and innovative Art Nouveau building (the main entrance looks a bit
 like an old radio set).
 
 The Market Square, in the South Harbour, is a lively year-round market
 in beautiful surroundings. Beside the square is the fountain of Havis 
 Amanda, the symbol of Helsinki. The Esplanade, a park avenue lined 
 with shops and cafes starts from the fountain; at it's other end is 
 the Swedish Theatre and the Stockmann department store, reputedly the 
 largest in Scandinavia, and certainly the best one in Helsinki. A part
 of the Stockmann, although located in a separate building next to it,
 is the Academic Bookstore which is a must for every bookhoarder. They
 have a large selection of books in English, as well as several other
 major languages. For slightly cheaper shopping, you could take the
 subway to the Itkeskus -station (East Centre). The station is right 
 next to a huge suburban mall.
 
 On the other end of the Market Square rises the golden, onion-shaped
 cupola of the Uspensky Cathedral, representing the other major
 religion in Finland, Greek Orthodoxy. Ferries leave from the square
 to the 18th century island fortress of Suomenlinna (Sveaborg), once
 called "the Gibraltar of the North" (but unlike Gibraltar, never
 had much military significance), located just outside the harbour;
 it's a beautiful place for picnics and just strolling around. There's
 also a centre for Scandinavian art in one of the old barracks, and a
 museum dedicated to the man behind Sveaborg's building, Augustin
 Ehrensvrd. The fortress is included in the UNESCO list of world
 heritage. Tickets to the ferries cost only about 10 FIM. There are
 also ferries to Korkeasaari Zoo, also located in a nearby island.
 Another good place for picnics is the Kaivopuisto park, where free
 pop-concerts are held in summers.
 
 Going down the Mannerheimintie-street, which starts from the other
 end of the Esplanade, you'll pass the following places of interest:
 the parliament, which is a massive granite building that daties from 
 the 1930's (and, frankly, looks like something that Albert Speer might
 have designed..). The Finlandia-house, by Finland's most famous architect
 Alvar Aalto, built of white marble, where the Helsinki accords were signed
 (it's also the home of e.g the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra). The
 Italian Carrara-marble plates haven't quite stood the test of Finnish
 weather, so it might be a good idea to wear a helmet in case of falling
 marble. :) The National Museum built in Art Nouveau style displays objects
 from different periods of Finnish history. The collection is relatively
 interesting, but displayed in a somewhat conservative way. Also, the museum
 is far too small for it's purpose. The National Opera is the next building
 on the line, it's a piece of modern architecture finished in 1993, more
 beautiful from the inside than the outside; and finally, the Olympic
 Stadium, where the 1952 Olympics were held.
 
 You might also want to check the Temppeliaukio church in the district
 of Tl, which is carved into a low hill of granite rock and covered
 by a copper dome (architect Reima Pietil). Take a look from above, some
 of the staircases of the houses next to it for example; it looks like a
 landed UFO. Seurasaari island has an open-air museum of traditional
 Finnish wooden houses, not quite as good as Skansen in Stockholm or
 Bygdy in Oslo, but if you're interested in folk culture it's certainly
 worth checking out. Linnanmki amusement park is the largest in Finland;
 it differs in no way from your average large amusement park, but might
 still be a nice place to spend a day, especially if you're travelling
 with children. Heureka Science Center in the suburb in Vantaa is another
 good place to spend time with children; it popularizes science, lets
 you do all sorts of experiments of your own, and has a globular movie
 theatre. You can get there by local train or a special bus line
 leaving from Rautatientori. Ainola, home of the composer Jean Sibelius,
 is located in Jrvenp not far from Helsinki.
 
 Internet addicts visiting the city can cure their withdrawal symptoms
 at the CompuCafe at Annankatu 22 in the center of the city (see
 http://www.eunet.fi/compucafe/. Free net access is also provided by an
 increasing number of public libraries, for instance the Kirjakaapeli
 library in the Kaapelitehdas (Cable Factory) culture center in western
 Helsinki. The place is well worth a visit on its own right. It's a huge
 old factory building where cables used to be made (hence the name), which
 after the closing of the factory was spontaneously taken over by various
 artists, workshops, clubs, etc., and after a brief wrestle with the city
 authorities and the company owning the building, it was turned in its
 entirety into a culture complex. It now houses, in addition to the library,
 cafes, galleries, several museums, excercise rooms for rock bands, classical
 orchestras, martial arts clubs, theatre groups, etc, and its a site for
 all sorts of cultural happenings. Getting there is easiest by taking the
 subway to the Ruoholahti station. See also http://www.kaapeli.fi/
 
 For more information on helsinki, you may wish to check these URLs:
     The Virtual Traveller to Helsinki:
         http://www.spellbound.com/helsinki/index.html    
     General information on Helsinki:
         http://www.eunet.fi/helsinki94/background/helsinki/hkiyleis.html
     A clicable map of Helsinki WWW-resources:
         http://www.funet.fi:80/resources/maps/helsinki/ 
     Official Helsinki city information:
         http://www.hel.fi/
 
 
4.5.2  Turku, the old capital
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Turku (Swedish:  bo) is a port city in southwestern Finland at the mouth
of the river Aura, about 160 km west of Helsinki. It has several important 
libraries, museums, and theaters.  The Swedish University of bo (bo Aka-
demi, 1917) and the University of Turku (1920) serve, respectively, the
Swedish and Finnish populations of this bilingual city.
 
Turku/bo is Finland's oldest city, founded sometime in the early 13th
century, but not very many old buildings remain because of tens of
disastrous fires, the worst one being that of 1827 which destroyed the
city almost completely. Most of the buildings are, therefore, fairly new,
with a couple of old monuments remaining. Before the Russian takeover
in 1809, Turku was Finland's largest city and served as its capital. 
It was rather heavily damaged during also during the WWII.
 
The city is divided by the river Aura, on the bank of which rises the Turku
Cathedral, the most important medieval cathedral in Finland and a national
sanctuary. It was started in 1230, and it's present shape (except for the
cupola and the roof, which were built after the 1827 fire) dates from late
middle ages. In the cathedral are buried e.g the wife of Erik XIV, Queen
Karin Mnsdtter (Kaarina Maununtytr) and some of the most famous of
Gustav II Adolf's military leaders from the Thirty Years' War (the Finnish
marshalls Evert Horn and ke Tott, the general of the Hakkapeliitta cavalry
Torsten Stlhandske and the Scottish colonel Samuel Cockburn). There's also
a museum in one of the galleries.
 
The other major medieval monument in Turku is the castle, started in the
1310's. The castle acted as the main castle of Finland in the middle ages
and renaissance and experienced it's best days in the 16th century when
the duke of Finland, Johan, held his court there together with the Polish-
born princess Katarina Jagellonica whom he married in 1562. Later, in
1568, Johan imprisoned his brother, the mad renaissance king Erik XIV,
and he was held prisoner in Turku castle. It's an impressive construction,
but perhaps not exceptionally romantic. In the river Aura, there are two
19th century sailingships that act as museums, the Suomen Joutsen and Sigyn.
The Cloister Hill (Luostarinmki) has an attractive collection of simple
wooden merchants houses that were spared from the fire of 1827.
 
See http://www.tku.fi/
 
 
4.5.3  Tampere, the third largest city of Finland   
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
<from: Kari Yli-Kuha>
 
 Tampere (in Swedish Tammerfors) lies about 160 km northwest of Helsinki.
 A major manufacturing hub and the textile center of Finland, Tampere also
 produces metals, heavy machinery, pulp, and paper, etc. The heavy concen-
 tration of industry has prompted some to call it Finland's Manchester
 (the center, with several rather attractive old factory buildings, looks
 pretty industrial, too).
 
 Tampere was founded in 1779 and is the largest inland city in Scandinavia.
 The location between two lakes, Nsijrvi and Pyhjrvi, and the rapids
 (Tammerkoski) joining the lakes gave birth to the industry in the city.
 The cathedral by Lars Sonck is a masterpiece of Finnish national-romantic
 Art Nouveau; it's frescoes by the symbolist painter Hugo Simberg are
 especially fascinating. Lake tours, 'Hopealinja' (Silver Line) in 
 Pyhjrvi and 'Runoilijan tie' (Poet's Way) in Nsijrvi, are popular 
 in the summer. A gravel ridge, Pispalan harju, and the settlement there
 is also a major tourist attraction. Tampere has two theatres (TT and TTT)
 and a summer theatre with a revolving auditorium. The Srknniemi
 amusement park is very popular in the summer. One of the gastronomic
 delicacies typical for Tampere is black sausage ('mustamakkara') which
 is made of blood, though not nearly all regard it as a delicacy.
 
 Other tips: <from Tuukka Kirveskoski>
 
  * Main shopping street Hmeenkatu
  * Pyynikki natural park only two kilometres west from downtown
  * Take a ferry to Viikinsaari island or a longer boat trip to the
    town of Hmeenlinna (about 100km; there's a medieval castle
    there). Scenic waterways.
  * places to be:
    Amarillo, Night Club Ilves, Crazy Horse, Cafe Metropol, Doris
  * luxurious baths:
     -  Spa Lapinniemi, near the city centre, about 60FIM/2 hours
     -  Eden, in the neighbouring town Nokia, about 70FIM
     -  Ikaalisten Kylpyl, in the small town of Ikaalinen, 50km
        from Tampere, about 50FIM
        
Check out http://www.tpo.fi/english/tampere/index.html
          http://www.tampere.fi/
          http://www.uta.fi/maps/sisluettelo.html 
 
4.5.4  Jyvskyl
       ~~~~~~~~~
 
<from: Jarmo Ryyti>
 
 Jyvskyl was where Alvar Aalto began his career as an architect; from
 1920's up until our days, dozens of buildings designed by him have been
 built in and around Jyvaskyla, thus making the city famous for its
 architecture.
 
 Jyvskyl in the area of Finnish language culture it has a remarkable
 succession of "firsts": the first Finnish-language lyceym, the first
 school for the girls, the first teachers' training college (the seminary)
 the first national song and instrument festivals, the first society for
 the advancement of public education, the first "summer university", and
 the first arts festival.
 
 
4.5.5  Porvoo
       ~~~~~~
 
 Porvoo (Swedish: Borg) on the coast of the Gulf of Finland received its
 town rights in 1346. The town lies 48 km northeast of Helsinki, along the
 Porvoonjoki River. It's a rather small town with only 30,000 or so
 inhabitants, but it's rather attractive and the (mostly wooden) Old 
 Town still has a rather medieval character. Building of the the cathedral
 in the center of the Old Town was finished 1414-18, and the Diet of Porvoo
 where Finland was granted its autonomous status as a Grand Duchy was
 held there in 1809 by emperor Alexander I. The house of Porvoo
 Gymnasium, built 1760, is on the cathedral square. The town hall was 
 built in 1764 and now houses a historical museum; the art collection of
 the museum is in the Holm house (1762), included are works by two
 great artists of the golden age of Finnish art who were born in Porvoo,
 the painter Albert Edelfelt (1854-1940) and the sculptor Ville Valgren
 (1855-1940). Edelfelt's studio is one of the most popular museums of
 Porvoo area, it's located close to the Haikko manor (now a hotel) a few
 kilometers from Porvoo. The poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg spent the 25 last
 years of his life in Porvoo; his home at the corner of Aleksanterinkatu
 and Runeberginkatu has been a museum since 1880. He is buried in the
 Nsimki cemetary of Porvoo. Next to the Old Town, on a hill across the
 Porvoo river, is Linnanmki or Borgbacken (Castle Hill, which has given
 Porvoo it's name; Borg = Castle River). There are no stone fortifications
 left, the only remains are moats that have belonged to hillfort built by
 the Danes in the late 12th or early 13th century.
 
 
4.5.6  Other places of interest in Finland
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 land islands (Ahvenanmaa in Finnish) are a beautiful archipelago, perfect
 for cycling, with medieval churches scattered around and the castle ruins
 of Kastelholm.  Naantali/Ndendal, close to Turku, is a charming small,
 medieval town by the sea, where a Brigittine cloister was located (the
 church still remains). A popular place to visit in summers. Likewise,
 Rauma, located 100km north of Turku, has a very charming old town
 which is included in the UNESCO world heritage list, and a church that
 was part of a Franciscan monastery. The inland lake-system, with such
 lakes as Saimaa and Pijnne is perfect for a canoeing holiday; trips on
 one of the many lake steam boats are also recommended. The mightiest
 of Finnish medieval castles, Olavinlinna, is located in an island in the
 Saimaa, and a famous opera-festival is arranged in the castle every
 summer. The province of Lapland is among the last wild natural areas in
 Europe; no real mountains (except in some areas close to Norwegian
 border), but low fells that rise to some 500 metres. Good for trekking,
 but be prepared for mosquitoes.
 
 
------------------------------ 
 
Subject: 4.6  The Finnish Sauna  
 
 
 <by Mauri Haikola>
 
 While the word 'sauna' (in the Finnish pronounciation, the "au" sound is
 like "ou" in "loud") means different things in different countries,
 for a Finn it means an elementary part of everyday life. Ever since
 childhood, Finnish people learn to bathe in sauna, usually at least
 once a week. Yes, they do it naked, and yes, they go in there together
 with other people, while naked. This and other aspects of the Finnish
 sauna are discussed in the following questions and answers. 
 
 Q1.  Why is sauna something special in Finland?  
 
 A1.  Mostly because of ancient traditions. Wherever there have lived
 Finns, there have also been a sauna nearby their residences. In the
 early days of Finnish history, it was a small wooden hut near a lake,
 and people used it not only for cleaning themselves, but for childbirths,
 some medical operations and other duties that required a clean, bacteria-
 free environment. Today, practically all houses in Finland have a sauna.
 In urban areas, you usually have one per building, but even in a relatively
 small apartment it is not a rare piece of luxury these days. This being
 the case, Finns discover at an early age what a refreshing way it is to
 clean oneself both physically and mentally. The tradition is not a dying
 one either.
 
 Q2.  What is a Finnish sauna like?
 
 A2.  The basic parts are the stove ('kiuas'), filled with fist-sized
 stones, and the benches or platforms ('lauteet'), made of wood
 (anecdotes of metal benches in the saunas of some Finnish-built
 Russian warships are told :). There are usually two benches, one of
 which is higher (the seat) and the other one lower (place to rest your
 feet on, or another seat if you feel it's too hot). These are what all
 saunas have. The modern saunas have the usual shower and dressing
 rooms too, but the traditional ones near a lake or sea (usually in the
 vicinity of a summer cabin, or built in one) do not require anything
 but a stove for heating and a bench to sit down on -- you can do the
 cleaning in the lake. The stove is traditionally fuelled by wood, but
 electrically heated saunas are common due to their safe, easy and
 clean use. The average sauna has room for 3-6 people at a time.
 
 Q3.  How are you supposed to bathe?
 
 A3.  There are no rules, only guidelines. Finns like their traditions,
 but do not enforce them on themselves or foreigners. Usually you bathe
 together with your family. If you are with friends or others that
 aren't family members, men and women take turns to bathe separately. Most
 public saunas are separate for men and women, but not all. You take your
 clothes off (this is not a rule, mind you; if someone wants to use a towel
 or bathing suite, it's not a breach of any important etiquette), go and
 sit down on the benches and relax. The air is not particularly humid at
 first (there is no visible steam), and when you feel like it, you throw
 some water on the stones to increase humidity. This causes the water to
 vaporize very quickly, and it makes the bathers feel a momentary breath
 of hot air in their backs. It may be uncomfortable, if the stove is too 
 hot or if you use too much water, and in those cases it helps to step down
 on the lower bench, or to go out entirely. This is also perfectly acceptable,
 and first-time sauna bathers shouldn't feel obligated to stay in if they
 don't feel like it. The basic goal is to enjoy and relax, and sweat. After
 you've done enough of that, you go to the showers, and/or swim in the lake,
 depending on the facilities. After swimming or showering, you can go back
 to the sauna, and repeat this cycle as many times as you want.
 
 Q4.  How hot is it in there?
 
 A4.  This varies according to the bathers' wishes. Usually the temperature
 is between 60 C and 110 C, the widely-agreed-upon ideal temperature being
 somewhere around 85 degrees. Sometimes (after a few drinks) Finnish men
 engage in an unhealthy competition over who can stay in a hot sauna the
 longest time. This is not the way sauna is meant to be enjoyed, not to
 mention that it can be dangerous. Also, you shouldn't be drunk in sauna.
 A cold beer after sauna, however, tastes usually great, even a mediocre
 brand.
 
 Q5.  What is a smoke sauna? How does it differ from the usual one?
 
 A5.  A smoke sauna (savusauna) is perhaps the most traditional kind of
 sauna. There is no smoke pipe: all the smoke from the stove goes inside
 the sauna while heating. Of course, it has to be removed before bathing,
 and this is done by opening a small hatch on the wall. The fire on the
 stove must not be burning while bathing, but this doesn't matter, since
 the massive stove radiates plenty of heat for many hours. A smoke sauna
 is often considered the ultimate sauna experience, complete with the
 wonderful smoke odour. Smoke saunas are somewhat rare compared to the
 normal ones these days, but sauna enthusiasts praise them so that there
 still exist plenty of them. 
 
 Q6.  Do Finns really jump out naked into the snow in the middle of sauna
 bathing and roll around in winter time? Or go swimming in a frozen lake?
 
 A6.  Some do, most don't. This is a habit that requires a healthy heart
 and a bit of courage, but it is practised, and there are some enthusiasts
 who think sauna in the winter is nothing without a quick swim in the snow
 or freezing water. Of course, others think this is sheer madness.  
 
 Q7.  What about sauna and sex?  
 
 A7. Even though people are naked in sauna, Finns do not see anything
 sex-related in their sauna tradition. Of course you can have sex in
 there if you feel like it, but that is neither a part of any tradition
 nor very comfortable. Women used to give birth in saunas a long time
 ago, but the conceiving was done mostly elsewhere. Massage parlours and
 other (sometimes sexual) services that often come with a public sauna in
 the red-light districts of big cities are unknown phenomena in Finland.
 Going to sauna naked with all your family is not at all perverted, as the
 reader might think. Instead, the sauna tradition makes it natural and
 comfortable for children to learn about human body, and for parents to
 tell them about it. 
 
 
------------------------------ 
 
Subject: 4.7  Finnish literature, language,  etc.
 
 
4.7.1  Finnish literature
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      
Fire has destroyed most of the early literature the Finnish church and
monasteries must have produced. The first known Finnish author was Jns
Budde, a Franciscan monk who lived in the Brigittene monastery at Naantali
in the latter part of 15th century, chiefly translating from Latin to
Swedish, but he also wrote a few things of his own. Codex Aboensis written
probably in Turku in the 1440's is an important collection of law texts;
Missale Aboense printed in 1488 for the Finnish church is a beautiful
book and a source of medieval Finnish religious life.
 
Mikael Agricola (ca.1510-57), a bishop of Turku and great advocate of
Lutheranism, is considered the father of Finnish literature. His ABC-book
published 1538 is the first known book in Finnish, but the translation
of New Testament (1548) is his greatest achievement. Paavali Juusten
(?1512-72) was another important 16th century author; his Chronicon
episcoporum Finlandensium (Chronicle of the Finnish Bishops) is an
important source of early Finnish history. Erik Sorolainen (1545-1625)
did most of the translation of the Old Testament when the whole Bible
was eventually published in Finnish in 1642, delayed by the Thirty Years'
War. The first grammar of Finnish, Linguae Finnicae brevis institutio,
was written by Eskil Petraeus in 1649.
 
Daniel Juslenius (1676-1752) was an enthusiastic advocate of things
Finnish. He wrote a baroque study on Finland (Aboa vetus et Nova, 1700)
which among other things traced the origins of Roman civilization to 
Finland; a defense of Finnishness (Vindicae Fennorum, 1702); and most
importantly, the first major Finnish dictionary (Suomalaisen Sana-Lugun
Coetus, 1745), containing 16,000 entries. He and his ideological followers
became known as Fennophiles (proto-nationalists, but not separatists).
Jakob Frese (1691-1729) and Gustaf Filip Creutz (1731-1785) contributed
importantly to the Swedish-language poetry of the era.
 
The first major Finnish poet, however, was Frans Mikael Franzn
(1772-1847), whose fresh, romantic poetry was enormously popular in 
Sweden-Finland in his time. His teacher was the great scholar Henrik
Gabriel Porthan (1739-1804), a student of Juslenius and a Fennophile, who
brought Finnish history-writing, study of mythology and folk poetry,
and other humanistic sciences to an international level. His De Posi
Fennica (published in five parts 1776-78), a study on Finnish folk poetry,
had great importance in awakening public interest in the Kalevala-poetry
and Finnish mythology, and the study was also the basis of all later
study of the poetry. He was among the founders of the Aurora Society
that advocated Finnish literary pursuits and was the editor of the first
Finnish newspaper, Tidningar utgifne af et sllskap i bo, founded in
1771. Antti Lizelius (1708-1795) published the first newspaper in
Finnish, Suomenkieliset Tieto-Sanomat, 1776.
 
Porthan inspired the following generation of Finnish authors, poets and
researchers, many of whom were among the founders of the Finnish Literature
Society in 1831. A movement literary trend known as Helsinki Romanticism
was born in the 1830's when the university was moved to the new capital.
Four young university students came to have towering importance to the
forming of the Finnish literature, and ultimately, the Finnish national
identity. These were the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804-77), the scholar
Elias Lnnrot (1802-84), the author Zachris Topelius (1818-1898) and the
Hegelian philosopher and statesman Johan Vilhelm Snellman (1806-81).
 
Especially important was Elias Lnnrot (1802-84), who did a huge task of
collecting folk poetry from the remote wildernesses of Karelia, and
compiling these to what was to become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala.
(1849). It is composed of 50 poems (sometimes called runes), altogether
22,795 verses. The book starts with a creation-myth, then goes on to
recount the deeds and adventures of the three protagonists, Vinminen
the magician and bard, Ilmarinen the smith, and Lemminkinen the wanton 
loverboy and warrior, and ends with the introduction of Christianity to
Finland. Lnnrot was under the influence of Homeric ideals and tried to
forge the poems into a single epic, adding bits and pieces of his own and
altering some parts to make them appear a whole, which they however never
have been. Nevertheless, it's role to the development of Finnish literature,
arts and identity can hardly be over-estimated, and having been translated
to all major world languages and lots of minor ones, it is no doubt the most
important contribution of Finland to world literature. Lnnrot also 
published a counterpart to Kalevala, the Kanteletar, a collection of
ancient lyrical poetry often sung by women. These two books, however,
cover but a small part of the recorded Finnish folk poetry. For instance,
between 1908-48 was published a massive, 33-volume book series called
"Suomen Kansan Vanhoja Runoja", containing altogether 85,000 poems, with
well over a million verses. Kalevala & Kanteletar can be found (in Finnish)
at the URL http://www.sci.fi/kalevala/  and a hypermedia project at
http://www.joensuu.fi/humanistinenTDK/Kalevala/kalevala/hyperkalevala.html
 
Runeberg's main works were the realist/idealist poem lgskyttarna (Elk
Hunters, 1832), which can be called the first major literary portrayal of
ordinary people in Scandinavia, the Ossianic epic Kung Fjalar (King Fjalar,
1844) and the emotional and humane heroic poem Fnrik Stls Sgner (The
Tales of Ensign Stl, I 1848, II 1860) on the war of 1808-09, which enjoyed
huge popularity in both Finland and Sweden and became something of a
national romantic symbol. Topelius was a full-blooded romantic, more
superficial as a literary artist than Runeberg, and less of an innovator.
His Fltskrns Berttelser (1851-67, The Barber-Surgeons Stories) is a
historical novel set in the Thirty Years' War, in the tradition of Sir 
Walter Scott; he is also well known in Finland for his fairy tales.
Snellman's chief achievement was in his role as a national awakener, the
editor of two newspapers, strongly encouraging literature as part of the
process leading to independence.
 
The first great prose writer in Finnish - considered by some to be the
most genial - was Aleksis Kivi (1834-72), a novelist and playwright who
during his lifetime was largely ignored. Major works include Seitsemn
Veljest (The Seven Brothers, 1870), his most celebrated play, and the
comedy Nummisuutarit (The Heath Shoemakers, 1864). He was more modern 
and many-sided in his expression than Runeberg, but his image of the
Finnish people was too 'raw' and realistic for most people of his era,
and he died in extreme poverty, suffering from a mental illness.
 
Minna Canth (1844-97), an energetic fighter for women's rights and social 
justice, was a contemporary of Juhani Aho (1861-1921), a novelist and
short-story writer known for his humorous sketches and lyrical, dreamy 
descriptions of nature. Eino Leino (1878-1926) was a poet of exceptional
talent, drawing heavily on the Kalevala tradition. His main themes are
love and nature, and poem collections such as Helkavirsi (Helka-hymns,
1903), Halla (Frost, 1908) which includes the wonderful love/nature poem
Nocturne, and Hymyilev Apollo (The Smiling Apollo) are still much-loved.
V. A. Koskenniemi often turned to classical themes.  Uuno Kailas wrote
harsh, self-analytic verse, whereas Kaarlo Sarkia sought solace in
aestheticism and fantasy.  The personal, abrupt, and humorous poetry of
Aaro Hellaakoski and the equally humorous, learned, yet folklike verse of
P. Mustap were only appreciated after 1945. The generation of the 1950s,
including Paavo Haavikko and Eeva-Liisa Manner, introduced new poetic forms
to which their successors often added absurd humor, formalist
experimentation, and social criticism.
 
Finland-Swedish modernism was introduced by Edith Sdergran (1892-1923).
She didn't receive much recognition in her lifetime, but is now regarded
one of Finland's foremost poets. She was first influenced by French
symbolism, then German expressionism and Russian futurism, and creativee,
and she was almost without exception misunly
applied these to her own poetry. Her free rhythm, strong, challenging
images fired by a Nietzschean self-conscience and conviction of the
importance of her message were new and baffling to the Finnish audiencderstood and even ridiculed.
Her first collection of poems was Dikter (Poems, 1916), which was followed
by Rosenaltaret (The Rose Altar, 1919) and Landet som icke r (The 
land that is not, 1925) among others. Always physically weak and somewhat
sickly, she died young just as she was starting to get followers. Among
these the most important were Elmer Diktonius (1896-1961), Gunnar Bjrling
(1887-1960) and Rabbe Enckell (1903-74).
 
Joel Lehtonen, Volter Kilpi, and especially Frans Eemil Sillanp (1888-
1964) dominated naturalistic prose in the first half of the 20th century.
Sillanp was awarded the 1939 Nobel Prize for literature for the book
'Silja, nuorena nukkunut' (Silja, Fallen Asleep While Young, 1931).
Also important are Toivo Pekkanen, who wrote about the plight of industrial
workers, and Pentti Haanp, who portrayed with a bitter but defiant humor
the struggle of humans against harsh nature in northern Finland.
 
After World War II, Vain Linna had great success with the novel Tuntematon
Sotilas (The Unknown Soldier, 1954) which played a part in the healing of
the wounds of the war and is read by almost every Finnish schoolkid. The
extensive use of dialects make the book quite impossible to translate;
translations into English and many other languages do exist, but cannot
be recommended very highly (although I hear the Swedish one is pretty
good). His other major work is the trilogy Tll pohjanthden alla
(Here Under the North Star, 1959-62), a story of the struggles of poor 
farmers that culminated in the Civil War of 1918.  More recently, Veijo
Meri has described the violence and absurdity of human life, especially
during times of war.
 
Mika Waltari (1908-79) is among the Finnish prose writers best known to an 
international audience. He wrote his most successful novels in the 1940s
and 50's, many of them on historical subjects; among these is Sinuhe
egyptilinen (The Egyptian, 1945), a novel set in ancient Egypt, about
the collapse of traditional ways of life and the inflation of inherited
values. It's also been filmed into a dreary Hollywood spectacle.
 
From the 1960s, social issues became central to the young novelists and
poets. Hannu Salama went through a famous trial for blasphemy (after which
the blasphemy laws were repealed) for his novel Juhannustanssit (Juhannus
Dances, 1964). Pentti Saarikoski was the leading poet of the 60's. Often
better remembered for his for his unhealthy lifestyle, Saarikoski was
nevertheless one of the most genial poets in Finnish and a brilliant
translator of e.g Homer and Joyce. Such younger writers as as Alpo Ruuth
and Antti Tuuri have also dealt with social issues.
 
The author Tove Jansson (b. 1914) has won much international fame for her
creation of the Moomins, philosophical-minded, friendly trolls who live in
Moominvalley. There are many books on their adventures, e.g Muminpappan
och Havet (Moominpappa and the Sea). Her fantasy world charms with it's
richness, inventiveness and wisdom of life spiced with witty humor. The
events and imagery flow freely and uninhibited, yet reflecting the
phenomena of the real world. Another author who has long been very popular
in Finland and has started to win international fame recently is the
humorist Arto Paasilinna; Jniksen Vuosi (The Year of the Hare, 1974),
is the story of an advertising man who gets sick of urban life and
escapes to the wilderness with his pet hare.
 
For electronic versions of some of the works of Nordic literature, see
the collection of Project Runeberg:
 
 World Wide Web:       http://www.lysator.liu.se/runeberg/
 Gopher:               gopher.lysator.liu.se  path  /project-runeberg
 FTP:                  ftp.lysator.liu.se  directory /pub/runeberg
 
 
4.7.2  Dictionaries and other study-material 
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 <Compiled by N.O.Monaghan>
 
 BOOKS USEFUL FOR LEARNING FINNISH (Version 2.3)
 
Many thanks to all those who have contributed and commented on this
list. As usual any additions, corrections, and other comments should be
mailed to monaghan@lingua.cltr.uq.oz.au.
 
This list contains works which may be found useful for learning Finnish
- either whether by self-study or other means. Some works are directed
towards teachers rather than students. Older works are retained as these
are often the ones that will be stumbled across in libraries. 
 
INDEX
 
        Grammars, Primers, Phrase Books.
        Dictionaries
        Readers
        Materials for Teaching Finnish
        Miscellaneous
        Course Details
        Acknowledgements
 
 
 
4.7.2.1  Grammars, primers, phrase books
         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 
Maija-Hellikki Aaltio: Finnish for Foreigners (1963)
                A good book to work through, it teaches grammar and
        vocabulary in small chunks with plenty of grammatical exercises
        and reading exercises. The emphasis on obtaining a practical
        command of the language (even if mainly a reading knowledge)
        makes it very useful. I think there may well be an updated
        version available these days. A new edition is now available. [NOM]
 
Maija-Hellikki Aaltio: Finnish for Foreigners (1987):
        Finnish for Foreigners 1 Textbook
        Finnish for Foreigners 1 Exercises
        Finnish for Foreigners 2 Textbook
        Finnish for Foreigners 2 Exercises
        Finnish for Foreigners 3 Textbook
        [ There are also 2 cassettes per book giving aural 
        versions of the chapter readers and listening
        exercises for the exercise books. ]
                I find these books OK for learning progressively, and the 
        reference tables in the back are more useful as a quick grammar 
        reference than Fred Karlsson's book, however there are two 
        distinct drawbacks:
        1. It is very difficult to find anything in the books, e.g. if 
        you decide you want to check up a particular grammatical 
        feature or item of vocabulary.
        2. The texts are getting a bit out of date (they're quite
        sixties/seventies in their topics and attitudes in places).
        [Matthew Faupel] 
                A complete revision of the original 1963 book which 
        bore the same title, this has long been the standard work 
        for teaching Finnish to English-speaking foreigners. The 
        book is slightly dated with respect to language teaching
        methodology, but it takes the student from the basics to
        a solid command of the language. The 1987 edition devotes 
        considerable attention to the peculiarities of spoken Finnish.
        [Eugene Holman]
                
J. Atkinson: Finnish Grammar (Helsinki, 1956)
                A course in Finnish grammar for the learner. It concentrates
        on explaining the grammar and thus contains only a
        few short reading passages and a very limited vocabulary.
 
Michael Branch et al: A Student's Glossary of Finnish: The Literary
        Language Arranged by Frequency and Alphabet (Werner Soderstrom
        Osakeyhtio, Porvoo, 1980)
                1200 items, graded and accompanied by morphological
        information. Glossed in several languages, including English.
        [Lance Eccles]
 
Berlitz Finnish for Travellers
        Various editions in various languages.
                A typical inexpensive Berlitz pocket language guide. 
        Like all the these guides, it of great help unless you actually
        know a little bit already, but then it is very helpful for
        vocabulary in various situations - especially menus. [NOM]
 
Bjo"rn Collinder: A Handbook of the Uralic Languages. Part 2. Survey of
        the Uralic Languages (Stockholm, 1957) [This may have been
        issued separately entitled 'A Finnish Primer'.]
                Although a book aimed at compartative linguists, the Finnish
        section contains a graded grammatical introduction together
        with reading passages and a vocabulary. I have seen this Finnish
        section as a separate pamphlet but without any publication
        details. [NOM]
 
Artem Davdijants Inge Davidjants, Eugene Holman, Riitta Koivisto-Arhinma"ki:
        Terve, Suomi! Conversational Finnish in video ( Helsinki/Tallinn
        1992)
                This is the first attempt to produce an audiovisual
        course in Finnish. The course consists of a 45-minute video 
        (VHS-PAL) dramatization of a trip to Finland, a 60-minutte 
        audio cassette, and a 140-page textbook. The English version 
        is a translation and expansion of the Estonian original. The 
        course was produced under difficult circumstances during the 
        last days of Soviet Estonia, and it has some unfortunate 
        shortcomings. Nevertheless, it represents a totally new
        approach to presenting and teaching Finnish as a foreign langauge.
        Contact holman@katk.helsinki.fi for further information.
        [Eugene Holman]
 
Eugene Holman: Handbook of Finnish Verbs. 231 Finnish verbs
        conjugated in all tenses (Finnish Literature Society, 1984)
                Modelled on the famous Barrons 201 Verbs series, this 
        book contains a detailed discussion of all the regularities 
        and peculiarities of Finnish verb morphology, in
        addition to which it has information on the cases used in 
        conjunction with more than 1200 Finnish verbs.
 
Eugene Holman: Finnmorf (1986)
                An MS-DOS computer program which generates
        all the forms of a Finnish verb, noun, adjective, numeral 
        or pronoun if given the dictionary form. It is thus a computer 
        emulation of a handbook of Finnish inflectional morphology. 
        Particularly useful for teachers of Finnish because it 
        quickly produces neatly formatted full paradigms
        which can be saved as text files for further editing. Available 
        as freeware upon request from holman@katk.helsinki.fi. [Eugene
        Holman].
 
Leena Horton: First Finnish (Helsinki, 1982)
                Teaches a very basic knowledge of Finnish with a limited
        vocabulary through pictures. There are no grammatical
        explanations beyond the translations in the vocabularies for
        each chapter. This book was designed for use with children in a
        classroom situation. [NOM]
 
Mirja Joro et al.: Askelia Suomeen (Ammattikasvatushallitus,
        Helsinki, 1985-86)
                Four slim vols, all in Finnish, and intended for
        newcomers to Finland. [Lance Eccles]
 
Fred Karlsson: Finnish Grammar (tr Andrew Chesterman, WSOY,
        Porvoo-Helsinki-Juva, 1983).
        Finnish edition: Suomen peruskielioppi (1982)
        Swedish edition: Finsk grammatik (1978).
                Karrlsson systematically covers the grammar of Finnish. This
        is an excellent book - the grammar rules are easy to read and
        understand and numerous examples are given. The book uses a very
        clear and understandable style of layout. However, it is a
        grammar and will need to be used in conjunction with other
        material. [NOM]
                I've got this book, and while I find it useful, I'd 
        hesitate to call it "excellent".  It's difficult to find things 
        in it sometimes, it doesn't cover everything (e.g. I would dearly 
        love to have information on such things as the use of "fossilised" 
        cases (e.g. maanatai/sin, posti/tse) and I find the rule blocks 
        written entirely in capitals difficult to read.  There is 
        definite room for improvement. [Matthew Faupel] 
 
Aira Haapakoski, Seija Koski & Mirja Valkesalmi: HUOMENTA SUOMI (Valtion
        painatuskeskus, Helsinki, 1990, ISBN 951-861-175-0)
                I've used it for adults and children. It
        illustrates basic grammar fairly clearly and may make teaching
        grammar more fun, it does not, however, give verbal rules, mainly
        the info is given in "boxes". Huomenta Suomi costs around 100
        FIM (= $25 CAD). [Marja Coady]
 
Marjatta Karanko & Ulla Talvitie: TOTTAKAI! (Oy Finn Lectura Ab, Loimaan
        kirjapaino, Loimaa 1993, ISBN 951-8905-71-1)
                I have not used it much yet but it would seem to
        be suitable especially for teenagers since its texts are geared
        towards them. Grammar is explained somewhat and the book
        contains exercises as well. Everything is done in Finnish. 
        [Marja Coady]
 
Meri Lehtinen: Basic Course in Finnish (Ural and Altaic Series #27,
        Indiana UP, Bloomington, 1963)
                A huge book, full of drills. Unfortunately now out of
        print. [Lance Eccles]
 
Terttu Leney: Teach Yourself Finnish (New Version, Hodder and Stoughton,
        ISBN 0-340-56174-2) [An audio casette is also available]
                Whitney's notorious _Teach Yourself Finnish_ has been
        superseded by a new Finnish textbook compiled according to the 
        Council of Europe's Threshold guidelines on language learning.
        It is an excellent introduction to spoken and written
        Finnish. [Eugene Holman]
                Teach Yourself has just recently brought out a
        new version. A colleague recckons its pretty good. [Matthew Faupel] 
                The new version seems to be a *much* better 
        book [Antti Lahelma] 
        
Anneli Lieko: Suomen kielen fonetiikkaa ja fonologiaa ulkomaalaisille
        (1992) [Finnish phonetics and phonology for foreigners].
                A clearly written presentation of the Finnish sound 
        system intended for foreigners with a good reading knowledge 
        of the language. The book concentrates on the learning 
        difficulties foreigners speaking a wide range
        of languages face when trying to master Finnish pronunciation.
        [Eugene Holman]
                I would like to say that the book is certainly useful
        but far from being a complete presentation of Finnish phonetics and
        phonology for foreigners. It does not, for example, specify exactly
        when a two-vowel pair is pronounced as a diphthong (instead of two 
        vowels belonging to distinct syllables), nor does it describe the 
        rules for secondary stress in Finnish. Admittedly, these are areas 
        which have not been studied extensively enough, and they seldom have 
        any phonematic effect.  But the phenomena certainly affect the 
        naturalness of one's speech in Finnish. [Jukka "Yucca" Korpela]
 
Olli Nuutinen: Suomea Suomeksi 1. (Suomalaisen Sirjallisuuden Seura,
        Helsinki, repr. 1992) Vocabuary available in Danish, Icelandic, 
        French, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, English, German, and Italian.
                Teaches everything in Finnish only. Probably less suitable
        for self studies. No audio cassettes available. As a student
        I know only this one and can't compare, but my impression is
        quite good. Seems to be up to date. The German vocabulary
        contains many errors. [Uwe Geuder]
                At first the book looks extremely childish but all of
        the grammar is there. I have found it quite effective when used in
        tandem with Karlsson's grammar. I first used this book in
        1982 and I would guess it was first published in the
        late 70's. This book makes Finnish feel EASY and
        with a little imagination is fun to learn from (and teach with!).  
        [Cecelia A Musselman].
 
John B. Olli: Fundamentals of Finnish Grammar (Northland Press, New
        York, 1958)
                This book concentrates mainly on long lists of declensions 
        and conjugations. The approach taken is not a very helpful for the
        learner. [NOM]
 
Anges Renfors: Finnish Self-Taught (Thimm's System) with Phonetic
        Pronunciation (Marlborough's Self Taught Series, London, 1910)
                Quite a old one! It is really a structured vocabulary with a
        brief grammar and a mini-phrase book. Very similar in many ways
        to the modern Berlitz books. [NOM]
 
Thomas A. Sekeboed (?): Spoken Finnish
                It seems to be good for having lots of conversational 
        stuff in it, though probably you need the tapes (and a grammar) 
        to make a good go of it [Robert Cumming]
 
Leena Silfverberg: Suomen kielen jatko-oppikirja (Finn Lectura,
        Helsinki?, 1990)
                An intermediate course. All in Finnish. Has vocab lists,
        but no translations. [Lance Eccles]
 
Arthur H. Whitney: Finnish (Teach Yourself Books, Hodder and Stoughton,
        1956)
                Being available in the cheap Teach Yourself Series, this book
        is easily and widely available. Which makes it such a shame that
        it is so bad. It consists of 20 chapters each of which has a
        grammatical section, a vocabulary, and exercises including short
        reading passages. The grammar is dreadfully complicated with the
        reader learning rare variations almost immediately. It is also
        very poorly laid out with no attempt at making it even vaguely
        easy on the eye and brain. The vocabularies seem somewhat
        pointless - they are normally 4 or 5 pages long which is an
        incredible amount of learning expected for a single chapter - it
        would have been better to include them alphabetically at the end
        of the work and then tell the reader "learn the words beigining
        with 'a' today". The exercises and reading passages are short
        and no great aid to someone working alone - as 'Teach yourself'
        implies. A replacement by Terttu Leney is now available in this
        series. [NOM] 
                Yes, that book presents the reader with the most massive
        vocabulary lessons I have seen in any text book. But, I liked 
        one thing about it; the reading passages form a real continuing 
        story. This is something most language books lack completely. 
        Personally, I also liked the fact that even the first passage is 
        far from trivial, not on the order of "Hello, Mrs. Paivinen. 
        That is a house." But as usually happens with me and language 
        books, I didn't assimilate the whole of the book. A
        lot has stuck, though. [konarj@eua.ericsson.se]
 
 
4.7.2.2  Dictionaries
         ~~~~~~~~~~~~
         
 
Suomi-Englanti-Suomi taskusanakirja, WSOY, Porvoo-Helsinki-Juva 1989.
                A small pocket dictionary with a stylised picture of the Union 
        Jack as its cover.  Just about passable as a pocket dictionary,
        but it often doesn't give an indication of whether the word is
        a noun, adjective or verb (not always obvious) and only gives
        the basic form of each word (not helpful if it has an irregular
        partitive or whatever).  It also lacks most Finnish
        colloquialisms (the dictionary seems to be designed for Finns
        coming to Britain rather than vice-versa). [Matthew Faupel] 
 
WSOY Suomi/Englanti and Englanti/Suomi.
                Two volumes, about the same size as the Concise Oxford 
        (i.e. about 25cmx20cmx8cm).  Hence lots of words and
        examples. [Matthew Faupel]
 
Suomi/Englanti/Suomi Sanakirja, Gummerus Kirjapaino OY, 1989
                A single volume mid-size dictionary with a reasonable amount 
        of colloquial information in, but still no information on
        things other than the basic forms of words (other than
        indirectly via examples). [Matthew Faupel]
 
Nykysuomen sanakirja
                Something like 6 volumes. Irreplaceable for knowing
        which words inflect in which ways, and for less common words.  
        Clearly not for beginners, because of the total lack of English, 
        but it's currently a bargain at around 300FIM (40 pounds
        sterling) in softback. [Steve Kelly]
 
 
4.7.2.3  Readers
         ~~~~~~~
 
Robert Austerlitz: Finnish Reader and Glossary (Research and Studies in
        Uralic and Altaic Languages No 14, Indiana UP, 1963)
 
Aili Rytknen Bell & Augustus Koski: Finnish Graded Reader (1968)
        (Foreign Service Institute. Department of State. 1968)
        [Audio cassettes are also available]
                A behemoth (744 pgs.) of a book, this book takes the 
        student from the advanmced elementary level (approx.  500 words
        and basic grammar) up to unedited journalistic, literary, and
        historical texts. Jam packed with interesting exercises and 
        information otherwise unavailable about Finnish vocabulary, 
        idioms and phraseology.  In my opinion this is the 
        BEST BOOK AVAILABLE for mastering Finnish in all of its 
        stylistic variety after you have learned the basics. The book 
        is a public document and costs $17.50 according to the latest 
        information I have available. [Eugene Holman]
 
 
4.7.2.4  Material for teaching Finnish
         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
(Language Centre for Finnish Universities)
 
Eija Aalto (ed.): Kohdekielen suomi. Oppimateriaalien kommentoitu
        bibliografia. (Information from the Language Centre for Finnish
        Universities, 1991) (in Finnish)
 
Jnsson-Korhola & White: Rakastan sinua. Pidtk sin minusta? Suomen
        verbien rektioita. (Language Centre Materials No. 66, 1989)
 
H. Koivisto: Suomi-tytn kieli. Suggestopedinen alkeiskurssi (Finnish-
        English). (Language Centre Materials No. 75, 1990)
 
K. Siitonen: Auringonvalo. Elm suomalaisessa kylss. (Reading
        materials for conversation classes). (Language Centre Materials
        No. 79, 1990)
 
E. Aalto: Kuule hei! Suomen kielen kuunteluharjoituksia
        vieraskielisille, (listening comprehension material, booklet + tapes).
        (Language Centre Materials No. 80, 1990)
 
Ahonen & White: Monta sataa suomen sanaa. (reader for vocabulary
        building and revision, English glossaries). (Language Centre
        Materials No. 101, 1993)
 
All the above can be ordered from: Language Centre for Finnish
Universities, University of Jyva"skyla", P.O. Box 35, 40351 Jyva"skyla",
Finland. If you want further information, feel free to contact Helena Valtanen
valtanen@jyu.fi. [Helena Valtanen]
 
 
 
4.7.2.5  Miscellaneous
         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
         
 
Peter Hajdu: Finno-Ugrian languages and peoples (tr and adapted by G.F.
        Cushing fr Hungarian "Finnugor nepek es nyelvek", Deutsch,
        London, 1975).
                Gives a background to the peoples and cultures of the
        Finno-Ugrian family of languages. [NOM]
 
 
4.7.2.6  Course details
         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 
Suomea/Finska/Finnish
        Soumen kielen ja kultuurin opinnot kesll 1994 /
        Att studera finska och Finlands kultur sommaren 1994 /
        Courses in Finnish language and culture summer 1994
        (Council for Instruction of Finnish for Foreigners, Ministery of
        Education)
                This brochure is available from UKAN/Opitusministeri|
        PL 293, FIN-00171 Helsinki, Finland [Uwe Geuder]
 
 
4.7.2.7  Acknowledgements
         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 
With lots of additions & help gratefully received from:
 
Uwe Geuder <Uwe.Geuder@informatik.uni-stuttgart.d400.de>
matthew@cpdapo.tele.nokia.fi (Matthew Faupel)
Antti A Lahelma <alahelma@cc.helsinki.fi>
holman@katk.helsinki.fi (Eugene Holman)
rjc@mail.ast.cam.ac.uk (Robert Cumming)
Cecelia A Musselman <cam17@edu.columbia>
Helena Valtanen <valtanen@tukki.jyu.fi>
Arndt.Jonasson@eua.ericsson.se (Arndt Jonasson)
Brian Wilkins <bew@cix.compulink.co.uk>
Hans-Christian Holm <hcholm@idt.unit.no>
Lance Eccles <leccles@laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au>
Steven Kelly <stevek@cs.jyu.fi>
Jukka "Yucca" Korpela <jkorpela@gamma.hut.fi>
Marja Coady <COADY@ERE.UMONTREAL.CA>
 
plus others.
 
 
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