FINLAND

Alejandra Smith Dafna Santillo

SUMMARY
- History - Climate - Geography - Economy - Culture - Festivals - Tourism

History
It passed by four prehistoric stages: Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age. It was part of the Kingdom of Sweden from the 13th century to the 20th. There were a lot of wars between Sweden and Russia for having the control of this country. In 1917, Finland declared its independence through a civil war. The country joined the European Union in 1995.

CLIMATE
It's humid and cold semi continental climate

It has very long winters (4 months)

And its temperatures are: -in winter: below 0C -in summer: as high as 30C

GEOGRAPHY
Finland is a country with thousands of lakes and islands.

Its the largest forested area in Europe, 86% of the country are forests. Its surface expands by about 7 square kilometres (2.7 sq mi) annually. In total, its area is 338,424 km2. Its part of the northern countries and its borders are the Arctic Ocean and the Baltic Sea

ECONOMY
Largest sectors of the economy:

- services (66%) - manufacturing and refining (31%) - Primary production (2.9%)

Largest industries: - electronics (22%) -machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1%) -forest industry (13%) -chemicals (11%).

CULTURE
(LITERATURE) Finnish written language existed since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenh century as a result of the Protestant Reformation. (VISUAL ARTS)Finns have made great contributions to handicrafts and industrial design.

(MUSIC)Finland's music is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs.

TOURISM
In 2005 Finnish tourism grossed over because the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks but it is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region play a important role in the local tourism industry

Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus

Festivals
Folklandia Cruise, Turku-Stockholm (January) Tomatoes! Tomatoes! Stand up Comedy Festival (January) Kokkola Winter Accordion Festival (February) Tampere Film Festival (March) Oulu Music Festival (March) Tomatoes! Tomatoes! Stand up Comedy Festival (March) Turku Jazz (March) Tampere Dance Current Contemporary Dance Festival (April) Tampere Biennale (April) April Jazz Espoo (April)

Conclusion
In conclusion Finland is a country full of culture, it has a long history and its famous by its festivals, literature and legends. Its a really interesting place with beautiful views and forests.