HELSINGFORS (Finnish Helsinki)

This article appears in Volume V13, Page 252 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: HEG-HIG

HELSINGFORS (Finnish Helsinki) , a seaport and the

capital

CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

of Finland and of the province of Nyland, centre of the administrative, scientific, educational and industrial life of Finland. The fine harbour is divided into two parts by a promontory, and is protected at its entrance by a group of small islands, on one of which stands the fortress of Sveaborg. A third harbour is situated on the west side of the promontory, and all three have granite quays. The city, which in 1810 had only 4065 inhabitants, Abo the then

capital

CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

having 10,224, has increased with

great

GREAT

rapidity, having 22,228 inhabitants in 186o, 61,530 in 1890 and 111,654 in 1904. It is the centre of an active shipping trade with the Baltic ports and with England, and of a railway system connecting it with all parts of the grand duchy and with St

Petersburg

PETERSBURG

. Helsingfors is handsome and well laid out with wide streets, parks, gardens and monuments. The principal square contains the cathedral of St Nicholas, the Senate

House

HOUSE
HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
Gothic
- GOTHIC
it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

and the university, all str;king buildings of considerable architectural distinction. In the centre is the statue of the Tsar Alexander II., who is looked upon as the protector of the liberties of Finland, the monument being annually decorated with wreaths and garlands. The university has a teaching staff of 141 with (1906) 1921 students, of whom 328 were women. The university is well provided with museums and laboratories and has a library of over 250,000 volumes. Other public institutions are the

Athenaeum

ATHENAEUM

, with picture gallery, a Swedish theatreand opera

house

HOUSE
HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
Gothic
- GOTHIC
it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

, a Finnish theatre, the Archives, the Senate House, the *Nobles' House (Riddarhusel) and the House of the Estates, the German (Lutheran) church and the Russian church. Some of the scientific societies of Helsingfors have a wide repute, such as the

academy

ACADEMY, GREEK
ACADEMY, ROYAL

of sciences, the geographical, historical, Finno-Ugrian, biblical, medical, law, arts and forestry societies, as also societies for the spread of popular education and of arts and crafts. There are a

polytechnic

POLYTECHNIC (Gr. aroWus, many, and rEXvn, an art)

, ten high schools, navigation and trade schools, institutes for the blind and the mentally deficient, and numerous elementary schools. The general standard of education is high, the publication of books, reviews and

newspapers

NEWSPAPERS

being very active. The language of culture is Swedish, but owing to

recent

RECENT

manufacturing developments the majority of the population is Finnish-speaking. Helsingfors displays

great

GREAT

manufacturing and commercial activity, the imports being coal, machinery, sugar, grain and clothing. The manufactures of the city consist largely of tobacco, beer and spirits, carpets, machinery and sugar.

End of Article: HELSINGFORS (Finnish Helsinki)

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/HEG_HIG/HELSINGFORS_Finnish_Helsinki_.html">
HELSINGFORS (Finnish Helsinki)
</a>

(Previous)
HELSINGBORG

(Next)
HELST, BARTHOLOMAEUS VAN DER

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email