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Vantaa

 
Dictionary: Van·taa   (vän'tä) pronunciation
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A city of southern Finland, a suburb of Helsinki. Population: 190,000.

 

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Columbia Encyclopedia: Vantaa
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Vantaa (vän'tä), Swed. Vanda, city (1998 pop. 173,860), Southern Finland prov., S Finland. Located 6 mi (9.7 km) N of Helsinki, it is part of the Helsinki metropolitan area. High-technology and information sciences are important to Vantaa's economy. A science center, aviation museum, and aquarium are here; other notable sights include the Church of St. Laurentius.

Wikipedia: Vantaa
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Vantaa
Vantaa – Vanda
—  City  —
Vantaan kaupunki
Vanda stad

Coat of arms
Location of Vantaa in Finland
Coordinates: 60°17′40″N 025°02′25″E / 60.29444°N 25.04028°E / 60.29444; 25.04028Coordinates: 60°17′40″N 025°02′25″E / 60.29444°N 25.04028°E / 60.29444; 25.04028
Country Finland
Province Southern Finland
Region Uusimaa
Sub-region Greater Helsinki
Charter 1351
City 1974
Government
 - City manager Juhani Paajanen
Area (2009-01-01)[1]
 - Total 240.36 km2 (92.8 sq mi)
 - Land 238.38 km2 (92 sq mi)
 - Water 2.02 km2 (0.8 sq mi)
Area rank 298th largest in Finland
Population (2009-06-30)[2]
 - Total 196,963
 - Density 826.26/km2 (2,140/sq mi)
Population rank 4th largest in Finland
Population by native language [3]
 - Finnish 88.6% (official)
 - Swedish 3% (official)
 - Others 8.4%
Population by age [4]
 - 0 to 14 18.5%
 - 15 to 64 70.5%
 - 65 or older 11.1%
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 - Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Municipal tax rate[5] 18.5%
Website www.vantaa.fi

Vantaa (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈʋɑntɑː]; Swedish: Vanda) is a city and municipality in Finland. Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo, and Kauniainen make up the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.

Vantaa, with its population of 196,963 (30 June 2009),[2] is the fourth most populated city of Finland. The biggest airport in Finland, the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, is located there. It also hosts a science centre, Heureka.

Vantaa is notable as the birthplace of racing driver Mika Häkkinen.

In addition there is the city museum next to the railway station in Tikkurila. The museum is housed in the oldest station building in Finland, designed by Carl Albert Edelfelt and completed in 1861. There are exhibitions with various themes on local history.

The city is bilingual, with majority being Finnish and minority Swedish speakers.

Contents

Geography

Location

Vantaa encompasses 240.36 square kilometres (92.80 sq mi), of which 2.02 km2 (0.78 sq mi) is water.[1] Population density is 826.26 /km2 (2,140.0 /sq mi). It borders Helsinki, the Finnish capital, which is to the south and southwest. Other neighbouring municipalities are Espoo to the west, Nurmijärvi, Kerava and Tuusula to the north and Sipoo to the east.

Subdivision

Main article: Districts of Vantaa

Vantaa is divided into 7 districts (Finnish: palvelualueet, Swedish: storområden): Myyrmäki (Myrbacka), Tikkurila (Dickursby), Hakunila (Håkansböle), Korso, Koivukylä (Björkby) and Aviapolis.

History

The name Vantaa was taken into use in 1972 when the municipality gained market town rights. The first record of the area is as Helsinge in 1351 when king Magnus II of Sweden granted salmon fishing rights on the river Vantaa to the Estonian Padise monastery. The municipality was formerly known as Helsingin maalaiskunta "Rural municipality of Helsinki". The rapids of river Vantaa were known as Helsingfors, from which the current Swedish name of Helsinki derives. In 1972, the municipality was renamed Vantaa/Vanda and promoted to a market town (i.e. Vantaan kauppala/Vanda köping), and in 1974, finally renamed Vantaan kaupunki/Vanda stad "City of Vantaa".

On October 11, 2002, the city was shocked by the explosion of a bomb in the local Myyrmanni shopping centre, killing 7, including the bomber, a 19-year-old chemistry student from the Espoo-Vantaa Institute of Technology (see Myyrmanni bombing).

Climate

Climate diagram


Demographics

The Tikkurila railway station is the busiest station in Vantaa.
The Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (HEL), although associated with Helsinki, is located in Vantaa.
Demographic evolution
Year Population
1805 4 840
1865 6 974
1880 7 819
1890 8 865
1900 11 110
1910 18 321
1920 22 368
1930 23 558
1940 31 511
1950 14 976
1960 41 906
1970 72 215
1980 129 918
1990 152 263
2000 176 386
2007 190 058

Politics

Districts of Vantaa

Municipal council

Composition of the City Council (2009–2012)
Party Election results[6] Seats Votes
National Coalition Party 28.1% 20 22 596
Social Democratic Party of Finland 25.6% 18 20 599
Green League 13.9% 9 11 150
True Finns 9.8% 7 7 848
Left Alliance 7.7% 5 6 229
Center Party 5.6% 4 4 516
Christian Democrats 3.7% 2 2 951
Swedish People's Party 3,5% 2 2 838
Pro Vantaa 1,4% 0 1 111

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland

Twin towns — Sister cities

Vantaa is twinned with:

Mayors

  • Lauri Lairala 1974–1989
  • Pirjo Ala-Kapee 1989–1997
  • Erkki Rantala 1997–2003
  • Juhani Paajanen 2003-

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Area by municipality as of 1 January 2009" (in Finnish and Swedish) (PDF). Land Survey of Finland. http://www.maanmittauslaitos.fi/Pintaalat_kunnittain_1.1.2009.pdf. Retrieved 20 February 2009. 
  2. ^ a b "Population by municipality as of 30 June 2009" (in Finnish and Swedish). Population Information System. Population Register Center of Finland. http://www.vrk.fi/vrk/files.nsf/files/AE1290D892E86719C22575EB002B065C/$file/090630.html. Retrieved 26 July 2009. 
  3. ^ "Population according to language and the number of foreigners and land area km2 by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. http://pxweb2.stat.fi/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=060_vaerak_tau_107_fi&ti=V%E4est%F6+kielen+mukaan+sek%E4+ulkomaan+kansalaisten+m%E4%E4r%E4+ja+maa%2Dpinta%2Dala+alueittain++1980+%2D+2008&path=../Database/StatFin/vrm/vaerak/&lang=3&multilang=fi. Retrieved 29 March 2009. 
  4. ^ "Population according to age and gender by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. http://pxweb2.stat.fi/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=050_vaerak_tau_104_fi&ti=V%E4est%F6+i%E4n+%281%2Dv%2E%29+ja+sukupuolen+mukaan+alueittain+1980+%2D+2008&path=../Database/StatFin/vrm/vaerak/&lang=3&multilang=fi. Retrieved 28 April 2009. 
  5. ^ "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2009". Tax Administration of Finland. 1 December 2008. http://www.vero.fi/nc/doc/download.asp?id=6425;167571. Retrieved 8 March 2009. 
  6. ^ Party results from YLE

External links

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Municipalities of Uusimaa
Municipalities Coat of arms of Uusimaa
Former municipalities
Bromarv · Degerby · Ekenäs · Ekenäs landskommun · Haaga · Huopalahti · Hyvinkään maalaiskunta · Karis · Kulosaari · Lohjan kunta · Nummi · Oulunkylä · Pohja · Pusula · Sammatti · Snappertuna · Tenala
Uusimaa · Southern Finland · Finland

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Vantaa".  Read more