1.
Finnish cuisine
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Finnish cuisine is notable for generally combining traditional country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental style cooking. Fish and meat play a prominent role in traditional Finnish dishes in some parts of the country, while the dishes elsewhere have traditionally included various vegetables, refugees from Karelia contributed to foods in other parts of Finland. Finnish foods often use wholemeal products and berries, milk and its derivatives like buttermilk are commonly used as food, drink or in various recipes. Various turnips were common in cooking, but were replaced with the potato after its introduction in the 18th century. Traditionally, very few spices other than salt were available, many Finnish traditional dishes are prepared by stewing them for a long time in an oven, which produces hearty but bland fare. Forests and lakes were historically a major source of food, the simplicity of traditional Finnish food has been turned into an advantage by shifting the emphasis to freshness. Modern Finnish restaurateurs now blend high-quality Finnish products with continental cooking techniques and this approach helped Helsinkis Chez Dominique to receive two Michelin stars in 2003. As pasta, pizza, kebab, and hamburgers were integrated into Finnish menus, they displaced some traditional dishes like cabbage casserole or herring fillets. As of the 20th century, when the majority of Finnish women entered the workforce, even with modern agriculture and transportation, food remains expensive in Finland relative to other European countries. This is notwithstanding the effect of accession to the European Union in 1995, the consequent elimination of trade barriers led prices of products like grains, meat, and milk to drop as much as 50%. Before that, heavy taxes and outright bans on imports that competed with local produce severely limited the availability of foreign or unseasonal food, nowadays Finnish supermarkets and restaurants provide a variety of food from all over the world. Finnish cuisine is similar to Swedish cuisine. In fact, Swedish dishes like Janssons frestelse, pyttipannu, the overarching difference is the Finns preference for unsweetened foods. For example, while traditional Swedish rye bread includes plenty of syrup and spices, Finnish rye bread is unsweetened, Finnish cuisine also bears some resemblance to German and Russian cuisines. Sausages and buttered bread, and kiisseli and karjalanpiirakka are similar to their respective German and Russian counterparts, Finnish recipes, however, tend to favour fresh ingredients over canned or pickled foods as fresh vegetables, fish, and meat are available throughout the year. The most popular meats in Finland are pork, beef, chicken, approximately one third of this is eaten as sausage, which is mostly made from pork but often mixes in other meats as well. In addition to domesticated animals, there are traditions of hunting and fishing in Finland. The hunters focus on deer, moose and bear, but small game such as hare, duck, approximately 70, 000-80,000 moose are culled yearly producing significant amounts of meat
2.
Porvoo
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Porvoo is a city and a municipality situated on the southern coast of Finland approximately 50 kilometres east of Helsinki. Porvoo is one of the six towns in Finland, first mentioned as a city in texts from 14th century. Porvoo is the seat of the Swedish-speaking Diocese of Borgå of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, the municipalitys official languages are Finnish and Swedish. In 2014,64. 6% of the population spoke Finnish as their mother tongue,5. 4% had a different mother tongue. Neighbouring municipalities, Askola, Loviisa, Myrskylä, Pornainen and Sipoo, Porvoo was first mentioned in documents in the early 14th century, and Porvoo was given city rights around 1380, even though according to some sources the city was founded in 1346. The old city of Porvoo was formally disestablished and the new city of Porvoo founded in 1997 when the city of Porvoo, when Sweden lost the city of Viborg to Russia in 1721, the episcopal seat was moved to Porvoo. At this time, Porvoo was the second largest city in Finland, after the conquest of Finland by Russian armies in 1808 Sweden had to cede Finland to Russia in 1809. The Diet of Porvoo in 1809 was a landmark in the History of Finland, the Tsar Alexander I confirmed the new Finnish constitution, and made Finland an autonomous Grand Duchy. It established the Porvoo Communion, so named after the Porvoo Cathedral where the Eucharist was celebrated on the final Sunday of the leading to the Statement. The town received its name from a Swedish earth fortress near the river Porvoonjoki which flows through the town, the name Porvoo is the Fennicised version of the Swedish name and its parts of borg meaning castle and å river. The Old Town came close to being demolished in the 19th century by a new plan for the city. The plan was cancelled due to a popular resistance headed by Count Louis Sparre, the cathedral was damaged by fire on 29 May 2006, the roof was totally destroyed but the interior is largely intact. A drunken youth had played with fire at the church, unaware of recent tarwork and nearby tarcontainers and he was later sentenced to a short prison term and restitutions of 4.3 million Euro. The red-coloured wooden storage buildings on the riverside are a proposed UNESCO world heritage site, by the early 19th century authorities already understood the value of the old town. With the need for growth, a plan was envisioned for a new town adjacent to the old town, following a grid plan. By the end of the 20th century there was pressure to develop the essentially untouched western side of the river, there was concern that growth would necessitate the construction of a second bridge across the river into the town, thus putting further strain on the wooden town. An architectural competition was held in 1990, the entry of which proposed building the second bridge. Plans for the side of the river have progressed under the direction of architect Tuomas Siitonen
3.
Alexander I of Russia
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Alexander I reigned as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825. He was the son of Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg, Alexander was the first Russian King of Poland, reigning from 1815 to 1825, as well as the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland. He was sometimes called Alexander the Blessed and he was born in Saint Petersburg to Grand Duke Paul Petrovich, later Emperor Paul I, and succeeded to the throne after his father was murdered. He ruled Russia during the period of the Napoleonic Wars. As prince and emperor, Alexander often used liberal rhetoric, in the first years of his reign, he initiated some minor social reforms and major, liberal educational reforms, such as building more universities. He promised constitutional reforms and a desperately needed reform of serfdom in Russia, Alexander appointed Mikhail Speransky, the son of a village priest, as one of his closest advisors. The Collegia was abolished and replaced by the The State Council, plans were also made to set up a parliament and sign a constitution. In foreign policy, he changed Russias position relative to France four times between 1804 and 1812 among neutrality, opposition, and alliance and he fought a small-scale naval war against Britain between 1807 and 1812. He and Napoleon could never agree, especially about Poland, the tsars greatest triumph came in 1812 as Napoleons invasion of Russia proved a total disaster for the French. As part of the coalition against Napoleon he gained some spoils in Finland and Poland. He formed the Holy Alliance to suppress revolutionary movements in Europe that he saw as threats to legitimate Christian monarchs. He helped Austrias Klemens von Metternich in suppressing all national and liberal movements, in the second half of his reign he was increasingly arbitrary, reactionary and fearful of plots against him, he ended many earlier reforms. He purged schools of teachers, as education became more religiously oriented as well as politically conservative. Speransky was replaced as advisor with the artillery inspector Aleksey Arakcheyev. Alexander died of typhus in December 1825 while on a trip to southern Russia and he left no children as heirs and both of his brothers wanted the other to become emperor. After a period of confusion that included the failed Decembrist revolt of liberal army officers, he was succeeded by his younger brother. Alexander and his younger brother Constantine were raised by their grandmother, some sources allege that she planned to remove her son Paul I from the succession altogether. From the free-thinking atmosphere of the court of Catherine and his Swiss tutor, Frédéric-César de La Harpe, but from his military governor, Nikolay Saltykov, he imbibed the traditions of Russian autocracy
4.
Grand Duchy of Finland
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The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed between 1809 and 1917 as an part of the Russian Empire and was ruled by the Russian Emperor as Grand Duke. The new title Grand Duke of Finland did not result in any Finnish autonomy, during the next two centuries, the title was used by some of Johns successors on the throne, but not all. Usually it was just a title of the king, used only on very formal occasions. The title Grand Duke of Finland was added to the long list of titles of the Russian Tsar, after his return to Finland in 1812, the Finnish-born Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt became counsellor to the Russian emperor. The formation of the Grand Duchy stems from the Treaty of Tilsit between Czar Alexander I of Russia and Napoleon Bonaparte of France, the treaty mediated peace between Russia and France and allied the two countries against Napoleons remaining threats, Great Britain and Sweden. Russia invaded Finland in February of 1808, claimed as an effort to impose sanctions against Sweden, but not a war of conquest. The oath also dubbed anyone person who gave aid to the Swedish or Finnish armies a rebel, the Finns complied, bitter over Sweden abandoning the country for their war against Denmark and France, and begrudgingly embraced Russian conquest. The Diet of Finland was now to only meet whenever requested, further on, Alexander I requested a deputation of the four Finnish estates, as he expressed concern over continued Finnish resistance. The deputation refused to act without the Diet, to which Alexander agreed with, by 1809, all of Finland had been conquered and The Diet was summoned in March. Finland was then united through Russia via crown, and Finland was able to keep the majority of its own laws, the earlier years of the Grand Duchy can be seen as uneventful. In 1812, the area of Old Finland, known as the Viipuri Province was returned to Finland after being annexed by Russia in the Great Northern War, despite the outcry, the borders remained set until 1940. Moreover, Alexander moved the capital from Turku to Helsinki, a fortified town protected by Suomenlinna. Finlands main university also transferred to Helsinki after a fire out in Turku. Alexander went a step further to demand a Finnish House of Nobles, the house was designed to register all noble families in Finland, so that the highest Finnish estate would be representative of the next Finnish diet. As for Sweden, the majority did not think too much about Finlands conquest, as Sweden itself annexed Norway from Denmark in 1814, despite this, Alexander I ceased to give in to Finnish affairs and returned to governing Russia. In 1823, Arseny Zakrevsky was made general of Finland and quickly became unpopular by the Finns. Zakrevsky abolished the Committee for Finnish Affairs and managed to obtain the right to submit Finnish affairs to the Czar, bypassing the Finnish Secretary of State
5.
Riksdag of the Estates
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Riksdag of the Estates was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to the king, the actual first meeting is likely the one that took place at Uppsala in 1436 after the death of rebel leader Engelbrekt. At the Riksdag in 1517, regent Sten Sture the Younger, at Västerås in 1527 Lutheranism was adopted as the new state religion instead of Roman Catholicism. At Arboga in 1561, the term Riksdag was used for the first time, at Söderköping in 1595, duke Charles was elected regent of Sweden instead of king Sigismund, who was a Catholic and the king of both Sweden and Poland. In 1612 the Riksdag gave the nobility the privilege and right to all higher offices of government. The first open conflict between the different estates happened in 1650, at the Riksdag in 1680 a large scale reduction was enacted, and Sweden became an absolute monarchy. In 1719, the Riksdag elected Ulrika Eleonora as heir in place of her sisters son. In 1809, the Riksdag elected Charles XIII king after his nephew Gustav IV Adolf had been deposed, at the sessions in 1634,1719,1720,1772 and 1809 new constitutions were adopted. The constitution of 1809 divided the powers of government between the monarch and the Riksdag of the Estates, and after 1866 between the monarch and the new Riksdag. In 1866 all the Estates voted in favor of dissolution and at the time to constitute a new assembly. The four former estates were abolished, the House of Nobility, Swedish, Riddarhuset, remains as a quasi-official representation of the Swedish nobility. The modern Centre Party which grew out of the Swedish farmers movement, following the Finnish War in 1809, Sweden ceded its eastmost provinces to the Russian Empire. Comprising much of present-day Finland, these became a Grand Duchy under the Emperor, the Finnish estates assembled in 1809 at Porvoo to confirm the change in their allegiance. This Diet of Finland followed the forms of the Swedish Riksdag, however, during the reigns of Alexander I and Nicholas I it was not assembled and no new legislation was enacted. The diet was next assembled by tsar Alexander II in 1863, after this the Diet met regularly until 1905, when it passed an act forming a new unicameral parliament. That assembly has been Finlands legislative body since then, the Finnish House of Nobility — Finnish, Ritarihuone, Swedish, Riddarhuset — carries on the tradition of the Estate of Nobility, but no new families have been ennobled since 1906. History of Sweden History of Finland History of the Riksdag Riksdagsmusiken
6.
Parliament of Finland
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The Eduskunta is the parliament of Finland. The unicameral parliament has 200 members and normally meets in the Parliament House in Helsinki, however, during the 2015–2017 renovation of the Parliament House, the parliament temporary meets in the nearby Sibelius Academy. The latest election to the parliament took place on April 19,2015, under the Constitution of Finland, the 200-member unicameral parliament exercises supreme decision-making authority in Finland. Sovereignty belongs to the people and that power is vested in the parliament and it passes legislation, decides on the state budget, approves international treaties, and supervises the activities of the government. It may alter the constitution, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the members of the Eduskunta. To make changes to the Constitution, amendments must be approved twice by the Eduskunta, the Eduskuntas 200 representatives are elected directly by secret ballot on the basis of proportional representation. The electoral period is four years, Elections previously took two days but as early voting became popular they are now conducted on one day, since 2011 the third Sunday in April. Every citizen who is at least 18 years of age by the date is entitled to vote in general elections. All registered parties are entitled to nominate candidates, individual citizens, in parliamentary elections, Finland is divided into 13 electoral districts. The number of representatives returned by each district depends on the population, Åland is an exception in that it always elects one representative. The provincial state offices appoint a board in each electoral district to prepare lists of candidates. The Ministry of Justice is ultimately responsible for elections, prior to the new constitution the President had the power to do this independently. The President has called an early election eight times in Finnish history, however, there is no hard and fast election threshold to get a seat in Parliament. In large part due to this, it is impossible for one party to win an outright majority. Since the first election in 1907, only one party has won a majority—in the election of 1916. Since Finland gained independence in 1917, no party has won the 101 seats necessary for a majority and it is also very difficult for the socialist and non-socialist blocs to form a government on their own. Most Finnish governments in recent history have been coalitions between three or more parties, and many of them have been coalitions between socialist and non-socialist parties. The seats for each district are assigned according to the dHondt method
7.
Helsinki
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Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. Helsinki has a population of 629,512, a population of 1,231,595. Helsinki is located some 80 kilometres north of Tallinn, Estonia,400 km east of Stockholm, Sweden, Helsinki has close historical connections with these three cities. The Helsinki metropolitan area includes the core of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen. It is the worlds northernmost metro area of one million people. The Helsinki metropolitan area is the fourth largest metropolitan area in the Nordic countries, Helsinki is Finlands major political, educational, financial, cultural, and research center as well as one of northern Europes major cities. Approximately 75% of foreign companies operating in Finland have settled in the Helsinki region, the nearby municipality of Vantaa is the location of Helsinki Airport, with frequent service to various destinations in Europe and Asia. In 2009, Helsinki was chosen to be the World Design Capital for 2012 by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, the city was the venue for the 1952 Summer Olympics and the 52nd Eurovision Song Contest 2007. In 2011, the Monocle magazine ranked Helsinki the most liveable city in the world in its Liveable Cities Index 2011, in the Economist Intelligence Units August 2015 Liveability survey, assessing the best and worst cities to live in globally, Helsinki placed among the worlds top ten cities. Helsinki is used to refer to the city in most languages, the Swedish name Helsingfors is the original official name of the city. The Finnish name probably comes from Helsinga and similar names used for the river that is known as the Vantaa River. Helsingfors comes from the name of the parish, Helsinge and the rapids, which flowed through the original village. As part of the Grand Duchy of Finland in the Russian Empire, one suggestion for the origin of the name Helsinge is that it originated with medieval Swedish settlers who came from Hälsingland in Sweden. Others have proposed that the name derives from the Swedish word helsing, other Scandinavian cities located at similar geographic locations were given similar names at the time, for example Helsingør and Helsingborg. The name Helsinki has been used in Finnish official documents and in Finnish language newspapers since 1819, the decrees issued in Helsinki were dated with Helsinki as the place of issue. This is how the form Helsinki came to be used in written Finnish, in Helsinki slang the city is called Stadi. Hesa, is not used by natives to the city, helsset is the Northern Sami name of Helsinki
8.
Landtag
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A Landtag is a representative assembly in German-speaking countries with legislative authority and competence over a federated state. Landtage assemblies are the bodies for the individual states of Germany and states of Austria. Likewise, the Landtag of South Tyrol is the legislature of the province of South Tyrol in northeast Italy. In the sovereign principality of Liechtenstein the national parliament is called the Landtag of Liechtenstein, the German word Landtag is composed of the words Land and Tag. The German word Tagung is derived from the German word Tag, as such meetings were held at daylight, the English word diet likewise comes from Latin, dies. Therefore, the representatives primarily defended class interests, and decisions were based on an electoral system. The precise composition obviously varied greatly, and could change over time, as the result of privileges granted or lost, entities split or merged, since 1466, Prussian Landtag were held in Royal Prussia. Prior to that, Prussian Landtag meetings were held in the Monastic state of the Teutonic Order, since 1525, Prussian Landtag were held in Ducal Prussia. 1806 the German Confederation was founded as successor of the Holy Roman Empire, §13 of the Bundesakte forced the German states to pass constitutions and implement parliaments called Landstände or Landtag. The first constitution was passed in Nassau, until 1841 all but 2 states got their constitution and parliaments. 1871 the German Empire was founded, all 25 states of the German Empire and the Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen had Landtage as legislative authorities. The most important one was the Prussian Landtag, in the Weimar Republic 1918 till 1933 all German states had Landtage. In difference to the former Landstände and Landtage the Weimar Republik Landtage have been elected in free an equal elections,1933 the Nazis abandoned the federal structure of the Weimar Republic and established a unitary state. The Landtage were abolished as a result, since then, the official term in Swedish is riksdag, equivalent of the German Reichstag. In the contemporary Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Austria and the Italian Republics province of South Tyrol, in the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Landtag is the sole national parliament, because Liechtenstein has no federal structure due to its size. The national bicameral Parliament comprises the directly elected Bundestag and the Bundesrat which represents the governments in Federal matters which affect the Länder. The representatives are elected in general, free, secret and direct ballots according to the principle of proportional representation, the largest of the parliamentary groups usually nominates the Landeshauptmann governor. The modern Landtage are the successors of the estates assemblies in the corresponding crown lands of the Austrian Empire
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