Helsinki South Harbour | Finland

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Valkosaari and Luoto are both small islands in Helsinki's South Harbour. Luoto Island is host to Restaurant Saaristo, dating back to 1898. Restaurant NJK, built in 1900 is located on Valkosaari.

Struve Geodetic Arc | Finland

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The Struve Geodetic Arc is a chain of survey triangulations stretching from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea, through ten countries and over 2,820 km.

This helped to calculate the exact size and shape of the planet and marked an important step in the development of earth sciences and topographic mapping. Tornikallio is one of the six measuring points that are located in Finland. Here you see three others: Oravivuori, Alatornio and Aavasaksa.

Verla groundwood and Board Mill | Finland

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The Verla groundwood and board mill is a unique, small-scale industrial complex from the early years of the Finnish wood processing industry. Within its rural setting, the area includes mills, power plants and workers’ housing. Only a handful of such settlements survive to the present day.

Verla Groundwood and Board Mill is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Flags of the World | Finland

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The flag of Finland dates from the beginning of the 20th century. On a white background, it features a blue Nordic cross, which represents Christianity.

Like Sweden's, Finland's national flag is based on the Scandinavian cross. It was adopted after independence from Russia, when many patriotic Finns wanted a special flag for their country, but its design dates back to the 19th century.

Struve Geodetic Arc | Finland

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The Struve Geodetic Arc is a chain of survey triangulations stretching from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea, through ten countries and over 2,820 km.

This helped to calculate the exact size and shape of the planet and marked an important step in the development of earth sciences and topographic mapping. Oravivuori is one of the six measuring points that are located in Finland.

Suomenlinna Fortress | Finland

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Built in the second half of the 18th century by Sweden on a group of islands located at the entrance of Helsinki's harbour, this fortress is an especially interesting example of European military architecture of the time.

Here you see a more close-up of Suomenlinna Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Flags of the World | European Union

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The European flag symbolises both the European Union and, more broadly, the identity and unity of Europe. It features a circle of 12 gold stars on a blue background.The number of stars has nothing to do with the number of member countries.

In 1985, it was adopted by all EU leaders as the official emblem of the European Communities, later to become the European Union.

Struve Geodetic Arc | Finland

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The Struve Geodetic Arc is a chain of survey triangulations stretching from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea, through ten countries and over 2,820 km.

This helped to calculate the exact size and shape of the planet and marked an important step in the development of earth sciences and topographic mapping. Alatornio is one of the six measuring points that are located in Finland.

The Kvarken Archipelago | Finland

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The Kvarken Archipelago is part of UNESCO World Heritage site High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago.

The steep High Coast, located in Sweden, and the flat Kvarken Archipelago (the low coast) are topographical opposites. The distance between the areas is 150 kilometres and consists of 7000 skerries and islets.

Petäjävesi Old Church | Finland

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Petäjävesi Old Church, in central Finland, was built of logs between 1763 and 1765. This Lutheran country church is a typical example of an architectural tradition that is unique to eastern Scandinavia. It combines the Renaissance conception of a centrally planned church with older forms deriving from Gothic groin vaults.

(source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/584)

Old Rauma | Finland

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Rauma is a town on the west coast of Finland, known for the old wooden architecture of its centre, which is a Unesco world heritage site.

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Part of a set of 4 postcrossing stamps (2013).

Bronze Age Burial Site of Sammallahdenmäki | Finland

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This is not your ordinary pile of rocks. It is actually a burial site dating back to the Bronze age.

Situated on the Gulf of Bothnia, the Bronze Age Burial Site of Sammallahdenmäki forms the largest, most varied and complete burial site from the Scandinavian Bronze Age, 1500-500 B.C.

Stamp

Matching stamp! 

Suomenlinna Fortress | Finland

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Suomenlinna is a sea fortress built on six islands at the entrance of Helsinki’s harbor. The fortress is an interesting example of European military architecture of the time. It has served to defend three different sovereign states over the years: the Kingdom of Sweden, the Russian Empire and most recently the Republic of Finland (after gaining its independence in 1917).  

 

Stamp

A special Soumenlinna postmark! The name of the fortress under Swedish rule was Sveaborg. The Finnish name until 1918 was Viapori.  

Struve Geodetic Arc | Finland

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The Struve Geodetic Arc is a chain of survey triangulations stretching from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea, through ten countries and over 2,820 km. 

This helped to calculate the exact size and shape of the planet and marked an important step in the development of earth sciences and topographic mapping. Aavasaksa is one of the six measuring points that are located in Finland.

 

The Struve is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites since 2005.

Werla paper mill | Finland

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The Verla groundwood and board mill is a unique, small-scale industrial complex from the early years of the Finnish wood processing industry. Within its rural setting, the area includes mills, power plants and workers’ housing. Only a handful of such settlements survive to the present day.

The first groundwood mill at Verla was founded in 1872 but was destroyed by fire in 1876. A larger mill, founded in 1882, continued to operate until 1964.

Verla is a UNESCO World Heritage site. (Not sure why the postcard shows Werla, with a “ W”)

Finland’s gateway to the world: hanseatic city of Turku

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Turku is Finland’s oldest city, centrally located at the crossroads of the Baltic Sea. The city served as Finland’s gateway to the world since the Hanseatic times.

 

The Hanseatic League dominated commercial activity in the Baltic Sea in the Middle Ages. The League was founded by north German towns and German merchant communities abroad to protect their mutual trading interests.

In the 14th century the main trade route from Finland to the Hanseatic towns in North Germany went via Tallinn. Traders from Turku sailed to Tallinn where they could do business with Hanseatic merchants travelling east and west.

Northern Lights in Lapland, Finland

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Aurora Borealis or the Northern Lights is a light display in the sky, particularly in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. This natural phenomenon paints the night sky with unearthly, surreal (green) color.

Stamp

In May 2013 Finland issued two (self-adhesive) Europa stamps, themed "The postman van". 

Tuomiokirkko | The Cathedral from Helsinki, Finland

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The Lutheran Cathedral was built in 1830-1852 to replace an earlier church from 1727. The church is Greek cruciform in shape. There are statues of the Apostles made of zinc on the roof, and they are the biggest unique set of zinc sculptures in the world.

The church was called St. Nicholas church until the independence of Finland in 1917. Since 1959, it became a Cathedral, and is called Helsinki Cathedral or the Lutheran Cathedral.

Stamps

An odd-shaped € 0,05 and Christmas stamp 2011

Savonlinna (Castle of Savonia)

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Could not much about this postcard. I thinks it’s a hotel from the 60’s situated in the city of Savonlinna in South East Finland.

Stamps

(left) Myosotis scorpioide: a True Forget-me-not.

(right) From a series of mailboxes on stamps (2011).

Suomi - Finland - Lappi - Lapland - Poro - ren - Renntier - Reindeer - The Lapps - Die Samen

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Finnish Lapland (Finnish: Lappi) is the Arctic far north of Finland.

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Listening to Silence by Juhani Linnovaara (1955, Emma). He is one of the most internationally renowned Finnish artists and has been at the forefront of modern art in Finland since the 1960s.