VANTAA

Vantaan kaupunki - Vanda stad
''Coat of Arms'' ''Location''
Founded	1974
Province	Southern Finland
Region	Uusimaa
Sub-region	Greater Helsinki
Area - Of which land - Rank	243 km² 240,84 km² ranked 316th
Population - Density - Rank	190 058 (2007) 790.1 inh./km² ranked 4th
Unemployment	7.7%
Official languages	Finnish, Swedish
City Manager	Juhani Paajanen
Home page	http://www.vantaa.fi/

'Vantaa' (IPA: ; 'Vanda' in Swedish) is a city and municipality in Finland. 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. Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo, and Kauniainen make up the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. The most significant areas of Vantaa are Tikkurila, Myyrmäki, Martinlaakso, Hakunila, Koivukylä and Korso. Its seat is in 'Tikkurila' (Dickursby in Swedish).
Vantaa, with its population of 190,058, (as of 31 January 2007) 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.
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.
Vantaa encompasses 243 km², of which 1.90 km² is water. Population density is 790.1/km².
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.
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).
Vantaa is known for being the birthplace of the famous Finnish race driver Mika Häkkinen. Mika Salo has also lived there in the district of Martinlaakso.

Contents

Mayors of the City of Vantaa

Internationally notable people native to Vantaa

Sister cities

See also

External links

Mayors of the City of Vantaa

★ Lauri Lairala 1974-1989

★ Pirjo Ala-Kapee 1989-1997

★ Erkki Rantala 1997-2003

★ Juhani Paajanen 2003

Internationally notable people native to Vantaa

★ Patrik Antonius, a professional poker player

★ Sampsa Astala, a musician in Lordi

★ Jaakko Hintikka, a professor in Boston University

★ Mika Häkkinen, a Formula 1 world champion

★ Sami Kapanen, an Ice hockey player

★ Ville Peltonen, an ice hockey player

★ Jarkko Ruutu, an ice hockey player

★ Tuomo Ruutu, an ice hockey player

★ Eicca Toppinen, a cellist on Apocalyptica

★ Ossi Väänänen, an ice hockey player

Sister cities

★ Askim, Norway (1951)

★ Frankfurt an der Oder, Germany (1987)

★ Huddinge, Sweden (1951)

★ Jinan, China (2001)

★ Kineshma, Russia (1969)

★ Lyngby-Taarbæk, Denmark (1951)

★ Matte Yehuda Regional Council, Israel (1967)

★ Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic (1978)

★ Nuuk, Greenland (1965)

★ District of Rastatt, Germany (1968)

★ Salgótarján, Hungary (1976)

★ Seyðisfjörður, Iceland (1980)

★ Słupsk, Poland (1987)

See also

★ Districts of Vantaa

External links

★ Municipality Official site

★ Map of Vantaa

★ The Finnish Science Center

★ Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport

★ Vantaa City Museum

★ Helsinki.fi - Helsinki region in a nutshell