Helsinki


Helsinki is the Capital of Finland, with an area of 715 km² and some 635,000 inhabitants. It is the northernmost Capital of the EU and the 3rd biggest city in Scandinavia. It is located at the shore of the Gulf of Finland, the easternmost part of the Baltic Sea, opposite Tallinn, Estonia. Helsinki has one of the highest urban standards of living in the world.

The geology is generally crystalline rocks, so there are no natural caves, but because of the climate, there are numerous artificial underground structures. Probably the most important for the city is the underground, named Helsinki Metro. We also have listed two museums, the Museum of Technology with its mining exhibition and the new underground art museum in the center. Then there is a large church and an underground swimming center. The number of underground sites is exceptional, and there is another reason for underground sites, which is not the climate.

Finland was seized by the Russian Empire in 1809 and was under its control until 1917. Finland declared its independence after the Russian Revolution led to the formation of the Soviet Union. And it worked, as Russia had internal problems. But during World War II, the Soviets invaded Finland twice, and despite being outnumbered, the Finns were able to hold back the Soviet troops. But twice they were forced to sign peace treaties, each time loosing land along its eastern border. It is obvious that the Finns despise Russia, only presume the worst motives and do their best not to provoke their unloved neighbour. And they follow the simple rule: ‘Hope for the best and prepare for the worst!’ And as a result, Helsinki today has more than 5,000 bunkers, a network which is more than 300 km long, most of those bunkers are connected. Many bunkers are actually open to the public and used for various purposes. But in the case of Russian aggression, they all could be transformed back into bunkers in 72 hours. Most bunkers were built during the Cold War, but unlike in other countries, they were never decommissioned. The stockpiles of life-saving supplies are still prepared. Until today, all buildings above a certain size are required by law to have their own bunkers.