Vantaa

History

Vantaa has a rich history that dates back to the Stone Age. Remains of an ancient rectangular dwelling dating to 6700 to 6500 BCE have been discovered in Brunaberg in Vantaa. At the time, the dwelling was located at the seashore near the mouth of the Keravanjoki river. The dwelling had been used for decades, apparently mostly in wintertime. A graveyard-like dwelling dating to the Mesolithic has been discovered in Jönsas, which was located at the mouth of a seaside bay at the time. Many ancient clay figures representing humans have been found in Jokiniemi in Vantaa. They have been estimated to be of various ages from 5300 to 5500 years old. During the typical Comb Ceramic time, large amounts of flint were brought to Finland from the south and southeast, which was made into blades and points, as well as amber. The Comb Ceramic era humans also knew how to use bows and arrows as weapons. Iron Age history in Vantaa is not very well known, but the entire Uusimaa area was still a sparsely populated backland of Tavastia at the end of the Iron Age. The most researched Iron Age dwelling in Vantaa is located at the same site as the earlier Stone Age dwellings of Jönsas and Palmu. Remains of Morby ceramics have been discovered at these sites, and iron slag has also been discovered in Jönsas. Remains of fireplaces dating to the Iron Age have also been researched in Jönsas. Remains of dwellings dating to the Prior to the name Vantaa being taken into use in 1974, the area was known as Helsingin pitäjä (; "Socken of Helsinki"). The rapids of river Vantaa were known as Helsingfors, from which the current Swedish name of Helsinki derives. Early settlement in Vantaa was centered around the river, in Helsingin pitäjän kirkonkylä ("Helsinki Parish Village"), and from it the city's…

Geography

Vantaa is located in southern Finland, in the region of Uusimaa and the Helsinki sub-region. It is separated from the Gulf of Finland by Helsinki. Prior to the abolition of Finnish provinces in 2009, Vantaa was a part of the Southern Finland Province. The city 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. Vantaa is a part of the Finnish Capital Region, which is the inner core of the Helsinki capital region. Vantaa is divided into seven major regions (, ): Tikkurila (Dickursby), Hakunila (Håkansböle), Koivukylä (Björkby), Korso, Aviapolis, Myyrmäki (Myrbacka), and Kivistö. These major regions are then divided into a total of 60 city districts, the most populated of which are Myyrmäki, Martinlaakso, Hakunila, and Pakkala. Vantaa consists mostly of lowlands cut up by rivers. According to a survey done by the National Land Survey of Finland on 1 January 2022, Vantaa encompasses , of which is water. Up to 2008, Vantaa still reached the seashore at its southeastern corner at the Porvarinlahti bay, until the "Västerkulla wedge" with its seashore was annexed into Helsinki together with part of Sipoo in 2009. Thus Vantaa formally became the second largest inland city in the Nordic countries after Tampere. For its area, Vantaa has relatively few lakes. The city encompasses two natural lakes: Kuusijärvi in and Lammaslampi Pähkinärinne, Hämeenkylä. In addition to these, there is an artificial lake, Silvolan tekojärvi. Vantaa shares two lakes with Espoo: Odilampi and Pitkäjärvi. Of the lakes in the Sipoonkorpi National Park, Bisajärvi and most of Gumböle träsk are located in Vantaa. Ponds formed in sand pits include…

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  26,103
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  22,609
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  18,530
• Black-headed Gull

  Chroicocephalus ridibundus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  14,311
• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  14,277
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  11,919
• Mew Gull

  Larus canus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  11,809
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,471

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2011-03-19
  Finland