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Finland, officially theRepublic of Finland, is aNordic country inNorthern Europe. It bordersSweden to the northwest,Norway to the north, andRussia to the east, with theGulf of Bothnia to the west and theGulf of Finland to the south, oppositeEstonia. Finland has a population of 5.6 million, the majority beingethnic Finns. Its capital and largest city isHelsinki. The official languages areFinnish andSwedish, themother tongues of 84.1 percent and 5.1 percent of the population, respectively. Finland's climate varies fromhumid continental in the south toboreal in the north. Its land is predominantly covered byboreal forest, withover 180,000 recorded lakes.
Finland was first settled around 9000 BC after thelast Ice Age. During theStone Age, various cultures emerged, distinguished by different styles of ceramics. TheBronze Age andIron Ages were marked by contacts with other cultures inFennoscandia and theBaltic region. From the late 13th century, Finland became part of Sweden following theNorthern Crusades. In 1809, as a result of theFinnish War, Finland was captured from Sweden and becamean autonomous grand duchy within theRussian Empire. During this period,Finnish art flourished and anindependence movement gradually developed. (Full article...)
Asod roof, orturf roof, is a traditionalScandinavian type ofgreen roof covered withsod on top of several layers ofbirch bark on gently sloping wooden roof boards. Until the late 19th century, it was the most common roof on rurallog houses inNorway and large parts of the rest of Scandinavia. Its distribution roughly corresponds to the distribution of the log building technique in thevernacular architecture ofFinland and the Scandinavian peninsula. The load of approximately 250 kg per m2 of a sod roof is an advantage because it helps to compress the logs and make the walls more draught-proof. In winter the total load may well increase to 400 or 500 kg per m2 because of snow. Sod is also a reasonably efficient insulator in a cold climate. The birch bark underneath ensures that the roof will be waterproof.
The term ‘sod roof’ is somewhat misleading, as the active, water-tight element of the roof is birch bark. The main purpose of the sod is to hold the birch bark in place. The roof might just as well have been called a "birch bark roof", but its grassy outward appearance is the reason for its name inScandinavian languages:Norwegian andSwedishtorvtak,Danishtørvetag,Icelandictorfþak. (Full article...)
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Lågskär (Swedish for "low skerry") is a small island within theÅland archipelago ofFinland. It belongs to the municipality ofLemland. It is situated about 24 kilometres (15 mi) south ofMariehamn in theBaltic'sSea of Åland. The main island of Lågskär measures 61 hectares (150 acres) in area. Rock stacks, sea cliffs and rocky shores are found along the coastline of the island.As a breeding ground forwaterfowl, Lågskär has the status of anImportant Bird Area (IBA) and is frequented byornithologists who use theLågskär Lighthouse buildings during their stay. In the past, several vessels have sunk off the coast. (Full article...)
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![Image 70Lapua Movement supporters beating the "red officer" Eino Nieminen [fi] in front of the Vaasa courthouse during the 4 June 1930 riot. (from History of Finland)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aEino_Niemisen_pahoinpitely.jpg)
![Image 77Kastelli Giant's Church in Pattijoki by Pöljä culture [fi] (from History of Finland)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aKastelli_giant%2527s_church_1.JPG)
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