My eleven first years I lived with my family in the Swedish speaking part of Ostrobothnia. From here we moved to south, to Espoo. I went at school on Lauttasaari which is a quarter of the capital Helsinki. After graduation we moved to Porvoo where I took an economical degree at the collage.
Now follows a presentation of places, in both Finland and Sweden, where I have lived.

Espoo

The city of Espoo has grown rapidly becoming the second largest city in Finland. There is no clear centre in the
city, but five regional centres, each
size of a medium-sized Finnish city.

Espoo's population has climbed from around 40,000 in the 1960s to over 215.000 today, making it the second largest city in Finland. Espoo is a pleasant place to live, work or do business.

Porvoo

The town has many historical places.
Here lived the Swedo-Finnish national poet, Johan Ludvig Runeberg. He is known for writing the national poem "Vart land" and the story about "Fanrik Stahl".

Porvoo is also the centre for the Swedo-Finnish Evangelical-Lutheran church,the chapter and the bishop living here.0.

Helsinki

The town of Helsinki was founded by King Gustav Vasa of Sweden (which Finland belonged to for many centuries) as a new trading post in southern Finland and a competitor to Tallinn in Estonia, the Hansa city on the opposite shore of the Gulf of Finland.

For the town founded by Gustav Vasa, the war was a major turning point. Helsinki was proclaimed the Finnish capital in 1812 and Finland's only university, which had been founded in Turku in 1640, was transferred to Helsinki in 1812.

The Soviet Union attacked Finland on November 30, 1939. During the Winter War of 1939-40 and the Continuation War of 1941-44 Helsinki was attacked from the air but luckily suffered relatively little damage. Unlike all other states on the European continent that where involved in the Second World War, Finland was never occupied by foreign forces. Finland is one of the very few European countries with an unbroken record of democratic rule from the end of the First World War to the present.

Finland declared its independence in 1917. Finland became a member of the European Union in 1995.

View over Espoonlahti

The statue of Johan Ludvig Runeberg

President Palace

The Sveaborg Castle belongs to the
UNESCO inheritance

The Cathedral and square of Senaatintori

To Sweden and
Mariestad

In 1984 I moved together with my children to this small town by the lake Vänern.

Water, water, lots of wonderful water gives character to the lovely and friendly little town of Mariestad on
Lake Vänern. The numerous islands constitute the largest inland archi-pelago in Sweden.

Göta Kanal, a coast - to coast
"Blue Ribbon", reaches Vänern at Sjötorp, north of Mariestad. On E20, the main highway between Stockholm and Gothenburg, the town is easily accessible. No wonder Mariestad is such a good place to stay - for tourists and residents alike.

Kalmar

The most wellknown sight in Kalmar is probably the castle, Kalmar slott, situated on a small island right outside the city centre and is connected to the central island with two short bridges. The magnificient castle started as a defence tower in the 1100´s, and became the centre of Swedish politics in 1397, when the so called Kalmar Union was founded. King Gustav Vasa with his sons Erik XIV and Johan III rebuilt the medieval castle in splendid Renaissance style, and today it is one of Scandinavias most well preserved Renaissance castles.

Take a visit on the beautiful Öland island with its genuine nature. Walk arround in the beautiful parks of Solliden, the summer recidence for the
Royal family.

Alvaret, on the southernmost part of the island. Look at the beautiful flower collage from here. Even it is in Swedish only you can enjoy the photos.

Visit also Gunilla Wolde's page
"Mitt Öland", even that only in Swedish, but I am sure you will enjoy it. Click here !

The Cathedral seen from the harbour

Peaceful picture from the Lake Vanern

Kalmar castle

Solliden, the Royal summer residence
on Oland

Alvaret, Oland