Finland questions

Finland has only 5 503 000 residentsand 338 145 km². 5 503 000: 338 145 = 16.3. • September 2018 estimate 5,520,535 • 2017 official 5,513,000 • Density 16/km² (41.4/sq mi)

Turku, as a town, was settled during the 13th century and founded most likely at the end of the 13th century, making it the oldest city in Finland. It quickly became the most important city in Finland, a status it retained for hundreds of years. After Finland became part of the Russian Empire (1809) and the capital of the Grand Duchy of Finland was moved to Helsinki (1812), Turku continued to be the most populous city in Finland until the end of the 1840s, and it remains a regional capital and an important business and cultural center.

The Continuation War was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany, as co-belligerents, against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, during World War II. Germany regarded its operations in the region as part of its overall war efforts on the Eastern Front and provided Finland with critical material support and military assistance.

Sahti is a Finnish beer made from malted and unmalted grains including barley, rye and oats. The etymology of the word sahti is not certain. It possibly stems from the Germanic saf, which later evolved into the Scandinavian saft, meaning "juice.

The term Scandinavia in local usage covers the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. However, in English usage, the term also sometimes refers to the Scandinavian Peninsula, or to the broader region including Finland and Iceland, which is always known locally as the Nordic countries.

A kantele is a plucked string instrument belonging to the south east Baltic box zither family. In Finland's national epic, Kalevala, the mage Väinämöinen makes the first kantele from the jawbone of a giant pike and a few hairs from Hiisi's stallion. The music it makes draws all the forest creatures near to wonder at its beauty.

The Parliament consists of 200 members, 199 of whom are elected every four years from 13 multi-member districts and one member from Åland Islands. Finland was the first country in the world to implement truly universal full suffrage. The first Parliament, elected in 1907, had 19 female representatives.

The Sibelius Monument is dedicated to the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius located in Helsinki, the capital city of Finland. The sculpture is a series of more than 600 hollow steel pipes, welded together in a wavelike pattern an weighs 24 tonnes.

From the early Middle Ages till 1809 Finland was a part of Sweden. Today, about 5% of the country's population speak Swedish. In one region of Finland - the Åland Islands - Finnish is not used at all, and Swedish is the sole official language.

Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish are part of the Germanic language group, while Finnish is part of the Finno-Ugric language group.