Quiz 2020 – answers

Geography 1. How many square miles does Finland cover? 130,000 square miles – just slightly smaller than Germany 2. What is the highest point of Finland? Halti – a 1,327m high arctic hill in Northern Finland 3. What is the oldest city in Finland? Turku – the former capital founded in the 13th century 4. What is the largest lake in Finland? Saimaa – it is 1147 square meters 5. What is the biggest city in Finland? – it has more than 500,000 inhabitants 6. Finland has coasts on the and which other arm of the Baltic Sea? which lies to the West of Finland and separates it from Sweden 7. Name the island group which lies in the Baltic Sea which is a possession of Finland but where the majority of inhabitants are Swedish and have considerable autonomy and their own flag? Åland. By law, Åland is politically neutral and entirely demilitarised, and residents are exempt from conscription to the Finnish Defence Forces. 8. What is the part of Finland where Father Christmas lives called in Finnish? Lappi. Although people think he lives at the North Pole you can meet him at Santa park in Lappi. 9. Finland has land borders with Norway, Sweden and Russia. Which country lies immediately south of Helsinki, across the Gulf of Finland? Estonia. The Gulf of Finland is an arm of the Baltic sea which stretches from St Petersburg to the Baltic. The Northern shore is Finland and the Southern shore Estonia. 10. Which country has the longest land border with Finland? Russia. The land border is 816 miles long. The one with Norway is 452 miles and with Sweden 382 miles.

Helsinki 11. What is the Swedish name for Helsinki? Helsingfors 12. When was Helsinki founded? Helsinki was founded in 1550 by the Swedish king Gustav Vasa in order to compete with Tallinn for trade in the Baltic sea. 13. What year were the Olympic Games held in Helsinki? 1952 14. What year was Helsinki a European city of culture? 2000 – on its 450th anniversary 15. What can you find at Island? The zoo – a boat from the market square takes visitors to the island

Politics 16. Who was elected President of Finland in 2000? Tarja Halonen

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17. What year did Finland gain its independence and who from? In 1917 the Finnish parliament took advantage of the communist revolution and declared independence from Russia. It had been Russian since 1809 and Swedish prior to that right back to the 12th century. 18. When was the conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) held in Helsinki? 1975. In 1969 the Finnish government suggested holding a conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) which took place in Helsinki in 1975 hosted by President Kekkonen. It has since changed its name to the Organisation for security and cooperation in Europe (OSCE) during the Budapest summit in 1994 19. What day is Finnish Independence Day? 6 December – on the anniversary of the day the Finnish government declared independence from Russia in 1917 20. Finland is divided into regions called Maakunta. How many Maakunta are there? Nineteen 21. Finland’s first female prime minister was elected in 2003. She only served for a couple of months before resigning but what was her name? Anneli Jaatteenmaki. She was forced to resign after two months in office due to a scandal related to leaked government documents. A court later cleared her of any wrongdoing, and she was elected as a member of the European Parliament in 2004. Finland’s first female President was Tarja Halonen in 2000. 22. Why is Finland sometimes considered the first meaningful democracy? Because they were the first country, in 1906, to abolish race and gender requirements for voting and for serving in government 23. In 1939-40 Finland fought the against which country? The Soviet Union. Finland were defeated in the Winter War. Finland retaliated by allying with Nazi Germany and they took part in Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, in 1941. The Finns refer to this war against the Soviet Union from 1941-44 as the . Finland then ended up at war with Nazi Germany from 1944-45 in the Lapland War. 24. There is an ethnic group in Finland often referred to as the Lapps but how do they prefer to be known? Sami (or Saami). There are about 7000 Sami in Finland who consider the name Lapp to be derogatory. Miscellaneous 25. What is considered to be Finland’s national instrument? Kantele. The Kantele is classified as a chordophone and has been found to be the oldest Finnish instrument 26. What does the Finnish flag look like? A blue cross on a white background 27. What does the title of the Finnish national anthem translate to in English? Our Land. 28. Name the three ‘S’s’ which Finns are very proud of? “Sauna, ja Sibelius!” Suomalainen Sisu is the stamina of Finns and Sibelius was a famous Finnish composer 29. Which animal appears on the Finnish coat of arms? A Lion. The coat of arms of Finland shows a crowned lion on a red background. It

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was created in the late 16th century and the lion is shown brandishing a sword and trampling on a sabre. 30. What is the national animal of Finland? Brown Bear. All four types of bear are widespread in Finland. 31. Every July the Finns celebrate with a festival dedicated to a dance that is typically associated with South America. Which dance is it? Tango. The Tango made its way to Finland in the 1960s and has remained popular ever since. Tangomarkkinat is celebrated every July and people travel from all around the world to participate. 32. Which unusual contest was held annually in Finland from 1999 to 2010 and had to be stopped due to the sad death of a contestant? Sauna Bathing World Championships. The temperature of the sauna started at 230°F and the bathers had to sit upright without talking or disturbing each other for as long as they could. The last one to leave the sauna without help was the winner. Unfortunately, a man died in the 2010 championships which put a permanent end to the competition. There are over two million saunas in Finland. 33. It is the bastions of Finnish fortress (or Swedish name Sveaborg) at the coast of Baltic sea in Helsinki, Finland 34. Uspenski , Helsinki Finland 35. Olavinlinna Olofsborg, the 15th-century medieval three-tower castle located in Savonlinna, Finland.

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