

Saturday, August 03, 2013

SS Suomi

The SS Suomi is a steamship that has been plying the waters of Lake Päijänne since 1906. Lake Päijänne is near Jyväskylä-located in the heart of Central Finland.
A little bit about Jyväskylä. It is a city and municipality in Central Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is the largest city in Central Finland and on the Finnish Lakeland. Jyväskylä is located on the northern coast of Lake Päijänne, 147 kilometres (91 mi) north-east of Tampere and 270 kilometres (170 mi) north of Helsinki. The hilly and forested terrain in Jyväskylä is surrounded by hundreds of lakes. Summers in Jyväskylä are warm and winters cold and snowy. As of 28 February 2013, Jyväskylä had a population of 133,687. The city has been one of the most rapidly growing cities in Finland since World War II. In 1940 there were only 8000 inhabitants in Jyväskylä. The Jyväskylä sub-region includes Jyväskylä, Hankasalmi, Laukaa, Muurame, Petäjävesi, Toivakka and Uurainen.
Elias Lönnrot, the compiler of the Finnish national epic Kalevala, gave the city a nickname "Athens of Finland". This nickname is used to describe the major role of Jyväskylä as an education centre and the first place in the world to provide education in Finnish. The works of the most famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto can be seen throughout the city. The city hosts Neste Oil Rally Finland, which is part of the World Rally Championship. It is also home of the annual Jyväskylä Arts Festival.
Thank you dear Merja for this nice card.