Espoo is the second-largest city and municipality in Finland. It is part of the Finnish Capital Region.
The first inhabitants in Espoo arrived about 9,000 years ago.
The first permanent village, however, didn’t get established until the 12th century, when the Kingdom of Sweden began exerting its influence on the region of modern-day Finland.
The city of Espoo is officially bilingual. The majority of the population, 83.6%, speaks Finnish as their mother tongue, while a minority of 8.3% speaks Swedish. 8% of Espoo’s population has a first language other than Finnish or Swedish.
The name Espoo probably comes from the Swedish name for the River Espoo, Espå (or Espåå), which in turn comes from the old Swedish word äspe, meaning a border of aspen, and the Swedish word for “river”, å, thus “a river bordered by aspen”. The name was first mentioned in 1431.
Espoo is twinned with: Esztergom, Hungary; Gatchina, Russia; Irving, Texas, United States; Køge, Denmark; Kongsberg, Norway; Kristianstad, Sweden; Nõmme, Estonia; Skagafjörður, Iceland; Shanghai, China & Sochi, Russia.
Some Noble people of Espoo include: Gösta Sundqvist, Joonas Suotamo, Kimi Räikkönen, Laura Lepistö, JJ Lehto, Jere Lehtinen, Alexi Laiho, Krista Kosonen, Kirsi Heikkinen, among others.
The city is has gained international fame as a hub of know-how, research and development, at the heart of which stands the Aalto University campus.
24 % population growth within the next 20 years
At the 1952 Summer Olympics, the city’s Westend Tennis Hall hosted the fencing events.
Espoo encompasses 528 square kilometres, of which 312 km2 is land.
The official animal of Espoo is the Siberian flying squirrel, the official bird is the common blackbird, and the official plant is Anemone nemorosa.
Espoo received its town charter in 1972.
The national park of Nuuksio is situated in northwestern Espoo.
Forty-one per cent of Espoo’s area is covered in water.