Tapiola

The young city of Espoo belongs to the Helsinki metropolitan area and has a population of about 300,000 people. Although born in 1972, it is one of the most populated and important countries of Scandinavia. Basically, Espoo is a city of workers and though it is a powerful technology core, it also has a magnificent nature with beautiful forests that surrounds it.

Espoo is a symbol of modernity, its structure which is unique in the world, was designed by the architect Alvar Aalto. The highest expression of its architecture are the Gardens of Tapiola and Otaniemi campus.

By the way Tapiola is one of the major districts of Espoo which is situated on the southern coast of Finland. The name of Tapiola is symbolic and comes from Finnish mythology, according to the national epic of Finland it derives from the name of the god of Forest Tapio. This green city was constructed in the 1950s and 1960s and later it was filled with offices and business buildings. Today Tapiola is considered to be the major urban center of Espoo and it is a beautiful place to visit.

However you will be wrong to think that Tapiola is only a commercial center, it is also considered to be the cultural center of Tapiola as here Espoo cultural center, the city museum and the Espoo city theater are situated here.

Photo credit to Jani Helle