Espoon keskus (

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

for ''Espoo Centre'', sv, Esbo centrum) is the central district of

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...

, the second biggest city of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and the administrative centre with the city hall of Espoo. The areas of Kiltakallio, Kirkkojärvi, Saarniraivio, Suna, Suvela and Tuomarila belong to Espoon keskus. To the east, Espoon keskus borders the city of

Kauniainen Kauniainen (; sv, Grankulla) is a small town and a municipality of inhabitants () in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland. It is surrounded and enclaved by the City of Espoo, in the Capital Region of Greater Helsinki. Kauniainen was founde ...

, an enclave within the city of Espoo. Even though Espoon keskus is located at the approximate

geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

centre of the city, it is not a major population or economic center. In fact, Espoon keskus has had a negative reputation among the people living in Espoo in the past. At the moment the city of Espoo is making a serious effort to give Espoon keskus a new look. A new upper secondary school and a swimming hall have been built, the general appearance of the area is being lifted and new road building projects are about. Many people from the Finnish capital area, mainly from

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, view the district of

Tapiola Tapiola (; sv, ) is a district of the municipality of Espoo on the south coast of Finland, and is one of the major urban centres of Espoo. It is located in the western part of Greater Helsinki. The name ''Tapiola'' is derived from '' Tapio'', w ...

and its environs as the real commercial centre of Espoo, even though they are very close to the city border with Helsinki.

History

Archaeological evidence shows that the area which Espoon keskus dominates today was inhabited several thousands of years ago. The area has had a permanent settlement for at least 700–800 years. The name Espoon keskus dates back to the 1970s, and before that the area was called ''Espoon kylä'' (''Esbo by'' in Swedish) or ''Espoon pitäjä''. The village consisted of five larger estates (that have later given their names to some areas that belong to Espoon keskus): ''Doms'' (Tuomarila), ''Jofs'' (Jouppi), ''Kirsti'' (Kirstinmäki), ''Dahl'' and ''Suna''. The oldest parts of the Cathedral of Espoo date back to the 1480s. Before that there was a wooden church on the site. The first ''kansakoulu'' (elementary school) of Espoo, ''Lagstads folkskola'', was opened in 1873. In the beginning of the 20th century, Espoon keskus was also called ''Muurala'', which is the modern name of a district of Espoo, Muurala, located northwest of Espoon keskus. However, "Muurala" might replace the name of Espoon keskus as part of the efforts to improve the reputation of the area.

External links

Official information about Espoon keskus

Map of Espoon keskus
{{Espoo Districts of Espoo