The Viikki Campus ( fi, Viikin kampus, sv, Campus Vik) is a campus area of the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

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 ...

, focusing on biological sciences. It comprises following units: *Faculty of

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and

Forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

*Faculty of

Bioscience ''BioScience'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal that is published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. It was established in 1964 and was preceded by the ''AIBS Bulletin'' (1951–19 ...

s *Faculty of

Pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...

*Faculty of

Veterinary Medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

*Institute of

Biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

*Viikki Science Library Besides these units of the University of Helsinki, the campus area also hosts the Helsinki Science Park and the

Finnish Food Safety Authority Finnish Food Safety Authority (Evira, Finnish: Elintarviketurvallisuusvirasto, Swedish Livsmedelssäkerhetsverket) is a centralised body operating under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Finland. Its statutory purpose is to ensure foo ...

. The campus is located in the rapidly developing area of

Viikki Viikki ( sv, Vik) is a neighbourhood of about 15,000 inhabitants in Helsinki, Finland. It is located at the bottom of ''Vanhankaupunginlahti'' bay, some 7–10 km from the city centre. The district hosts the Viikki Campus with four of the fac ...

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 ...

, about 10 km from the city center. It is closely associated with the Helsinki Business Park. The nearby

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

, nature conservation area of Vanhankaupunginlahti and the experimental farm form a rare haven of countryside and wildlife at the heart of the capital city area. At the center of the campus lies the Viikki Info Center, which is unique in Finland, as it hosts both the local municipal public library and a scientific library serving the Viikki Campus.

History Viikin kampuksen historia alkaa keskiajalta
. University of Helsinki. Retrieved 8-8-2008.

Viikki area was a relatively wealthy agricultural village already in the Middle Ages. In conjunction of the founding of the City of Helsinki in 1555, the village of Viikki was formed as a crown storage manor ( sv, ladugård) responsible for supplying the Vantaankoski Crown Manor, a local administrative center, with crops and fodder. While the crown manor at Vantaankoski was destroyed already in 1571 by Russians, the Viikki storage manor remained in state ownership. Subsequently it served a residence of different officers and the provincial governors. The manor was allocated in 1931 to the University of Helsinki for use as an experimental and teaching farm. However, the University took the area in to its actual use only in 1946, after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. At this time, the area was clearly countryside outside the city. In 1960s, the Departments of Agriculture, Food Sciences, Domestic Sciences and Environmental Sciences received new buildings in the area, and student dormitories were also built for the students of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry. The campus was built into its present size from the year 1993 onwards. Then, a decision was made to concentrate the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry and all life sciences to the Viikki Campus, resulting in major construction activities. All departments of Forestry moved into the campus area in 2002, and the Departments, later Faculties of Biosciences and Pharmacy moved in Biocenter building complex at the same time. As part of the centralization of Helsinki bioscience activities, the

moved into the area in 2006.

References

Buildings and structures in Helsinki University of Helsinki University and college campuses in Finland {{Finland-university-stub

History Viikin kampuksen historia alkaa keskiajalta. University of Helsinki. Retrieved 8-8-2008.

See also

References

History Viikin kampuksen historia alkaa keskiajalta
. University of Helsinki. Retrieved 8-8-2008.