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Vuosaari ( sv, Nordsjö) is a
neighbourhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural are ...
in the City of
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 ...
, Finland. It is located by the sea in
East Helsinki East Helsinki ( fi, Itä-Helsinki, sv, Östra Helsingfors) is an area in Helsinki, Finland, usually thought to comprise the city's eastern and south-eastern major districts (, ), including the districts of Vartiokylä, Myllypuro, Mellunkylä, ...
and with its area of is geographically the largest district in the city. It also has two
Helsinki Metro The Helsinki Metro ( fi, Helsingin metro, sv, Helsingfors metro) is a rapid transit system serving Greater Helsinki, Finland. It is the world's northernmost metro system. It was opened to the general public on 2 August 1982 after 27 years of p ...
stations,
Rastila Rastila ( sv, Rastböle) is an eastern suburb in the Vuosaari district of Helsinki, Finland. Rastila lies to the north of the arterial road Vuotie (Sw. Norvägen); to the south lies Meri-Rastila (Sw. Havs-Rastböle), which is often understood as pa ...
and
Vuosaari Vuosaari ( sv, Nordsjö) is a neighbourhood in the City of Helsinki, Finland. It is located by the sea in East Helsinki and with its area of is geographically the largest district in the city. It also has two Helsinki Metro stations, Rastila a ...
Vuosaari is one of the fastest-growing areas in Helsinki. The number of inhabitants has been increasing rapidly since early 1990s and it continues to grow as new residential areas are being built. Among other things, Vuosaari is noted for its nature and large, relatively unspoilt recreational seashore areas. One of these is
Uutela Uutela ( sv, Nybondas) is a nature park in Vuosaari, Helsinki, 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 n ...
, a popular nature park located in the southeastern corner of Vuosaari. The continual planning of new residential zones has in fact raised criticism, as many people would rather preserve Vuosaari's closeness to nature. Vuosaari is the location of a new major
seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
in Helsinki, the
Vuosaari Harbour Vuosaari Harbour (''Vuosaaren satama'' in Finnish; ''Nordsjö hamn'' in Swedish) is a seaport facility in Helsinki, Finland, opened in November 2008. It is also the 19th tallest building in Finland. Pillu Kolehmainen is the most famous stevedorer ...
. As of 2005, 7.7% of the population of Vuosaari are foreign citizens and 11.6% were born outside of Finland. This has given the neighbourhood an overtly
multi-cultural The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...
image in Finnish folklore, even though the percentage is higher in many other places in the Capital Region. The two
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...
s of Helsingin Energia, the power utility of the city of Helsinki, are located in Vuosaari.


Etymology

The original
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
name of the area was ''Norsö'', which can be translated as "string island". The word ''nor'' (''nors'' in the
genitive case In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can al ...
) in the name properly means a string, but in this connection it is a geographical term, meaning a long and narrow flowing strait. Vuosaari was an island up to the 16th century, with this kind of a long and narrow strait separating it from the mainland. The middle part of the strait was so shallow that
tectonic uplift Tectonic uplift is the geologic uplift of Earth's surface that is attributed to plate tectonics. While isostatic response is important, an increase in the mean elevation of a region can only occur in response to tectonic processes of crustal thick ...
has since caused it to become dry land, changing Vuosaari into a peninsula. The current bays of Vartiokylänlahti and
Porvarinlahti Porvarinlahti (Swedish Borgarstrandsviken) is a bay in Helsinki (before 1 January 2009 in Vantaa), Finland, near the borders of Vantaa and Sipoo. Porvarinlahti used to be the only place where Vantaa directly bordered the Baltic Sea. The bay is appr ...
are remnants of this ancient strait. During time, the name of the area also changed from ''Norsö'' to ''Nordsjö'', as if referring to a northern sea. In maps from the early 20th century the area was sometimes marked with a
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 ...
name ''Pohjoisenmerenmaa'' ("Northern sea land"). In 1957 the Finnish name was confirmed as Vuosaari, referring to the original meaning of the Swedish name of the area.''Helsingin kadunnimet'', publications of the city of Helsinki #24, 1970.


History

Vuosaari has been populated continuously since the
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
. In prehistoric times it was used as a fishing area by the
Tavastians Tavastians ( fi, Hämäläiset, sv, Tavaster, russian: Емь, Yem, Yam) are a historic people and a modern subgroup (heimo) of the Finnish people. They live in areas of the historical province of Tavastia (historical province), Tavastia (Häme) ...
, but they did not live permantently in the area. The first written record of the inhabitants of the area comes from a document dating back to
Magnus IV of Sweden Magnus IV (April or May 1316  – 1 December 1374; Swedish ''Magnus Eriksson'') was King of Sweden from 1319 to 1364, King of Norway as Magnus VII (including Iceland and Greenland) from 1319 to 1355, and ruler of Scania from 1332 to 1360. By ...
in the 14th century. During the
Swedish colonisation of Finland Swedish colonisation of Finland happened during the Northern Crusades from the 12th century until the 1350s. Colonisation focused on the Finnish archipelago and some of its coastal regions. The colonisation led to the beginning of the Swedish-spe ...
in the Middle Ages Vuosaari received Swedish inhabitants either directly from Sweden or through Länsisalmi. By the 16th century, Vuosaari had regained its connection to the mainland and the former island had two Rustholl mansions, Nordsjö and Rastböle respectively, formed from the numerous farmsteads in the area,Vuosaari, Itämeren tyttärentytär – 50 vuotta osana Helsinkiä
''Kvartti'' 23 November 2016. Accessed on 2 October 2021.
several small villages and a military shipyard. Officers from
Suomenlinna Suomenlinna (; until 1918 Viapori, ), or Sveaborg (), is an inhabited sea fortress the Suomenlinna district is on eight islands of which six have been fortified; it is about 4 km southeast of the city center of Helsinki, the capital of Finla ...
built houses on the peninsulas. This process was further amplified after a regular steam boat connection between Helsinki and Vuosaari was established in the 19th century. Villa inhabitation in Vuosaari increased in the 1880s when steamship traffic to the area started. The areas of Kallahdenniemi and Ramsinniemi got their first villas in the early 20th century. Vuosaari was a Swedish-speaking agricultural area up to the 1930s, when the company Saseka started industrial production near the current residential area of Kallahti. Saseka produced Kahi calcium silicate bricks and
Siporex Autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) is a lightweight, precast, foam concrete building material suitable for producing concrete masonry unit like blocks. Composed of quartz sand (SiO2 with impurities), Calcium sulfate, calcined calcium sulfat ...
light concrete. Production of these materials in Vuosaari ended in 1978 when the production moved to
Ikaalinen Ikaalinen (; sv, Ikalis) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region, located northwest of Tampere. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The munici ...
. Of military historical interest is that Russians built fortifications in Vuosaari during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in 1917. During 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 ...
, Vuosaari was used as a decoy Helsinki to divert the bombs away from the city. This was done by lighting
bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Etymology The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the Catho ...
s and concentrating
anti-aircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
s on the island. The bombing of Helsinki lasted three nights, and in the end, only four percent of the bombs had actually hit their intended target in Helsinki. Later, during the fast construction phase in the 1990s, the diversion of Soviet bombers led to halts on building sites, as unexploded aerial bombs were discovered hidden in the ground. After the war, most of the lands in Vuosaari were owned by Oy Saseka Ab, a brick and stone company that had its factory on the island. Big lots of underdeveloped land at a close proximity to the capital prompted Saseka to start a zoning and building process to increase the value of land there. The Asuntosäästäjät Union ''(lit. apartment-savers)'' started to build houses in the 1960s, thus creating what colloquially is now known as Old Vuosaari. Some of Finland's most famous architects participated in the planning, most notably
Viljo Revell Viljo Gabriel Revell (25 January 1910 – 8 November 1964) was a Finnish architect of the functionalist school. In Finland he is best known for the design of the Lasipalatsi ("Glass Palace") and Palace Hotel, both in Helsinki. Internationally, ...
. Vuosaari was incorporated into Helsinki from the Helsinki rural municipality, now known as
Vantaa Vantaa (; sv, Vanda, ) is a city and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is part of the inner core of the Greater Helsinki, Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. With a population of (), Vantaa i ...
, on 1 January 1966. At that time the majority of apartment buildings in Keski-Vuosaari had already been built.Keski-Vuosaari – maisema- ja kaupunkikuvallinen kehitys
City of Helsinki 2006. Accessed on 29 September 2021.
The rural municipality agreed to the transfer, as the joint board of the city and the rural municipality thought the rural municipality could not afford the construction of the infrastructure needed by the rapidly growing inhabitation.
''
Helsingin Sanomat ''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of ...
'' 15 May 2001. Accessed on 30 September 2021.
The Vuosaari bridge was built in July 1966, decreasing the travel time from Vuosaari to the city centre. There was a dumping ground at Vuosaarenhuippu in the northern part of Vuosaari from the middle 1960s to the late 1980s. A
Valmet Valmet Oyj is a Finnish company and a developer and supplier of technologies, automation systems and services for the pulp (paper), pulp, paper and energy industry, energy industries. Valmet has over 200 years of history as an industrial oper ...
dock was built in the place of the current Vuosaari harbour in the 1970s, which was active in Vuosaari until 1987. The Rastila camping site was opened in 1971. In the early 1970s the population of Vuosaari reached 15 thousand. After this, the increase in population stopped for almost 20 years. The population of Vuosaari has since increased again because of the new construction in the early 1990s. The residential areas of
Kallahti Kallahti (; sv, Kallvik) is a neighborhood in the Vuosaari district of Helsinki, Finland. The area consists mainly of apartment buildings built between 1991 and 1999. There are 6,854 inhabitants in Kallahti (1 January 2017). Demographics There a ...
,
Meri-Rastila Meri-Rastila (Finnish), Havsrastböle (Swedish) is an eastern neighborhood of Helsinki, Finland. Politics Results of the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election in Meri-Rastila: *Social Democratic Party 22.1% *True Finns 21.4% *National Coalitio ...
and
Aurinkolahti Aurinkolahti (meaning "Sunny Bay"; sv, Solvik) is a young and fast-growing sub-neighbourhood of the East Helsinki neighbourhood of Vuosaari, in Helsinki, Finland. Aurinkolahti's original name was ''Mustalahti'' ("Black Bay"),Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
shopping centre between Keski-Vuosaari and Kallahti. The extension of the
Helsinki Metro The Helsinki Metro ( fi, Helsingin metro, sv, Helsingfors metro) is a rapid transit system serving Greater Helsinki, Finland. It is the world's northernmost metro system. It was opened to the general public on 2 August 1982 after 27 years of p ...
to the
Vuosaari metro station Vuosaari metro station (, ) is the ground-level terminus station of the M1 line of the Helsinki Metro. It serves the district of Vuosaari in East Helsinki. The station was opened on 31 August 1998 and was designed by the architect firm Esa Piiron ...
was opened for passenger transport on 31 August 1998. The opening ceremony was attended by
President of Finland The president of the Republic of Finland ( fi, Suomen tasavallan presidentti; sv, Republiken Finlands president) is the head of state of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the Finnish Government and the p ...
Martti Ahtisaari Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (; born 23 June 1937) is a Finnish politician, the tenth president of Finland (1994–2000), a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and a United Nations diplomat and mediator noted for his international peace work. Ahtisa ...
with his wife
Eeva EEVA, ''Eesti vanema kirjanduse digitaalne tekstikogu'' ( Estonian for 'Digital Text Repository for Older Estonian Literature'), is a project of the University of Tartu Library, Department of Literature and Folklore of the University of Tartu an ...
. As the first real influx of refugees and immigrants to Helsinki coincided with the building of Meri-Rastila in the beginning of the 1990s, the quarter quickly became home to an above average population of recent immigrants by Finnish standards. Russians, Estonians, Kurds and Somalis still form the basis of the immigrant population there - some 11% of the total population. The main street in Meri-Rastila became colloquially known as
Mogadishu Avenue ''Mogadishu Avenue'' is a Finnish drama comedy TV series written by Jari Tervo. The series deals with the everyday life of immigrants in Finland. The name ''Mogadishu Avenue'' comes from a nickname of various streets in eastern Helsinki, particu ...
, which subsequently became the title of a Finnish television series that sought to deal with the intercultural differences between immigrants and native Finns from a comic point of view. In 2006 Vuosaari had about 34 thousand inhabitants and it is estimated to have about 40 thousand inhabitants in the middle 2020s. The
Cirrus Cirrus may refer to: Science *Cirrus (biology), any of various thin, thread-like structures on the body of an animal *Cirrus (botany), a tendril *Infrared cirrus, in astronomy, filamentary structures seen in infrared light *Cirrus cloud, a type ...
high-rise building built to the south of the shopping centre was the tallest residential building in Finland at the time of its completion. The cargo harbour activity in Helsinki moved from the city centre in Vuosaari when the
Vuosaari Harbour Vuosaari Harbour (''Vuosaaren satama'' in Finnish; ''Nordsjö hamn'' in Swedish) is a seaport facility in Helsinki, Finland, opened in November 2008. It is also the 19th tallest building in Finland. Pillu Kolehmainen is the most famous stevedorer ...
was taken into use in 2008.
Aku Louhimies Aku Louhimies (2009) Aku Louhimies (born 3 July 1968) is a Finnish film director and screenwriter. He has directed feature films, documentary films, commercials and music videos. His international breakthrough was the 2016 serial drama '' Rebe ...
's 2012 film is named after the district.


Geography and nature

Vuosaari is a peninsula on the shore of the
Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...
, with an area of 17 square kilometres. There are many large greenspaces on both the northern and the southern parts of the area. The district also includes numerous small islands in front of the peninsula, such as Pikku Niinisaari, Iso Villasaari and Kalliosaari.Tikkanen, Tea (ed.):
Helsinki alueittain
', city of Helsinki 2013. .
Helsinki alueittain 2012
information centre of the city of Helsinki.
The Vartiokylänlahti bay to the west of Vuosaari and the
Porvarinlahti Porvarinlahti (Swedish Borgarstrandsviken) is a bay in Helsinki (before 1 January 2009 in Vantaa), Finland, near the borders of Vantaa and Sipoo. Porvarinlahti used to be the only place where Vantaa directly bordered the Baltic Sea. The bay is appr ...
bay to the north are remnants of an ancient strait which has dried up because of
tectonic uplift Tectonic uplift is the geologic uplift of Earth's surface that is attributed to plate tectonics. While isostatic response is important, an increase in the mean elevation of a region can only occur in response to tectonic processes of crustal thick ...
. The
Kangaslampi Kangaslampi is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated to Varkaus on 1 January 2005. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality had a population of 1,611 (31 Dece ...
lake, about a hectare in size, is located in the northern part of Keski-Vuosaari and is one of the few lakes located inside Helsinki. The soil in the middle of Vuosaari is mostly made of sand, whereas the lands in the eastern and western parts are made of
till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...
, cliffs and
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
at some parts. The dominant mineral in the
bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...
is
gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...
, but there are also more rare minerals in the area, such as
gabbro Gabbro () is a phaneritic (coarse-grained), mafic intrusive igneous rock formed from the slow cooling of magnesium-rich and iron-rich magma into a holocrystalline mass deep beneath the Earth's surface. Slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro is che ...
and
pillow lava Pillow lavas are lavas that contain characteristic pillow-shaped structures that are attributed to the extrusion of the lava underwater, or ''subaqueous extrusion''. Pillow lavas in volcanic rock are characterized by thick sequences of disconti ...
formed from ancient undersea volcanic activity.Paikkatietoikkuna
Finnish geography institute. Accessed on 9 October 2021.
There are three peninsulas reaching out to the Gulf of Finland in the southern part of Vuosaari: the oblong peninsulas of Ramsinniemi and Kallahdenniemi and the wider and rounder
Uutela Uutela ( sv, Nybondas) is a nature park in Vuosaari, Helsinki, 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 n ...
. Of these, Kallahdenniemi is an
esker An esker, eskar, eschar, or os, sometimes called an ''asar'', ''osar'', or ''serpent kame'', is a long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North Amer ...
populated with pine forest, formed about 12 thousand years ago by melting waters from flowing glaciers. It continues underneath the sea as sandbanks and a sandy bottom, and its highest undersea parts form islands such as Santinen and Iso Leikosaari.Kallahden harju-, niitty- ja vesialueet
Accessed on 9 March 2018.
Kallahdenharju is a nature preservation area, similarly to the multi-species grove forest located in Ramsinniemi. In the western part of
Meri-Rastila Meri-Rastila (Finnish), Havsrastböle (Swedish) is an eastern neighborhood of Helsinki, Finland. Politics Results of the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election in Meri-Rastila: *Social Democratic Party 22.1% *True Finns 21.4% *National Coalitio ...
is a forest area consisting of many forest types and an ancient
shingle beach A shingle beach (also referred to as rocky beach or pebble beach) is a beach which is armoured with pebbles or small- to medium-sized cobbles (as opposed to fine sand). Typically, the stone composition may grade from characteristic sizes ranging ...
formed of ancient beach rocks.Luontotietojärjestelmä
city of Helsinki. Accessed on 9 October 2021.
The Uutela area has many kinds of forests, beach cliffs, traditional
biotope A biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of plants and animals. ''Biotope'' is almost synonymous with the term "habitat", which is more commonly used in English-speaking countrie ...
s and the Särkkäniemi nature preservation area. As well as Kallahdenniemi, the areas of
Rastila Rastila ( sv, Rastböle) is an eastern suburb in the Vuosaari district of Helsinki, Finland. Rastila lies to the north of the arterial road Vuotie (Sw. Norvägen); to the south lies Meri-Rastila (Sw. Havs-Rastböle), which is often understood as pa ...
and
Aurinkolahti Aurinkolahti (meaning "Sunny Bay"; sv, Solvik) is a young and fast-growing sub-neighbourhood of the East Helsinki neighbourhood of Vuosaari, in Helsinki, Finland. Aurinkolahti's original name was ''Mustalahti'' ("Black Bay"), The area of
Mustavuori Mustavuori (Finnish), Svarta backen (Swedish) is a subdivision of Vuosaari, an eastern neighbourhood of Helsinki, Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern E ...
is located in the northern part of Vuosaari, just next to the border to the neighbouring city of
Vantaa Vantaa (; sv, Vanda, ) is a city and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is part of the inner core of the Greater Helsinki, Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. With a population of (), Vantaa i ...
. A large part of Mustavuori is also a nature preservation area, including the most valuable grove area in the Helsinki capital region with many rare plant species and Porvarinlahti which is significant as a bird-watching area. The 65-metre high hill Vuosaarenhuippu has formed from reclaimed land and is located in
Niinisaari Niinisaari (Finnish), Bastö (Swedish) is an eastern neighborhood of Helsinki, Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with ...
in the place of an old dumping ground. It includes many rare plant and animal species. There is a flat
giant's kettle A giant's kettle, also known as either a giant's cauldron, moulin pothole, or glacial pothole, is a typically large and cylindrical pothole drilled in solid rock underlying a glacier either by water descending down a deep moulin or by gravel r ...
between Mustavuori and Niinisaari, and Vuosaarenhuippu has formed partly attached to a
drumlin A drumlin, from the Irish word ''droimnín'' ("littlest ridge"), first recorded in 1833, in the classical sense is an elongated hill in the shape of an inverted spoon or half-buried egg formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated ...
.


Population

In late 2020 Vuosaari had 38,961 inhabitants. The population is mostly concentrated on the southern, central and western parts of the area.
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 ...
and
Sámi The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland), which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Murmansk Oblast, Rus ...
language speakers comprised 68,7 %,
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
speakers 4,5 % of the population. People speaking foreign languages comprised 26,8 % of the population, which is clearly higher than that of Helsinki in average (15.7% on 31 December 2018). About a quarter of the inhabitants in Vuosaari come from a foreign background (almost 40% in the
Kallahti Kallahti (; sv, Kallvik) is a neighborhood in the Vuosaari district of Helsinki, Finland. The area consists mainly of apartment buildings built between 1991 and 1999. There are 6,854 inhabitants in Kallahti (1 January 2017). Demographics There a ...
and
Meri-Rastila Meri-Rastila (Finnish), Havsrastböle (Swedish) is an eastern neighborhood of Helsinki, Finland. Politics Results of the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election in Meri-Rastila: *Social Democratic Party 22.1% *True Finns 21.4% *National Coalitio ...
areas), which is also clearly higher than that in Helsinki in average. 17.9% of the inhabitants in Vuosaari were under 16 years old and 18.5% were over 65 years old (31 December 2018). About 45.9% of the apartments in Vuosaari are rental apartments, which is slightly lower than that in Helsinki in average (47.1% on 31 December 2018).Helsinki alueittain 2019
city of Helsinki. Accessed on 7 October 2021.
In comparison to the population, Vuosaari has quite few jobs, only slightly more than 6500 (31 December 2017), because Vuosaari has a large numbers of daily commute traffic to other parts of the city. The
unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...
rate in 2018 was 13.1%, which is higher than that in Helsinki in average (9.2%), also the number of people on welfare in the same year was high (17.5% compared to 10.4% in Helsinki in average). The income level in Kallahti and Meri-Rastila was among the lowest in Helsinki in 2014, whereas the average income in
Aurinkolahti Aurinkolahti (meaning "Sunny Bay"; sv, Solvik) is a young and fast-growing sub-neighbourhood of the East Helsinki neighbourhood of Vuosaari, in Helsinki, Finland. Aurinkolahti's original name was ''Mustalahti'' ("Black Bay"),Töölö Töölö (; sv, Tölö, formerly spelled ''Thölö'') is the collective name for the neighbourhoods Etu-Töölö ( sv, Främre Tölö, lit=Front Töölö, links=no) and Taka-Töölö ( sv, Bortre Tölö, lit=Rear Töölö, links=no) in Helsinki ...
and
Lauttasaari Lauttasaari (; sv, Drumsö) is an island in Helsinki, Finland, about west of the city centre. Together with some surrounding unpopulated small islands, Lauttasaari is also a district of Helsinki. With 23,226 residents as of 2017, the island is F ...
. The district of Vuosaari forms its own congregation in the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland ( fi, Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko; sv, Evangelisk-lutherska kyrkan i Finland) is a national church of Finland. It is part of the Lutheran branch of Christianity. The church has a legal positio ...
. In 2019 46.4% of the inhabitants in Vuosaari belonged to the congregation. The
Orthodox Church of Finland The Orthodox Church of Finland ( fi, Suomen ortodoksinen kirkko, lit=Finnish Orthodox Church; sv, Ortodoxa kyrkan i Finland, lit=Orthodox Church in Finland; ) is an autonomous Eastern Orthodox archdiocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Const ...
has a congregation in Helsinki, which is also active in Vuosaari.


Buildings

Keski-Vuosaari Keski-Vuosaari (Finnish), Mellersta Nordsjö (Swedish) is an eastern neighborhood of Helsinki, Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares la ...
mainly consists of apartment buildings built in the 1960s. Its southern part has many eight-story-high apartment buildings, but otherwise the buildings have five stories at the most. The Vuosaari church designed by Pirkko and Arvi Ilonen and inaugurated in 1980 is located in Keski-Vuosaari. The current centre of Vuosaari is located on the southern edge of Keski-Vuosaari, however it was only built in the 1990s and 2000s. Nowadays it is the most important service centre in Vuosaari, hosting the Mosaiikkitori square, the
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
shopping centre, the
Vuotalo Vuotalo (Swedish: ''Nordhuset'') is a cultural centre located in Vuosaari, Helsinki, Finland north of the Mosaiikkitori square, near the Columbus shopping centre, the Vuosaari metro station, the Vuosaari sports hall and the Vuosaari high scho ...
cultural centre and the
Vuosaari metro station Vuosaari metro station (, ) is the ground-level terminus station of the M1 line of the Helsinki Metro. It serves the district of Vuosaari in East Helsinki. The station was opened on 31 August 1998 and was designed by the architect firm Esa Piiron ...
. The 26-story-high and 92 metres tall
Cirrus Cirrus may refer to: Science *Cirrus (biology), any of various thin, thread-like structures on the body of an animal *Cirrus (botany), a tendril *Infrared cirrus, in astronomy, filamentary structures seen in infrared light *Cirrus cloud, a type ...
apartment building built in 2006 is located near the shopping centre. The area of
Rastila Rastila ( sv, Rastböle) is an eastern suburb in the Vuosaari district of Helsinki, Finland. Rastila lies to the north of the arterial road Vuotie (Sw. Norvägen); to the south lies Meri-Rastila (Sw. Havs-Rastböle), which is often understood as pa ...
located next to the Vuosaari bridge mostly consists of detached houses, and includes the Rastila camping ground around the main building of the Rastila manor. There are many apartment buildings near the
Rastila metro station Rastila metro station (, ) is a ground-level station on the M1 line of the Helsinki Metro. There are 134 bicycle and 34 car parking spaces at Rastila. It serves the residential areas of Meri-Rastila and Rastila in the district of Vuosaari, in East ...
, of which some are quite high. The areas of
Meri-Rastila Meri-Rastila (Finnish), Havsrastböle (Swedish) is an eastern neighborhood of Helsinki, Finland. Politics Results of the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election in Meri-Rastila: *Social Democratic Party 22.1% *True Finns 21.4% *National Coalitio ...
and
Kallahti Kallahti (; sv, Kallvik) is a neighborhood in the Vuosaari district of Helsinki, Finland. The area consists mainly of apartment buildings built between 1991 and 1999. There are 6,854 inhabitants in Kallahti (1 January 2017). Demographics There a ...
to the south of the Vuotie street are tightly built apartment suburbs built in the 1990s. The buildings in these areas are muted in colour and quite low, which evokes a feeling of openness. The modern, tightly built and nature-friendly housing area of Ramsinranta is located in the southern part of Meri-Rastila. The Mustankivenpuisto park is the centre of Kallahti, and the facades of the buildings in its northern end are curved. The apartment building areas of Kallahti and
Aurinkolahti Aurinkolahti (meaning "Sunny Bay"; sv, Solvik) is a young and fast-growing sub-neighbourhood of the East Helsinki neighbourhood of Vuosaari, in Helsinki, Finland. Aurinkolahti's original name was ''Mustalahti'' ("Black Bay"),zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...
plan. There are three small parks in the middle of the area and detached houses inside apartment building blocks. The
Paulig Paulig is a Finnish family-owned food and drink company, founded in 1876. The company's brands are Paulig, Santa Maria, Risenta and Poco Loco. Paulig has 2,000 employees in 13 countries and its net sales in 2019 were EUR 921 million. History The ...
factory used to be located in the area until it moved to the Vuosaari harbour in 2009. The old factory building was dismantled in 2012 and new apartment buildings were built in its place. There is a long sandy beach in front of Aurinkolahti. The area ends in a boat harbour, with the Uutelankanava canal with two waterfalls entering inland from its end. There is a hemispherical amphitheatre-like house at the northern end of the canal. There are many old villas all around Vuosaari, of which many are protected. Most of the villas are located near the sea shore and in the nature-friendly areas of
Uutela Uutela ( sv, Nybondas) is a nature park in Vuosaari, Helsinki, 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 n ...
, Kallahdenniemi and Ramsinniemi.


Services

The commercial centre of Vuosaari, located around the Vuosaari metro station and the Mosaiikkitori square, consists mainly of the
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
shopping centre built in 1996. In the centre of Vuosaari to the north of the metro station are also located the
Vuotalo Vuotalo (Swedish: ''Nordhuset'') is a cultural centre located in Vuosaari, Helsinki, Finland north of the Mosaiikkitori square, near the Columbus shopping centre, the Vuosaari metro station, the Vuosaari sports hall and the Vuosaari high scho ...
cultural centre containing the Vuosaari library and the Vuosaari sports hall with a swimming pool. The Vuosaari health and welfare centre is located to the south of the metro station. There are also small shopping centres in Meri-Rastila and northern Keski-Vuosaari.


Education

There are four Finnish-speaking primary schools in Vuosaari, all of which including both the junior and the senior part: the Puistopolku school with two premises in Keski-Vuosaari and Kallahti, the Merilahti school with two premises at Meri-Rastila and Kallahti, the Vuoniitty school with three premises in northern Keski-Vuosaari and the Aurinkolahti school with three premises in Aurinkolahti. Vuosaari also has a Swedish-speaking junior primary school called Nordsjö lågstadieskola; the nearest Swedish-speaking senior primary school is Botby grundskola in
Vartiokylä Vartiokylä ( sv, Botby) is a neighbourhood in the East Helsinki area of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Its name is derived from the ruins of an eleventh-century fortress on the Linnanvuori hill in Vartioharju, one of Vartiokylä's subdivision ...
. The Vuosaari gymnasium is located in the centre of Vuosaari.


Traffic

The street Vuotie, mostly built like a highway, is the most important car traffic connection in Vuosaari, connecting the district via the Vuosaari bridge to
Ring I Ring I (pronounced "ring one", fi, Kehä I, sv, Ring I) is the busiest road in Finland, carrying up to 113,000 vehicles per day. It is the innermost of the three beltways in the Greater Helsinki region, numbered as regional route 101 and ru ...
and
Itäväylä Itäväylä (the Eastern Highway, Swedish: Österleden) is a motorway-like road in the Greater Helsinki area of Finland, mainly in the Helsinki conurbation. It is part of the Finnish regional road 170 ( fi, Seututie 170, sv, Regionalväg 170). Th ...
. Other important connections are Kallahdentie leading to Itäväylä and Vuosaaren satamatie leading to
Ring III Kehä III (''"ring three"'', ''National road 50''; or fi, Kehä III or ; or ) is an important highway in Southern Finland. It is the outermost of the three beltways in the Helsinki region, and the first one to be built. It lies across the fou ...
. The
Helsinki Metro The Helsinki Metro ( fi, Helsingin metro, sv, Helsingfors metro) is a rapid transit system serving Greater Helsinki, Finland. It is the world's northernmost metro system. It was opened to the general public on 2 August 1982 after 27 years of p ...
expanded to Vuosaari in 1998. There are two metro stations in Vuosaari. The
Vuosaari metro station Vuosaari metro station (, ) is the ground-level terminus station of the M1 line of the Helsinki Metro. It serves the district of Vuosaari in East Helsinki. The station was opened on 31 August 1998 and was designed by the architect firm Esa Piiron ...
is located in the exact centre of Vuosaari next to the Columbus shopping centre, serving the areas of Keski-Vuosaari, Kallahti and Aurinkolahti. The
Rastila metro station Rastila metro station (, ) is a ground-level station on the M1 line of the Helsinki Metro. There are 134 bicycle and 34 car parking spaces at Rastila. It serves the residential areas of Meri-Rastila and Rastila in the district of Vuosaari, in East ...
serves the areas of Rastila and Meri-Rastila. The trunk bus line 560 travels through Vuosaari and continues via Kontula, Malmi and
Paloheinä Paloheinä (Swedish Svedängen) is one of four quarters of the Tuomarinkylä district in Northern Helsinki, Finland. Described by the municipality as "a place where habitation, traditional agricultural milieus, and the forest meet", the Palohei ...
to
Myyrmäki Myyrmäki ( sv, Myrbacka), literally meaning "Bog Hill", is a district and major region of the municipality of Vantaa, Finland. The district has an area of and a population of about 17,000, making it the most populous district in Vantaa. It is h ...
in the neighbouring city of
Vantaa Vantaa (; sv, Vanda, ) is a city and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is part of the inner core of the Greater Helsinki, Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. With a population of (), Vantaa i ...
. In 2012 cruise ship traffic from Vuosaari to the city centre was started. During summer season, the cruise ship MS ''Okeanos'' travels twice per day from the pier at the end of Hiekkalaiturintie to
Hakaniemi Hakaniemi (; sv, Hagnäs) is an unofficial district of Helsinki, the Finnish capital. It covers most of the neighbourhood of Siltasaari in the district of Kallio. Hakaniemi is located at the sea shore and is separated from the city centre by the ...
. The ship travels via Satamasaari, Iiluoto,
Vartiosaari Vartiosaari ( sv, Vårdö) is a district of Helsinki, 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, ...
,
Laajasalo Laajasalo ( sv, Degerö) is a group of islands that forms a East Helsinki, Southeast Helsinki's Subdivisions of Helsinki#Neighbourhoods, neighbourhood in southern Helsinki, the capital of Finland. As of 2018, it had a population of 18 876. File: ...
and
Herttoniemi Herttoniemi ( sv, Hertonäs) is an East Helsinki Subdivisions of Helsinki#Neighbourhoods, neighbourhood and a suburb of Helsinki, the Finland, Finnish capital. Geography Located about east of the city centre, Herttoniemi can be reached by the He ...
to
Hakaniemenranta Hakaniemenranta (Swedish: ''Hagnäskajen'') is a street on the Siltavuorensalmi shore in central Helsinki, Finland. The street belongs to two separate districts: the western part belongs to Hakaniemi in Kallio, while the eastern part belongs to ...
. The ship is operated by Suomen Saaristokuljetus.


Vuosaari Harbour

The Vuosaari Harbour is a cargo ship harbour located in the northeastern part of Vuosaari in the
Niinisaari Niinisaari (Finnish), Bastö (Swedish) is an eastern neighborhood of Helsinki, Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with ...
area. It was completed in late November 2008. In addition to ships only carrying cargo, it is used by passenger-cargo ships of
Finnlines Finnlines Plc ( fi, Finnlines Oyj, sv, Finnlines Abp) is a shipping operator of ro-ro and passenger services in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. It is a subsidiary of the Grimaldi Group. Finnlines’ sea transports are concentrated in the Bal ...
travelling to
Travemünde Travemünde () is a borough of Lübeck, Germany, located at the mouth of the river Trave in Bay of Lübeck, Lübeck Bay. It began life as a fortress built by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, in the 12th century to guard the mouth of the Trave, an ...
and
Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...
in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, as well as the
Tallink Tallink () is an Estonian shipping company operating Baltic Sea cruiseferries and ropax ships from Estonia to Finland, Estonia to Sweden to Sweden and Finland to Sweden. It is the largest passenger and cargo shipping company in the Baltic Sea r ...
ship MS ''Sea Wind'' and the
Eckerö Line Eckerö Line is a Finnish shipping company owned by the Åland-based Rederiaktiebolaget Eckerö. Eckerö Line operates one ferry between Helsinki (Finland) and Tallinn (Estonia). Eckerö Line should not be confused with the similarly named Eck ...
ship MS ''Finbo Cargo'' travelling to
Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...
in
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
, also carrying passengers along with cargo. The harbour has a total area of 240 hectares and covers almost 15 percent of the total area of Vuosaari. The Vuosaari Harbour has a connection to
Ring III Kehä III (''"ring three"'', ''National road 50''; or fi, Kehä III or ; or ) is an important highway in Southern Finland. It is the outermost of the three beltways in the Helsinki region, and the first one to be built. It lies across the fou ...
and to highways leading outside the capital region via the highway-level street Vuosaaren Satamatie, mostly running in a tunnel. Cargo trains can travel from the
Finnish Main Line ; sv, Stambanan , native_name_lang = , color = , logo = , logo_width = , logo_alt = , image = Päärata, Oulunkylä.JPG , image_width = 200px , image_alt = , caption ...
to the harbour via the 19-kilometre-long Vuosaari harbour track, of which over 13 kilometres runs in a tunnel.


Sports


Exercise services

The Vuosaari sports hall in the centre of Vuosaari is a popular place for exercise. After its renovation is complete it is estimated to reach over 750 thousand visitors per year. The
Vuosaari exercise park Vuosaari ( sv, Nordsjö) is a neighbourhood in the City of Helsinki, Finland. It is located by the sea in East Helsinki and with its area of is geographically the largest district in the city. It also has two Helsinki Metro stations, Rastila a ...
is located to the west of the centre near
Nordsjön kartano Nordsjön kartano (Finnish), Nordsjö gård (Swedish) is an eastern neighborhood of Helsinki, Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land ...
, containing a
skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a ...
park, three football fields and an exercise point. The Aimo Mäkinen Areena ice hockey hall is located next to the exercise park. The only
paintball Paintball is a competitive team shooting sport in which players eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with spherical dye-filled gelatin capsules called paintballs that break upon impact. Paintballs are usually shot using low-energy ai ...
forest field in Helsinki, Arena Harbour, is located in the Vuosaari Harbour.Arena Harbour
Painplusball. Accessed on 27 December 2015.
One of the two full-sized 18-hole golf courses in Helsinki is located in Vuosaari.


Sports clubs

The sports life in Vuosaari is concentrated around the sports club Vuosaaren Viikingit. The football club
FC Viikingit FC Viikingit is a Finnish football club based in Vuosaari, East Helsinki, and currently playing in the ''Kakkonen'', the third tier of Finnish football. They play their home matches at Vuosaaren urheilukenttä, also called Heteniitty. The club ...
, separated from the main club, rose into the
Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga (; sv, Tipsligan) is the premier division of Finnish football, the highest tier of the Finnish football league structure, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkau ...
in 2007. In 2008 it fell to
Ykkönen ''Ykkönen'' (Finnish for 'Number One'; sv, Ettan) is the second highest level of the Finnish football league system (after the Veikkausliiga), although it is the highest league managed by the Football Association of Finland. The teams also play ...
. FC Viikingit plays their home matches on the Vuosaari sports ground, which is colloquially known as "Hettari" or "Monttu" ("the pit") because of its location at the end of Heteniityntie and its shape. FC Viikingit also has an active junior sports club with about 750 players in 40 different teams. The other popular sport in Vuosaari is
floorball Floorball is a type of floor hockey with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. Men and women play indoors with sticks and a plastic ball with holes. Matches are played in three twenty-minute periods. The sport of bandy also played a role ...
with the primary team being
SSV Helsinki SSV Helsinki is a floorball team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team was founded in 1986 and they currently play in Salibandyliiga, the top floorball league in Finland. History SSV Helsinki was founded in 1986 and was originally named Salibandy ...
(although it plays its home matches in
Pasila Pasila (; sv, Böle, ) is a part of Helsinki, Finland, that is both a central-northern neighbourhood and district, bordering the areas of Alppila to the south, the Central Park ( Keskuspuisto) to the west, and Vallila to the east. Pasila is a ...
).


References


External links

* http://www.vuosaari.net/ * http://www.vuosaari.fi/
Vuosaari at Google Maps (Satellite photos/map)
{{coord, 60, 12, 32, N, 25, 08, 35, E, region:FI-ES_type:city(31948), display=title