Espoonlahti (

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 ...

) or Esboviken (

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 ...

) (literally ''The Bay of Espoo'' or ''Espoo Bay'') is one of the five major urban areas 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 ...

, a city in

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 ...

. It lies along the south-western coast of Espoo, bounded to the west by the bay of the same name, to the south by the shores of the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Finnoo (Finnå) valley, to the east of the municipal border of

Kirkkonummi Kirkkonummi (; sv, Kyrkslätt, , Sweden ) is a municipality of inhabitants () in southern Finland. The literal meaning of the words "''Kirkkonummi''" and "''Kyrkslätt''" in English is "church heath". Geography The municipality is located just ...

, and to the north by the forests of Espoo central forest area. This total area of about 4,800 hectares is further divided into areas called

Soukka Soukka (Finnish) or Sökö (Swedish) is district number 33 of Espoo, Finland, located in southwestern Espoo in the main district of Suur-Espoonlahti. Early history Soukka is part of the oldest area in Espoo. The oldest discovered signs of habitati ...

, Suvisaaristo,

Kaitaa Kaitaa (Finnish) or Kaitans (Swedish) is a district of southern Espoo, Finland, located south of the ''Länsiväylä'' highway, with a population of 6000. Kaitaa mostly consists of detached houses, and contains the Hannusjärvi recreational area ...

Nöykkiö Nöykkiö (Finnish) or Nöykis (Swedish) is a district of Espoo, Finland. It was originally known only by its Swedish name ''Nöykis'', but the Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * ...

, Latokaski and Saunalahti, with one greater center called Espoonlahden keskus ( Espoonlahti center). Areas known as Laurinlahti, Ylä-Kivenlahti, Ala-Kivenlahti and Iivisniemi are also part of the Espoonlahti district. Yet another name pertinent to this area is Kanta-Espoonlahti (''Espoonlahti Proper''), which includes Espoonlahden keskus, Soukanmäki (''Soukka Hill''), Kivenlahti, Laurinlahti and Soukanniemi (''Soukka Peninsula'').

History

Areas along the Bay of Espoonlahti as well as the shores and islands of the Gulf of Finland belong to the oldest inhabited parts of Espoo with traces of human presence reaching to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

. Certain pollens in

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sa ...

samples from Lake Hannusjärvi indicate permanent inhabitation and agriculture in and around the Bay of Finnoonlahti area about year 1000. The oldest villages in Espoonlahti are those of Soukka and Kivenlahti. They were important enough to be marked by their Swedish names Sökö and Stensvik on maps as early as in 1540. Espoonlahti Bay provided an important route for the

Hanse The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label= Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German ...

trade ships and for those of the farmer salesmen from Espoo inland villages. Like all Espoo this area was still a typical rural area in the 1860s - only seldom disturbed by any industrial activity. The vast majority of changes that lead to modern Espoonlahti started with a great influx of new inhabitants after

World War II 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 opposing ...

. Things started to move rapidly after the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

returned the neighbouring

Porkkala Porkkalanniemi ( sv, Porkala udd) is a peninsula in the Gulf of Finland, located at Kirkkonummi (Kyrkslätt) in Southern Finland. The peninsula had great strategic value, as coastal artillery based there would be able to shoot more than hal ...

in 1956. The 1960s saw joined regional planning efforts between architects and housing companies who aimed to plan and build entire housing areas at one go.Lahti 1975, page 329. Those for the Soukka - Kivenlahti area were drawn by Alvar Aalto in 1964, while plans made for Laurinlahti by Espoo planners were successfully opposed by local residents assisted by the brothers Suomalainen. The most northerly point of Espoonlahti on the Bay of Espoonlahti is Saunalahti (Bastvik), whose urbanisation started in 2001 with asphatisation old roads and was followed in 2002 by intensive construction work of mainly residential buildings.

Modern times

With more than 52 000 inhabitants Espoonlahti is today the second largest of Espoo urban centers. It is a markedly residential area that in 2004 was able to employ 39% of its inhabitants. Espoonlahti center is characterized by a tree lined shopping street Espoonlahdenkatu, where most of the services are found. Among them is the shopping center Lippulaiva built in 1994, the market place, several banks and some small restaurants. The swimming hall, health center and

Espoonlahti Church Espoonlahti Church ( fi, Espoonlahden kirkko, sv, Esbovikens kyrka) is a Lutheran church situated in Espoonlahti, Espoo, Finland. It was designed by architects Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen, architects of the Rock Church ( Temppeliaukion kirkko), wh ...

are all found close by. As Espoonlahden keskus is one of the stations of the western branch of the Helsinki metropolitan area underground (''Länsimetro''), further urban development is ongoing there. It includes several residential buildings, facilities for cultural services and an addition to Lippulaiva, which lies in the vicinity of the underground station, ''A look into town planning 2015.'' opened in 2022. There are five stations in the greater Espoonlahti area: Finnoo, Kaitaa, Soukka, Espoonlahti and Kivenlahti.

References

* *Kylä, keskiaika Itämeren rannalla. Espoon kaupunginmuseon tutkimuksia 10. Helsinki 2008. . (''A village, Middle Ages on the shores of the Baltic Sea'') In Finnish. *Matti J. Lahti: Espoo maalaispitäjästä suurkauppalaksi. Espoo-sarja. Pieksämäki 1975. . In Finnish. *Johanna Pekkanen - Virve Heininen: Kuninkaankartanosta kaupungiksi. Viisi vuosisataa espoolaiselämää. AtlasArt, Riga 2013. . In Finnish.

Notes

{{Espoo Districts of Espoo