Espoonlahti ( Finnish) or Esboviken ( Swedish) (literally ''The Bay of Espoo'' or ''Espoo Bay'') is one of the five major urban areas of

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

, a city in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. 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 The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

, to the west by the Finnoo (Finnå) valley, to the east of the municipal border of

Kirkkonummi Kirkkonummi (; , , Sweden ) is a municipality in Finland, located in the southern coast of the country. Kirkkonummi is situated in the western part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Kirkkonummi is approximately . It is the most populous Mu ...

, 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, Suvisaaristo, Kaitaa, Nöykkiö, 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 () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. Certain

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

s in

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

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 was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Things started to move rapidly after the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

returned the neighbouring Porkkala 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 Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...

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 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

History

Modern times

See also

References

Notes