Martinlaakso () is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Vantaa Vantaa (; , ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the north of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population of Vantaa is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland. Vantaa is part of the Helsinki Metropoli ...

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, ...

. Located in the Myyrmäki major region, it is the second most populous district in all of Vantaa, after Myyrmäki itself. In 2014, Martinlaakso had a population of 11,811, narrowly beating out

Hakunila Hakunila (; , ), is a district and major region of the municipality of Vantaa, Finland, located within the eastern part of the city. The district has a population of 11,238 and a population density of . The district is bordered to the west by La ...

. Martinlaakso has two railway stations, Martinlaakso railway station and Vantaankoski railway station, as well as a medical center, several shopping areas, and a comprehensive school (lower level yearsand upper level hree years and an upper secondary school. It is the birthplace of former

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

drivers Mika Häkkinen and Mika Salo. Former Formula One star Kimi Räikkönen also spent a part of his childhood in Martinlaakso. Martinlaakso was the home for Martinkeskus, which was the largest

shopping center A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...

in the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

at the time of its completion in 1960s. Another shopping center in the area is Martinlaakson Ostari, which was completed in 2011.

History

Martinlaakso is situated on the grounds of the former town of Martinkylä, which had existed with a stable population since the 16th century. The name, which was originally only the Swedish ''Mårtensby'', derives from the name Mårten (Martti), who was likely a notable inhabitant or founder of the town. Settlements in the nearby

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 ...

and

Sipoo Sipoo (; ) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Helsinki metropolitan area. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The administrative center of the municipality i ...

also shared the name ''Mårtensby'', so to avoid confusion, the Vantaa settlement was renamed ''Mårtensdal'' (Martinlaakso), and the Espoo settlement was renamed ''Mårtensbro'' (Martinsilta). The settlement in Sipoo retained its name. In 1975, the extension of the

Helsinki commuter rail Helsinki commuter rail (, ) is a commuter rail system serving the Helsinki metropolitan area. The system is managed by the Helsinki Regional Transport Authority (HSL) and operations are contracted out to VR Group, VR at least until 2031. The sys ...

to western Vantaa was completed, and with it, the Martinlaakso railway station opened. In 1991, the Vantaankoski railway station was also opened in the district, making Martinlaakso the only district in

Greater Helsinki Helsinki metropolitan area (, ) or Greater Helsinki (, ) is the metropolitan area around Helsinki, the capital city of Finland. It also includes the smaller Helsinki capital region, capital region. The terms Helsinki metropolitan area, Greater H ...

with two railway stations. Starting July 2015, the Ring Rail Line runs through Martinlaakso. It connects the district to

Helsinki Airport Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (, ) , or simply Helsinki Airport, is the main international airport serving Helsinki, the capital of Finland, as well as its surrounding Helsinki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the Uusimaa region in Finland. ...

and

Tikkurila Tikkurila (; ) is a Districts of Vantaa, district and major region of the Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Vantaa, Finland. Located in the eastern half of the Greater Helsinki, Helsinki conurbation, some north of the capital's downtow ...

. There is also a high school in Martinlaakso, named Martinlaakson lukio. The school hosts about 450 students in total and has a focus on the natural sciences and geography, as well as drama and theater.

Economy

The area around the Vantaankoski railway station acts as

business park A business park or office park is a designated area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. These types of developments are often located in suburban areas where land and building costs are more affordable, and are typically ...

land, with several companies' headquarters situated there. These include the Pöyry consultation firm and the Murata Electronics (formerly VTI Technologies) microelectromechanical engineering firm. Also in the area is the

offset printing Offset printing is a common printing technique in which the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithography, lithographic process, which ...

plant Sanomala, which prints the largest

subscription The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century. It ...

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

in the

, ''

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 the Finnish capital ...

'', as well as Finland's most popular

Swedish language Swedish ( ) is a North Germanic languages, North Germanic language from the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, spoken predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland. It has at least 10 million native speakers, making it the G ...

newspaper, ''

Hufvudstadsbladet ''Hufvudstadsbladet'' (abbr. ''HBL'') is the highest-circulation Swedish language, Swedish-language newspaper in Finland. Its headquarters is located in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The name of the newspaper translates approximately into "Jo ...

''. Martinlaakso has a

, Martinlaakson Ostari.

Notable people

Two

drivers, Mika Häkkinen and Mika Salo, were born in Martinlaakso. In addition, current Formula One star Kimi Räikkönen spent a part of his childhood in the district. Other notable people from Martinlaakso include Vicky Rosti, Jorma Hynninen, and the schlager singer Annikki Tähti. Also one of the biggest metal band in the world

Amorphis Amorphis is a Finnish progressive metal band founded by Jan Rechberger, Tomi Koivusaari, and Esa Holopainen in 1990. Initially, the band was a death metal act, but on later albums they evolved into playing other genres, including progressive meta ...

started their journey to the world maps from martinlaakso.

References

{{Vantaa Districts of Vantaa