Winter in Lapland, Finland

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Lapland  is the largest and northernmost region of Finland. The municipalities in the region cooperate in a Regional Council. Lapland borders the Region of North Ostrobothnia in the south. It also borders the Gulf of Bothnia,Norrbotten County in Sweden, Finnmark County and Troms County in Norway, and Murmansk Oblast in Russia.

Sunset in Helsinki, Finland

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       The Helsinki metropolitan area includes urban core of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen and surrounding commuter towns. It is the world's northernmost metro area of over one million people, and the city is the northernmost capital of an EU member state. The Helsinki metropolitan area is the fourth largest Nordic metropolitan area after the metropolitan areas of Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo and Helsinki city is the third biggest Nordic city after Stockholm and Oslo.

Pielisjoki Castle, Joensuu, Finland

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Originally designed by architect Ernst B. Lohrmann, Pielisjoki Castle is a protected historical building in the centre of Joensuu. It is a landmark of the city’s cultural and architectural heritage whose interior is also partly protected. The Castle has three storeys with a total interior area of 1 500 m2. The building’s name is derived from its stately location on Niskasaari Island in the middle of the Pielisjoki River. The plot on which it stands has an area of about 3 400 m2. Pielisjoki Castle was acquired by the City of Joensuu in 2003 after being previously state-owned.

Map of Finland

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Finland was part of Sweden, a legacy reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. It was then incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland, until the Russian Revolution of 1917 prompted the Finnish Declaration of Independence. This was followed by the Finnish Civil War in which the pro-Bolshevik Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic was defeated by the pro-conservative "Whites" with support from the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a kingdom, the country became a republic. In World War II, Finnish forces fought in three separate conflicts: the Winter War (1939–1940) and Continuation War (1941–1944) against the Soviet Union and the Lapland War (1944–1945) against Nazi Germany. Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and established an official policy of neutrality. It joined the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1969, the European Union in 1995, and the Eurozone at its inception in 1999.

Suomi Mapcard, Finland

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 The name Suomi (Finnish for "Finland") has uncertain origins, but a candidate for a cognate is the Proto-Baltic word *źemē, meaning "land". In addition to the close relatives of Finnish (the Finnic languages), this name is also used in the Baltic languages Latvian and Lithuanian. Alternatively, the Indo-European word *gʰm-on "man"  has been suggested, being borrowed as *ćoma. The word originally referred only to the province of Finland Proper, and later to the northern coast of Gulf of Finland, with northern regions such as Ostrobothnia still being sometimes excluded until later. Earlier theories suggested derivation from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape), and parallels between saame (Sami, a Finno-Ugric people in Lapland), and Häme (a province in the inland) were drawn, but these theories are now considered outdated.

Kemi mapcard, Finland

The main economic activity in Kemi is centred on two large paper and woodpulp mills and on the only chromiummine in Europe (which supplies the Outokumpu ferrochrome plant in Tornio). A polytechnic university of applied sciences is also situated in Kemi.

Kemi also has a claim to fame as the home of the world's largest snow castle (reconstructed every year to a different design). The snowcastle is usually located at the inner harbour of Kemi.

Another map of Finland from postcrossing

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 Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe bordered by Sweden to the west, Norway to the north and Russia to the east; Estonia lies to the south across the Gulf of Finland. Finland is part of the collective geographical group of nations Fennoscandia.

Another thank you card from a fellow postcrosser with the same card.

Finland mapcard

Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialisation, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. Thereafter, it rapidly developed an advanced economy while building an extensive Nordic-style welfare state, resulting in widespread prosperity and one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, and human development. The country has a long legacy of social progressivism, in 1906 becoming the first nation in the world to give full suffrage to all adult citizens. In 2010, Newsweek chose Finland as the best country in the world.

Map of Finland

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 From the late 12th century until 1809, Finland was part of Sweden, a legacy reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. It was then incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland, until the Russian Revolution of 1917 prompted the Finnish Declaration of Independence. This was followed by the Finnish Civil War in which the pro-Bolshevik Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic was defeated by the pro-conservative "Whites" with support from the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a kingdom, the country became a republic. In World War II, Finnish forces fought in three separate conflicts: the Winter War (1939–1940) and Continuation War (1941–1944) against the Soviet Union and the Lapland War (1944–1945) against Nazi Germany. Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and established an official policy of neutrality. It joined the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1969, the European Union in 1995, and the Eurozone at its inception in 1999.

Another card i received from a fellow postcrosser as a thank you card.

Northern Scandinavian mapcard

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 The clearest example of the use of the term "Scandinavia" as a political and societal construct is the unique position of Finland, based largely on parts of modern day Finland being a one of the four historical lands in the Swedish kingdom for hundreds of years, thus to much of the world associating Finland with all of Scandinavia. But the creation of a Finnish identity is unique in the region in that it was formed in relation to two different imperial models, the Swedish and the Russian,as described by the University of Jyväskylä based editorial board of the Finnish journal Yearbook of Political Thought and Conceptual History;

The term is often defined according to the conventions of the cultures that lay claim to the term in their own use. When a speaker wants to explicitly include Finland alongside Scandinavia-proper, the geographic terms Fenno-Scandinavia or Fennoscandia are sometimes used in English, although these terms are hardly if at all used within Scandinavia. More precisely, and subject to no dispute, is that Finland is included in the broader term 'Nordic countries'.

Lapland, Finland

Lapland  is the largest and northernmost of the regions of Finland. The municipalities in the region cooperate in a Regional Council. Lapland borders the Region of North Ostrobothnia in the south. It also borders the Gulf of Bothnia, Norrbotten County in Sweden, Finnmark County and Troms County in Norway, and Murmansk Oblast in Russia.

Flag of Finland

The blue cross flag of Finland is popular in the Finnish language as the Siniristilippu or the Blue Cross Flag largely because of the obvious reason that the flag depicts a huge Nordic cross laid across a white background. The blue color on the Finnish flag denotes the lakes and skies of Finland and the white color has been used to depict the snowy atmosphere of this Nordic country, especially the white summers that the country experiences. The flag has been highly influenced by the flag of Denmark.

Trebon, Czech Republic

Třeboň  is a historical town in South Bohemian Region of Czech Republic. Třeboň was established around the middle of the 12th century. In 1366, the House of Rožmberk/Rosenberg became owner of the estate. The period of greatest growth for the town dates to the second half of the 15th century when Petr IV of Rožmberk (1462–1523) seriously began to take care of the land. The district became famous as a fish pond farming area. From 1611 the Houses of Habsburg and Schwarzenbergwere owners of the town and the estate.

Another card from Czech Republic

A card from Czech Republic

Castles in Central Czech Republic

Teplice, Czech Republic

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Teplice  is a town in the Czech Republic, the capital of the Teplice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region. It is the state's second largest spa town(after Karlovy Vary). Teplitz was the primary seat of the Clary-und-Aldringen Austro-Hungarian princes. Teplice is located in northwestern Bohemia near the border with the German state of Saxony. It is situated in the plain of theBílina river, which separates the Ore Mountains (Czech: Krušné Hory) in the northwest from the Bohemian Central Mountains(Czech: České středohoří) in the southeast.

Buchlov Castle, Hrad, Czech Republic

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The Buchlov castle (German: Burg Buchlau) is a royal castle that, along with Bare Hill (Czech: Holý kopec) and Saint Barbara’s Chapel, belongs to the points of interest in the Chřiby mountains in southeastern Moravia, Czech Republic.

Ostrava, Czech Republic

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Ostrava  is the third largest city in the Czech Republic and the second largest urban agglomeration after Prague. Located close to the Polish border, it is also the administrative center of the Moravian-Silesian Region and of Ostrava-City District. It is part of the binational Upper Silesian metropolitan area.