Espoo (Swedish: Esbo) is a city in Uusimaa, in the Helsinki
metropolitan area, on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. Its
neighboring municipalities are Vihti and Nurmijärvi in the north,
Vantaa and Helsinki in the east, Kirkkonummi in the west and
Kauniainen within Espoo. On 30 June 2020, the population of Espoo
was 291,086. It covers an area of 528.03 km² (1 January 2020), of
which 312.32 km² is land, 17.91 km² is inland water and the
remaining 197.80 km² is sea. Espoo is part of the Helsinki
Metropolitan Area, whose municipalities have waste management and
public transport as their statutory co-operation obligations. HSY is
responsible for waste and water management in the area and HSL for
public transport. In addition to Espoo, the wider Helsinki region
metropolitan area includes 13 municipalities in Uusimaa. The urban
structure of Espoo is strongly connected to Helsinki and other
surrounding municipalities. Almost all of its population lives in
the Helsinki city center area.
Espoo is the second largest
municipality in Finland in terms of population. The population of
Espoo passed Tampere at the beginning of 1991. Espoo is also known
as the hometown of Nokia, the energy company Fortum, the game
company Rovio, which developed Angry Birds, and several other
high-tech companies, Nuuksio National Park and the Otaniemi campus
area, where six Aalto University universities are located. Espoo is
also home to the largest landfill in the Nordic countries, the
Ämmässuo waste treatment center, which stores waste from
approximately 1.2 million inhabitants and industry in the Helsinki
metropolitan area.
At the end of 2004, slightly less than a
third of Espoo's land area was zoned. Espoo has quite a lot of
forest as a city. There are about 2,000 ha of forest in the zoned
area, and there are also unplanned forest areas. There are several
lakes in the northern part of Espoo, the largest of which are
Bodominjärvi, Nuuksio Pitkäjärvi, Pitkäjärvi, Loojärvi, Velskola
Pitkäjärvi, Saarijärvi, Matalajärvi, Siikajärvi and Lippajärvi.
There are a total of 73 lakes of at least one hectare in Espoo.
The Espoo area has been inhabited for at least 8,000 years. The
settlements of the prehistoric period are known from the Stone Age
as well as the Early Metal Age. The oldest historical mention of
Espoo dates back to 1431. Espoo became independent from Kirkkonummi
as its own parish in the 15th century. The first municipal meeting
of Espoo was held in 1868 and the first representative meeting of
the municipal council in 1910. Espoo became a township in 1963 and
the city in 1972.
Espoo Day is celebrated on 27 August.
The name Espoo probably refers to the river Espoonjoki (Swedish:
Esboån, originally Espå / Espåå), which in turn is thought to have been
named after the groves that lined the river (the Swedish word for grove
is äspe). The name first appears in 1431. Originally, the current
Gumbölenjoki was named Espoonjoki after the village located along the
river. When a church was built on the outskirts of the village of
Södrik, the river flowing from Kirkkojärvi to Kauklahti was named
Espoonjoki.
The crown on the coat of arms of Espoo refers to the
Espoo royal manor and the duty to provide horseshoes to the parish
priest located along the royal road. In many places, the roads in Espoo
retain the medieval alignment of the Royal Road. This most important
historical road in Finland, the Suuri Rantatie between Turku and
Viipuri, was built in the 1340s or 1350s.
The total area of Espoo is 528 square kilometers, of which 312 square kilometers (59%) are land and 216 square kilometers are water bodies. The archipelago and coastal zone of South Espoo changes to a rugged terrain with abundant lakes north of the lush river regions and the fields and cultural open spaces of Central Espoo. In places, the lake area of North Espoo resembles Lake Finland. Most of the Nuuksio lake ridge is located in the Espoo area, and in places it continues towards Vihti. The largest lakes in Uusimaa, Lohjanjärvi and Hiidenvesi, are located to the west of the ridge.
The rock types and structures of Espoo's rugged and rocky topography
were formed 1880–1650 million years ago. The current environment has
been particularly affected by the last ice age – the continental glacier
retreated from the area of present-day Espoo about 13,000 years ago.
The first to be exposed below sea level were the high hills of North
Espoo, such as Mustakorvenkallio. The abundant silt rocks on the coast
and in the archipelago were created by the consumption of continental
ice; grooves can be seen on their surfaces that follow the direction of
the continental ice. The icebergs that broke away from the continental
glacier have in turn carried with them several boulders, including the
Kunnarla boulder, the Soukka boulder and the Suomenoja boulder.
The main rock types in Espoo’s bedrock are gneisses, migmatites,
granites, gabbros, amphibolites and mica schists. Rare spheroidal slate
is found in Nuuksio, and the deposit is also of international value. In
many places, thick clay has been deposited on the bedrock, and fields
have once been cleared in the clay valley depressions. The thickness of
the clay beds was mainly formed during the Baltic glacial lake and
Yoldiamer phases. The bedrock has had a significant impact on the
traditional Espoo natural landscape: steeply rising cliff walls rise
from gently undulating fields. The elongated lakes of northern Espoo are
located in the bedrock’s fractured valleys. The formation of the bedrock
has determined the major shapes of the coast, such as Espoonlahti and
Laajalahti. Due to land uplift, swamping of forest land and overgrowth
of lakes, bogs and peat deposits have formed on the clay layer in
places.
The Espoo sea area is a relatively narrow strip between the
Kirkkonummi and Helsinki sea areas. The southern part of the sea area,
or the outer archipelago, has a maximum depth of a few tens of metres.
The shipping route between Helsinki and Stockholm cuts through the
outermost parts of the sea area, and here and there are small treeless
rocky islets washed by the sea. Trees grow on the largest islands of the
outer archipelago. These include, among others, the former fortress
island of Kytö. The smallest islands are low rocky islets, such as
Stenskär. They are important nesting sites for birds, and many of them
are protected. In summer, patches of meadows may bloom on them. Closer
to the Espoo coastline are, among others, Stora Herrö, Pentala,
Kopplorna and Lehtisaaret. The islands have a large number of holiday
homes, and are sometimes called the intermediate archipelago.
The
islands of the inner archipelago are larger and more lush, they have
marinas, buildings and the islands closest to the mainland also have
permanent settlements. The inhabited islands of the Suvisaariston
archipelago are connected by land and form their own city district,
which is, however, quite rural in appearance.
The sea area
protrudes inland in several places as bays, the largest of which are
Espoonlahti in the west and Laajalahti in the east. The coastal zone
between them includes Nuottalahti, Haukilahti and Otsolahti. The bays
are shallow and there are many islands, especially in Espoonlahti. The
islands of Laajalahti are mainly located in the administrative area of
Helsinki. The largest of the Espoo peninsulas is Soukka, which is
fragmented into an archipelago in the south. There is therefore little
view of the open sea. The nearest ship ports are located in Helsinki,
while Espoo has several small boat ports on its shores, the largest
being Suomenoja Marina. Water traffic off Espoo mainly consists of
motorboats of various sizes, jet skis and ferries serving the
archipelago.
In terms of natural geography, Espoo's coastal
waters are divided into four sea areas, which are Espoonlahti,
Suvisaaristo-Lauttasaari and Seurasaari, starting from the west. The
fourth sea area is Helsinki-Porkkala, south of the previous ones. The
area of the Espoonlahti sea area is 19.2 square kilometers. In its
northern part is the Espoonlahti nature reserve. The western part of the
sea area is in the Kirkkonummi area. The area of the
Suvisaaristo-Lauttasaari sea area is 48.5 square kilometers. It extends
from the shores of Stora Herrö and Pentala to the West Harbour of
Helsinki. The area of the Seurasaari sea area is 13.1 square
kilometers. In its northwestern part is the Laajalahti nature reserve.
The sea area is mostly in the Helsinki area. The area of the
Helsinki-Porkkala sea area is 400.5 square kilometers. It extends from
the eastern shore of Porkkalanniemi to Suomenlinna and Santahamina. The
area includes Kytö, Stenskär, Knapperskär and Gåsgrund.
The length of Espoo's coastline is approximately 58 kilometres and
there are 165 islands in front of it. The coastline is diverse with
landlocked bays, reedbeds, sandy beaches, cliffs and marinas. There are
mostly single-family home plots bordering the sea in Westend, while
elsewhere in Espoo the beaches are mainly for public use. The so-called
Rantaraitti has been built on the shores of Espoo, the route of which
covers almost the entire coastline. In Kivenlahti there are cliffs, a
man-made coastline and sandy beaches side by side.
The land in
Espoo rises by about a quarter of a metre every hundred years and the
moist uplifted shores gradually become marshy.
Espoo has six Natura 2000 sites: Bånberget wilderness area,
Espoonlahti–Saunalahti (partly on the Kirkkonummi side), Laajalahti bird
water, Matalajärvi, Nuuksio (partly on the Kirkkonummi and Vihti side)
and Vestra bogs, groves and old forests (partly on the Vantaa side).
Espoo’s forests are largely spruce and pine-dominated broadleaf forests,
with mixed deciduous trees. Lush and diverse groves are found in places,
with an abundance of hardwoods, such as oak. The ecological core area of
southern Espoo is the Central Park, which consists mainly of two
forest massifs: Harmaakallio and Bosmalm.
The most famous and
popular nature destination in Espoo is the Nuuksio National Park,
located on the northern Espoo lake plateau, which also extends to
Kirkkonummi and Vihti. In addition to the continuous forest area and
freshwater basins, Nuuksio has small bogs and meadows. The area also has
lush, forest-like stream valleys.
The highest point in Espoo,
Mustakorvenkallio, is located in Velskola, on the southwest side of Lake
Saarijärvi, 114 meters above sea level and more than 40 meters higher
than the water level of Lake Saarijärvi. There are also relatively high
places right near the coast, such as Soukan Kasavuori, which rises to a
height of 44 meters above sea level.
There are over a hundred lakes and ponds in Espoo, 73 of which are
over a hectare in size. The lakes in Espoo were formed when the land
began to rise slowly after the continental ice melted, leaving water in
depressions in the bedrock. The oldest lakes in Espoo are Kalatoin, Iso
Majaslampi, Orajärvi and Pieni Majaslampi, which are located over 80
metres above sea level. At that time, the current Baltic Sea was in the
so-called Yoldia Sea phase, which had been created when the level of the
Baltic glacial lake dropped by tens of metres in a short time. Nuuksio
gradually expanded into part of the continent and new lakes formed as
the sea level fell. Development stopped for about one and a half
thousand years when the ancient Baltic Sea area turned into Lake
Ancylus. Its surface was initially about 60 metres above current sea
level. Lake Ancylus formed the salty Litorina Sea when the current
Danish Straits began to open. The surface of the Litorina Sea was about
34 metres above current sea level. At that time, almost all the lakes in
northern Espoo had become separated from the sea. Only Nuuksio
Pitkäjärvi was still a narrow, fjord-like bay. The shore of the Litorina
Sea remained in place for quite a long time after the land uplift slowed
down. Rocky ridges on the hillsides and cliffs remain from the ancient
shore at that time. Nuuksio Pitkäjärvi only became a lake about 5,000
years ago. About 4,000 years ago, the land had risen to the point that
Bodominjärvi, Lippajärvi and other basins in central Espoo also changed
from shallow bays into lakes.
Most of Espoo's lakes are located
north of the Turunväylä, especially in the Nuuksio lake plateau. There
are three basins called Pitkäjärvi: Pitkäjärvi, Nuuksio Pitkäjärvi and
Velskolan Pitkäjärvi. The largest lake in Espoo is Bodominjärvi, with an
area of 4.1 km² and an average depth of 4.3 meters. The maximum depth
of Lake Pitkäjärvi in Nuuksio is 18 metres and the average depth is
6.5 metres, and its 60 km² catchment area contains dozens of lakes and
ponds. There are few lakes in southern Espoo. In Kaitaa there is a
shallow six-hectare Hannusjärvi and on Pentala Island there is a small
Pentalanjärvi.
Since the freshwater basins south of Salpausselkie
were formed when the ends of ancient sea bays were narrowed into lakes
as a result of land uplift, they remained relatively few islands. One of
the few islands in Espoo's inland waters is the fifteen-hectare island
of Saarijärvi, right on the border with Vihti. The rocky and
pine-forested island was once proposed to be called Partiosaari, but the
idea fell through.
The differences in elevation between the
surfaces of Espoo's lakes are remarkably large. The highest is Pieni
Majaslampi, 97 metres above sea level. The nearby Saarijärvi is located
about 25 meters below Pientä Majaslampe. Due to the height differences,
in the streams between the nearby water basins, even small rapids are
created in the spring when the snow melts.
Espoo's water bodies
mostly belong to the coastal area of the Gulf of Finland (81) and
within that, to either the Mankinjoki or Espoonjoki river basins. Both
rivers flow into Espoonlahti. The northernmost water bodies belong to
the Vantaanjoki water body (21), and they flow into
Vanhankaupunginselkä.
Espoo has many streams, such as the Gräsanoja, Espoonjoki, Mankinjoki, Monikonpuro and Suomenoja. They have formed long gorges in the bedrock. The Lukbäcken, which flows from Luukinjärvi to Bodomjärvi, meanders strongly at the Nettaa stream valley. The Gumbölenjoki also meanders and has developed ravines along its course, such as the Lukbäcken.
The location in the northern latitudes between the vast Eurasian
continent and the even wider Atlantic Ocean causes very rapid
fluctuations in Espoo's weather. The height of the terrain above sea
level also significantly affects the climate: the people of Espoo live
mostly south of Lake Bodominjärvi, where the terrain only rises more
than 50 meters above sea level in places. There is no real highland in
northern Espoo either: the terrain there is just over 100 meters above
sea level at its highest point.
Espoo is located in the
hemiboreal zone, or the oak zone. The most significant factor affecting
the climate locally is the Gulf of Finland, which has a cooling effect
in spring and a warming effect in autumn. Coastal convergence increases
precipitation as you move inland. Nuuksio's local climate differs from
the rest of Espoo: the terrain rises in Nuuksio from almost all
directions, which causes forced rise in air currents, which in turn
affects cloudiness. The Nuuksio ridge has the highest rainfall in
Finland. In addition, the climate of Nuuksio is affected by the rugged
terrain, which causes friction that increases rainfall. In 1981, the
rainfall in Nuuksio was measured at 1,109 millimeters, which is a
Finnish record. In southern Espoo, the Suurpelto area is slightly cooler
than its surroundings.
Although Espoo is the second largest city
in Finland, its meteorological averages have not been measured. At the
weather stations of neighboring municipalities, the average annual
temperature in the period 1981–2010 was approximately 5–6 °C. The
coldest is in January–February and the warmest is in July–August. The
temperature differences between the seasons decrease towards the coast.
Right on the coastline and in the archipelago, the temperature rarely
rises above 30 °C and rarely drops below –20 °C. The average annual
rainfall is 600–700 millimeters. The driest season is in spring and the
rainiest is in August and October to December. The most rainy days are
in autumn.
The Finnish Meteorological Institute has eight
observation stations in Espoo: Friisilä, Kivenlahti, Kytö, Leppävaara,
Luukki, Nuuksio, Otaniemi and Tapiola. The weather stations are Nuuksio
and Tapiola, which were put into use in the 2010s. The Nuuksio station
is located on a sparsely populated and rugged lake ridge at 90 meters
above sea level. The Tapiola weather station is located on the Gulf of
Finland coast in a suburb at 6 meters above sea level.
On average, snow cover is reached in Espoo after Christmas and disappears around the turn of March–April. Snow conditions vary more on the coast than inland. In some years, the snowy winter may last up to five months, and sometimes the entire winter may be almost snowless. Low pressure mainly arrives from the southwest, bringing with it mild air that keeps the snow cover thin or melts it completely.
The prevailing wind direction sector in Espoo is south–west, as in Finland in general, meaning that the wind is mostly from the southwest. Local winds in the coastal region are largely influenced by the sea breeze, which can independently create its own wind field. It may change the direction and speed of the prevailing winds near the coast several times during the day. Especially in spring and early summer, the sea breeze keeps the archipelago and coastline cloudless, while far inland there is a white cloud wall, which sometimes causes drizzle.
The air quality in Espoo is relatively good despite the weakening effect of traffic. Sand is used to prevent slipperiness, especially on footpaths, which causes a significant dust problem in spring. Studded tyres also increase the amount of harmful particles. Espoo's air quality is measured in Leppävaara and Luukki. There are also mobile measuring stations. Alder and birch pollen worsens air quality in spring, while grasses and ragweed in summer.
Espoo is located near the 60th parallel, so the length of the day
varies considerably. At the summer solstice, it is about 19 hours and at
the winter solstice, about 6 hours. The angle of the sun in summer is at
its highest at 53.4° and in winter, 6.6°. Espoo is one of the
northernmost places where there is pleasant twilight even during the
summer solstice, meaning that the sun is at least 6 degrees below the
horizon at the darkest moment of the night. There is no real darkness at
that time. During the winter solstice, the light moment is short,
especially when there are few hours of sunlight in November–January.
The shadows cast by buildings are long even in summer. At their
shortest, they are about 75% of the height of the building at noon on
the summer solstice. For example, the length of the shadow of
Niittyhuipu is about 63 meters at that time. At noon on the winter
solstice, the length of the shadow is as much as 8.8 times the height of
the building. For example, the shadow of the Tapiola central tower is
about 430 meters long at that time.
Espoo's official time is
defined according to the 30th longitude east. The city is located more
than five degrees west of it, so solar noon is more than 20 minutes
later than at the 30th longitude.
Espoo belongs to plant growth zone 1b. The thermal growing season lasts on average just over half a year. The growing season usually starts in April and ends in October. Sometimes it continues until early November. The sum of the effective temperature of the thermal growing season is over 1,400 °C/day, and annual fluctuations are large.
About half of the 240 bird species in Finland that breed nest in
Nuuksio. The most common birds are the chaffinch and the willow warbler.
Other bird species include the common chaffinch, the loon, the tawny
owl, the warbler and the short-eared owl. The endangered lark and the
spinner nest in the rock pines. Common mammals include the elk, fox,
bat, hare and white-tailed deer. Rare species include the lynx, flying
squirrel and roe deer. Muskrats can be found in southern Espoo at the
Suomenoja bird pond.
The aquatic fauna is rich. Otters can be
found in the streams of Espoo and Baltic ringed seals on the islets. A
speciality of the Espoo Bay marine area is the endangered sea urchin
beetle. The only known Finnish occurrence of the small, blue-green and
extremely rare beetle, the brook whelk, is in the Glomsinjoki riverside
grove.
The Suomenoja bird basin is of national importance for
birds. The endangered mudskipper, black-throated grebe and greylag duck
are found there, among others. The most common and famous species is the
black-headed gull. Swans are a common sight in the Espoo archipelago and
white-tailed eagles can also be seen.
The Espoo area has been inhabited for at least 8,000 years. Stone Age
settlements are known from Nuuksio, Peringi and Bosmalmi, among others.
Early Metal Age settlements have been discovered in Mikkeli and Morby,
which dates back to the pre-Roman Iron Age, the latter of which is a
significant site for research into livestock farming. The Iron Age
objects found in Espoo mainly originate from ancient Savo-Karelian
costumes, and women in the area wore jewellery similar to those in the
Mikkeli region. The place names bear traces of the region's early
settlement. For example, the original name of Soukka was Soukko. Judging
by the place names, most of Espoo's original villages were founded by
people from Häme. Based on pollen analysis, there was a farming
settlement in the Suomenoja region at the beginning of the 11th century,
and by the 12th century at the latest, there were Häme houses on the
shores of Lake Kaukjärvi, or present-day Pitkäjärvi, in Kauklahti,
Karvasmäki, Bemböle, Haapalahti and Finnevik.
As a result of the
Swedish colonization of Uusimaa, people from Sweden also moved to Espoo
from the 13th century. The first Swedes probably came to the area via
present-day Kirkkonummi, first to the area around Esboby, from where
they continued northeast to Kauklahti, Bemböle and Vanhakartano. At a
later stage, immigrants may also have come to Espoo directly from
Sweden, probably from Sveanmaa. Espoo's Swedish-language nomenclature
dates from this period. The immigrants Swedishized the Finnish-language
names of the Häme people; for example, Kaukalahti became Köklax and
Karvasmäki became Kasvasbacka. Current Finnish names may also have
changed from their originals in this process. For example, the place
name Välli was changed by immigrants to the Swedish form Vällskog, from
which the current Finnish name Velskola derives. Overall, Swedish
immigration was so strong that the area became Swedish, and possibly the
entire area, with the exception of the northernmost part, and possibly
the Haapalahti-Mäkkylä region.
Espoo became its own parish in the
15th century. It had previously been a chapel parish under the
Kirkkonummi parish. A separate municipal administration was established
in 1868. Espoo Cathedral is located along the Espoonjoki River, and its
oldest parts date from the 1480s. It is one of the oldest surviving
buildings in the Helsinki metropolitan area, although the Helsinki
parish church is slightly older. The centre of Espoo has grown around
the church and the nearby railway station.
In 1920, Espoo was a
rural municipality with fewer than 9,000 inhabitants, and 70 percent of
the inhabitants were Swedish-speaking. 75 percent of the entire
population supported themselves by agricultural work. Kauniainen was
separated from the municipality of Espoo in 1920, but the border between
Espoo and Kauniainen was not confirmed until the late 1940s. Espoo began
to grow strongly in the 1940s and 1950s, and it quickly developed from
an agriculturally-dominated rural municipality into a commercial,
service and industrial city. Espoo's location next to Helsinki attracted
people working in the capital to move to the growing neighboring city.
Even before World War II, there were several suburban areas near the
coastal railway stations, such as Leppävaara and Kilo, as well as the
industrial area of Kauklahti. After the new Jorvaksentie (the
predecessor of the current Länsiväylä) was completed, small houses began
to be built in its vicinity, especially in Westend. After the war, many
front-line soldiers' houses were also built in Espoo. However, the major
population growth did not really begin until the early 1950s, when the
Housing Foundation began building Tapiola and at the same time,
construction of the new campus of the Finnish University of Technology
began in the neighboring Otaniemi.
The Espoonlahti Bay, on the
border of Espoo and Kirkkonummi, was also the border of the
Soviet-occupied Porkkala military base between 1944 and 1956. A large
part of Kirkkonummi, but also a strip of Espoo's water area and a few
islands there, belonged to the base area. The Kauklahti railway station
in Espoo, located near the border of the Porkkala area, became a tightly
guarded border station between Finland and the Soviet Union. The land
connection to the Porkkala area ran via the Kivenlahti Bridge. During
the military base, part of the western coast of Espoo had been evacuated
of its inhabitants and the windows of the houses in the border villages
on the Soviet side had to be covered in the evenings. The windows of the
trains passing through the Porkkala rental area were covered with
hatches from the outside during the passage.
In the early 1960s,
there were plans to divide Espoo into three municipalities. The eastern
parts, which were already quite densely populated at the time, were
intended to form the townships of Tapiola and Leppävaara, while the
western and northern parts of the municipality, which were still
somewhat rural at the time, would have remained as a rural municipality
called Espoo. However, the division was not implemented, and the entire
municipality was transformed into a township in 1963 and into a city in
1972. The city's new administrative center, Espoo Center, was built in
the 1970s around Espoo Railway Station and the old grey stone church of
Espoo. Between 1950 and 2000, Espoo's population grew from 22,000 to
210,000. At the same time, Espoo changed from a predominantly
Swedish-speaking municipality to a predominantly Finnish-speaking one.
Espoo's population exceeded 300,000 in the summer of 2022.
The cultural landscape of Espoo began to take shape from the
cultivations cleared in river valleys and bay edges exposed by land
uplift. The largest cultivation areas were already in the parish map
drawn up in the mid-18th century in the same form as at the end of the
20th century. Dense, small building groups began to develop on the edges
of the cultivations, and in some places also on the hills raised in
their midst. To the north of Lake Bodominjärvi lies the extensive
landscape ensemble of Snettans and Röylä, in the southern part of which
is Backby Manor. To the west of Espoo Manor is a significant landscape
ensemble that extends towards Kirkkonummi. In northern Espoo, a large
cultivated landscape extends around Velskola Manor.
To the
northeast of the centre of Espoo is the rather extensive
Bembölen–Karvasmäki cultural landscape ensemble and to the south is the
clearly defined landscape ensemble of Söderskog. On the shores of Lake
Pitkäjärvi in eastern Espoo, the Gammelgård village landscape is quite
well preserved.
The most historically valuable landscape entity
is the Espoonjoki Valley near the cathedral. The steeply sloping valley
was probably cleared for farming in ancient times. In addition to the
church, the entity includes numerous buildings of cultural and
historical significance.
A typical Espoo agricultural village was
small: two or three houses in an asymmetrical cluster on a village hill.
The village of Gammelgård was a notable exception: in 1540 there were
thirteen main houses. As a result of the small number of houses, the
large-scale subdivision in the second half of the 18th century had
little impact on Espoo's traditional cultural landscape. The Espoo style
of construction remained conservative for a long time: low semi-detached
residential buildings were common until the end of the 19th century. The
August 1890 hurricane brought about a change, when thousands of fallen
logs were used to build houses in the style of the era.
Manor
houses began to emerge when one of the village houses grew larger than
the others and developed into a riding stable, which eventually ended up
in the ownership of the gentry. Almost every manor house in Espoo is
thus located on the site of an old peasant village. Espoo Manor was
founded at the turn of the modern era, but the majority of Espoo manor
houses were formed without official foundation in the second half of the
18th century. Suomenlinna officers bought farms near Helsinki, which
gave rise to so-called officer manor houses, such as Bodom, Hovgård and
Träskända. The late Carolingian appearance of the main buildings of the
manor houses has been best preserved in Bodom and Backby. The Alberga
and Kilo manor houses represent the stylistic ideals of the late 19th
century, while Träskända best represents the early 20th century.
The owners of the manors sold their lands to the municipality and
construction companies in the 20th century. The manors of southern Espoo
have largely been left behind by settlement and roads. The medieval
Gräsa Manor was located in the Olari area, which was the only so-called
old manor house in Espoo. Gräsa is considered a model example of the
rapid and profound change in the cultural landscape. The main building
of the Hagalund and Matinkylä manors has survived, while almost nothing
remains of the Frisans and Finno manors. Soukanpohja is the only manor
in southern Espoo that has survived as a unified building group. It also
forms a small agricultural landscape in the middle of the new settlement
that emerged in the late 20th century.
The impact of the road on
the cultural landscape of Espoo is undeniable. Villages grew up along
the Royal Road and the road brought cultural influences with it. The
landscape of rural Espoo began to change slowly at the end of the 19th
century, when villa settlements began to develop on the coast due to
regular steamship traffic. Vasikkasaari is home to a well-preserved
summer villa environment from the beginning of the 20th century. Many of
the villas are known in particular for their famous architects or
builders, such as Villa Carlstedt, designed by Lars Sonck.
Extensive villa settlements also developed in Kilo and Leppävaara. The
Karhusaari villa was built in southeastern Espoo in the 1890s, and Villa
Rulludd in Kaitaa. The villa settlement of the Suvisaariston archipelago
began in the 1860s on Tallholm Island, before which the area had mainly
been fishing communities. In terms of architectural design, the most
valuable of Espoo's villas is Villa Miniato in Soukka.
The
completion of the Pasila–Karjaa railway in 1903 significantly changed
Espoo's cultural landscape. Industrial plants began to rise near the
stations, bringing with them residential areas for the working class.
The first suburban settlements also arose along the railway: pneumonia
was a common cause of death for Finns at the beginning of the 20th
century, and Espoo's dry and bright slopes with pine trees were seen as
ideal for preventing and curing the disease. Espoo was considered a
healthy alternative to Helsinki, but the new settlements that came from
the east were quite diverse and the new residential areas differed
greatly from one another. Large and impressive buildings were built in
Kauniainen, while more modest ones were built in Leppävaara.