Portal:Finland

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

Template:/box-header Template:/Intro Template:/box-footer

Show new selections

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.

Vårt land - front page.jpg

Our Land, Maamme (Finnish), or Vårt land (Swedish), is the title of Finland's national anthem. Finnish law doesn't state anything about a national anthem so the song has an unofficial status.

The music was composed by the German immigrant Fredrik Pacius, with (original Swedish) words by Johan Ludvig Runeberg, and was performed for the first time on 13 May 1848. The original poem, written in 1846 but not printed until 1848, had 11 stanzas and formed the prologue to the great verse cycle The Tales of Ensign Stål ("Fänrik Ståhls Sägner"), a masterpiece of Romantic nationalism. The current Finnish text is usually attributed to the 1889 translation of Ensign Stål by Paavo Cajander, but in fact originates from the 1867 translation by Julius Krohn.

The Tales of Ensign Stål were much appreciated throughout all of Scandinavia. Up until the time of Finland's independence in 1917–18, when the song began to be recognized as specifically applying to Finland, Pacius's tune and Runeberg's text were often also sung in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Note that in the original Swedish text there is no reference to Finland (except for in verses 4 and 10, which are rarely sung), only to a country in the north, but the Finnish text explicitly refers to Finland. The poem's theme is, furthermore, remarkably similar to that of the national anthems of Sweden (Du gamla, Du fria) and Norway (Ja, vi elsker dette landet).

Some Finns have proposed that the Finnish national anthem be changed to Finlandia by Jean Sibelius, with lyrics by V.A. Koskenniemi (Finnish) and Joel Rundt (Swedish). It is also said that Pacius composed the tune in a mere fifteen minutes, with no idea that it would become so important to the people of Finland that they would eventually make it their national anthem. There are also those who simply prefer Finlandia as a musical piece, although critics call it difficult to sing.

The tune of Maamme has similarities with the German drinking song Papst und Sultan. Many believe that Fredrik Pacius intentionally or unintentionally copied parts of the tune. Another Finnish patriotic song, Sotilaspoika, composed by Pacius, also includes similarities with Papst und Sultan.

The melody of Maamme is also used for the national anthem of Estonia with a similarly themed text, Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm, My Fatherland, My Happiness and Joy (1869).

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.

Keskuspuisto.jpg
Photo credit: fi:User:Neofelis Nebulosa
The Central Park of Helsinki during the summer

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.

Martti Ahtisaari

Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (born 23 June 1937) is a former President of Finland (1994–2000), 2008 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and United Nations diplomat and mediator, noted for his international peace work.

Ahtisaari was a UN Special Envoy at the Kosovo status process negotiations, aimed at resolving a long-running dispute in Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia in 2008. In October 2008 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts". The Nobel statement said that Ahtisaari has played a prominent role in resolving many conflicts in Namibia, Indonesia, Kosovo and Iraq, among other areas.

Template:/box-header Template:/Finland news Template:/box-footer

Template:/box-header Template:/Things you can do Template:/box-footer

Template:/box-header Template:/Wikiprojects Template:/box-footer

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.

View of Helsinki
Photo credit: commons:User:Zyance

Panoramic photo shot of Helsinki, Finland.

Template:/box-header Template:/Categories Template:/box-footer

Template:/box-header

Featured articles related to Finland

Template:/box-footer

Template:/box-header Template:/Related portals Template:/box-footer

Template:/box-header Template:/Wikimedia Template:/box-footer