Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Against the odds, Finland had remained independent, but at a heavy price: the territori-
al losses of 1940 and 1944 were ratified at the Peace of Paris in February 1947, and heavy
war reparations were ordered to be paid to the Soviet Union. Many in Finland are still bit-
ter about the loss of these territories. Nevertheless, the resistance against the might of
the Red Army is something of which Finns are still proud.
TIMELINE
120,000 BC
Present-day Finland is inhabited, as finds at Susiluola cave, near Kristinestad, indicate, but its
residents, of whom we know little, are eventually evicted by the last ice age.
10,000 BC
The retreat of the ice age's glaciers reopens the northern lands to human habitation. The forests
and lakes that replace the ice provide tempting hunting and fishing grounds.
3000 BC
The appearance of distinctive 'Comb Ware' pottery indicates the presence of a new culture that
seems to come from the Volga region to the east, perhaps bringing a pre-Finnish language with it.
AD 100
The Roman historian Tacitus refers to the 'Fenni', most likely the Sámi, in the first known historical
mention of the area. He isn't complimentary about their lack of permanent housing.
1155
The first Christianising expedition is launched from Sweden against the pagan Finns. Further ex-
peditions follow, and Finland is effectively under Swedish dominion for the next six centuries.
1323
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