Information about Espoo

Espoo is the second-largest city in Finland with five urban centres. Espoo is a pleasant and safe place to live, where you can find a home in an urban centre, a low-rise neighbourhood or a rural environment. The city offers a wide range of high-quality services to its residents, from schools and day care centres to recreational activities.

Espoo is known as a hub of science, art, business and research, with the Aalto University campus and VTT in Otaniemi forming its heart. Espoo is home to numerous high-tech companies, and Keilaniemi is especially known for the headquarters of international companies. Among all European cities, Espoo produces the fourth-highest number of patent applications.

Thanks to its cultural landscapes, built environments and nature areas, Espoo is like Finland in miniature, with the coast and archipelago in the south and the wilderness areas of Nuuksio National Park in the north. For a large city, Espoo still has exceptionally large and diverse natural areas of great value. In Espoo, nature is always nearby, and all our residents have a local nature area within a 300-metre walk. For example, people can relax in Central Park and enjoy its numerous trails and ski tracks.

Urban centres: Espoon keskus, Espoonlahti, Leppävaara, Matinkylä and Tapiola
Local centres: Kauklahti and Kalajärvi

Check out the Research and Statistics Unit’s latest figures on Espoo:

Espoo has 58 km of coastline, approx. 40 km of the Waterfront Walkway, 95 lakes and 165 islands (Hawaii has 137).

Area 528 km², land area 312 km², water areas 216 km².

Nature reserves and protected habitat types cover 13% of the land area.

Espoo’s history dates back to the Stone Age. The first signs of human life are from 7000 BCE. The oldest written reference to a place called Espoo is from 1431.

7000 BCE First signs of human life
1000–1200 CE Permanent village-like settlements
13th century Kuninkaantie, King’s Road
1431 The first known written reference to a place called Espoo
1432–1433 The first known mentions of local court sessions (‘käräjät’) in Espoo
1458 Vicar Henricus takes office, according to oral tradition; the names of his predecessors are not known
1480s Espoo’s stone cathedral
1492 Espoo residents commit to building and maintaining a vicarage; Espoo has become an independent parish
1556 The king of Sweden establishes a royal manor in Espoo, forcing the inhabitants of the Mankby village to relocate
1751 An official health spa is established in Espoo
1821–1823 Espoo’s stone cathedral is extended as it had become too small
1861 The Stensvik brick factory is founded
1873 Espoo’s first municipal school, Lagstad folkskola, starts operating
1903 Helsinki-Turku railway line
1920 Muurala Hospital, Espoo’s first hospital, is completed
1937 Jorvaksentie, the predecessor of the Länsiväylä motorway, is completed
1951 Helsinki University of Technology moves its campus to Otaniemi
1952 Construction of Tapiola begins
1958 Espoo residents decide to celebrate Espoo’s 500th anniversary; Espoo Museum is established in the Glims farmstead
1963 Espoo becomes a market town
1971 Maxi market opens in Leppävaara
1972 Espoo becomes a city
1976 The headquarters of Neste Oy, the first high-rise building in Keilaniemi, is completed
2004 Archaeologists discover the site of the Mankby village
2006 Exhibition Centre WeeGee opens
2008 Espoo celebrates its 550th anniversary

The Helsinki metropolitan area service map(external link, opens in a new window)

The Helsinki metropolitan area service map shows public services available in Helsinki and the rest of the metropolitan area and how to reach them. The map is compatible with mobile phones. A high-contrast version of the service map is available for users with poor eyesight. The map can also be accessed via terminal devices designed for the visually impaired.

City of Espoo map service(external link, opens in a new window)

Guide map, real estate map, aerial photos map, town plans, quaternary deposits, public services, ski tracks and nature trails.

Map and aerial view materials of Espoo

Journey Planner(external link, opens in a new window) of the Helsinki Region Transport (HSL)

Information about Espoo

Espoo in figures

Espoo's history from the past to the present

Maps of Espoo and the Helsinki metropolitan area