Eastern neighbourhoods

Kontula muraalit
Englisch

Widen your scope of the city by hopping on the metro. The eastern neighbourhoods outside the downtown area paint a bigger picture of Helsinki. Along the metro line, you can find both post-war suburbs with their apartment houses and old malls, as well as protected forest areas and a picture-perfect archipelago. Here you will meet both the youngest and the most international Helsinkians. The eastern neighbourhoods are expanding rapidly and in the future they will transform into a more central part of the city. So, head east and you will see the Helsinki of tomorrow.

The Pet Shop Boys told us to go west, but we're telling you now: Go east. Ride the subway and you'll find encouraging graffitis hailing the mighty east flickering through the windows.

East Helsinki is the city's widest and most diverse area.

The fork-like metro line connects different suburbs and neighbourhoods both technically and in spirit. East Helsinki is an attitude – "that you're not a fuddy-duddy", freely translated from a quote by a proud East Helsinki author. The East has life in all its colours.

The story of East Helsinki is a story of a growing city. The great annexation of Helsinki in 1946 increased the size of the City of Helsinki eight-fold. The eastern districts of Herttoniemi, Roihuvuori, Laajasalo, Vartiokylä, and Mellunkylä were added at the same time to the rural municipality of Helsinki. In 1966, Vuosaari was added to this list.

The suburban areas of the city were developed with post-war dedication and high speed. Finland was experiencing a strong wave of rural-to-urban migration, and many people were tired of the tight space of the downtown area and hoped for better living conditions. The first suburbs were born and the allotment gardens were an additional and well-welcomed addition to the suburban promise.

The first suburbs were small residential communities in park-like surroundings with a shopping mall as the central point. Later on, element apartment houses were built in the suburbs and the scale of the zones grew. East Helsinki includes suburban variation from the green 50s idyll of Herttoniemi to the mass-constructed 60s and 70s residential complexes of Kontula and Vuosaari. 

Event more interesting than its history is the present day and future of East Helsinki. The area is one of the fastest-growing areas of the whole city. Many suburbs have become equivalents of small cities in population. Construction efforts continue, triggering even more liveliness in the neighbourhoods and linking the zones more seamlessly to the downtown areas.

East Helsinki has the highest population of young people in the city. The migration trend is turning Helsinki more international, which is very visible in the streets, shops, and restaurants of this side of town. The east has vibrance, but also calm. Many of the most beautiful shorelines, islands, and old forests are found just a metro ride away. 

Show image on the left
Off
Show created/updated
Off
Show in search dropdown
Off
Teaser text
Widen your scope of the city by hopping on the metro. The eastern neighbourhoods outside the downtown area paint a bigger picture of Helsinki. So, head east and you will see the Helsinki of tomorrow.