Ruoholahti is a quarter in Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

, part of the Länsisatama

Länsisatama

West Harbour is a cargo and container harbour in the Jätkäsaari district of Helsinki, Finland, in the southwestern part of the Helsinginniemi peninsula. The Länsisatama harbour area also includes the Munkkisaaren laituri pier on the west side of Munkkisaari, used by cruiseliners.The Länsisatama...

 neighbourhood and Kampinmalmi

Kampinmalmi

Kampinmalmi is a district in southern Helsinki, Finland. It consists of five neighbourhoods: Etu-Töölö, Lapinlahti, Kamppi, Ruoholahti and Jätkäsaari....

 district. The name means Grass Bay and is pronounced ˈruoholɑhti. Ruoholahti is located in the southwestern part of the central city area of Helsinki, close to the Lauttasaari

Lauttasaari

Lauttasaari is an island and neighbourhood of Western Helsinki , about 3 kilometres west of the city centre....

 island, and it functions as the principal connection between the Helsinki city centre and the city of Espoo

Espoo

Espoo is the second largest city and municipality in Finland. The population of the city of Espoo is . It is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area along with the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. Espoo shares its eastern border with Helsinki and Vantaa, while enclosing Kauniainen....

 to the west. Ruoholahti is inhabited by approx. 3300 people. The Länsisatama

Länsisatama

West Harbour is a cargo and container harbour in the Jätkäsaari district of Helsinki, Finland, in the southwestern part of the Helsinginniemi peninsula. The Länsisatama harbour area also includes the Munkkisaaren laituri pier on the west side of Munkkisaari, used by cruiseliners.The Länsisatama...

port is also situated in Ruoholahti.

History

The Ruoholahti area was created in the 1910s by connecting several small islands with earth fill. Its purpose was to accommodate the above mentioned port. In the 1940s there also developed a small industrial district whose most notable buildings were the cable factory

Kaapelitehdas

Kaapelitehdas is a famous building in Ruoholahti, Helsinki, near the bridge to Lauttasaari....

 of Nokia

Nokia

Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...

 (which later became a cultural centre when Nokia gave up cable manufacturing and moved on to telecommunications) and the headquarters of the Finnish government-owned alcohol enterprise Alko

Alko

Alko is the national alcoholic beverage retailing monopoly in Finland. It is the only store in the country which retails beer over 4.7% ABV, wine and spirits. Alcoholic beverages are also sold in licensed restaurants and bars but only for consumption on the premises...

. In the 1960s the Länsiväylä

Länsiväylä

is a motorway in the Greater Helsinki area of Finland, mainly at the Helsinki conurbation. It is part of the Finnish national road 51. The road begins in Ruoholahti in western Helsinki and continues west through the island of Lauttasaari and then across the city border to Espoo. The Länsiväylä road...

highway was built through Ruoholahti to connect Helsinki to southern Espoo.

The area started changing significantly in 1991 when the construction of a new residential and office area began. The Helsinki Metro

Helsinki Metro

The Helsinki Metro , is the metro system in Helsinki, Finland. It is the World's most northern metro system, and currently the only one in Finland. The system was opened to the general public on 2 August 1982 after 27 years of planning...

 was extended to Ruoholahti

Ruoholahti metro station

Ruoholahti metro station is a station on the Helsinki Metro. It serves the district of Ruoholahti in Helsinki's southwestern city centre. Ruoholahti is the westernmost metro station in Helsinki, and will continue to be until the extension to Espoo, known as Länsimetro under construction is...

 in 1993. A short canal was built through the area to reinforce the image of a maritime district. Nokia returned to the area in 1999, when a new research centre was opened.

Future

In future years, the area is planned to continue expanding when the coal stockpiles adjacent to the Salmisaari coal plant are moved to underground storage, leaving more space for urban construction. Also the moving of the Länsisatama shipping container port to Vuosaari

Vuosaari

Vuosaari is a neighbourhood in the City of Helsinki, Finland. It is located by the sea in East Helsinki, and with its area of 15.38 km² is geographically the largest district in the city. It also has two Helsinki Metro stations, Rastila and Vuosaari...

 gives the opportunity to build more housing and office buildings.

External links

• Location of Ruoholahti on Placeopedia
  Placeopedia
  Placeopedia was an online gazetteer which integrates Google Maps images and Wikipedia encyclopedia articles using user-generated content...