Sopot is a seaside town in Eastern Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. The name is thought to derive from an old Slavic word sopot meaning “stream” or “spring”. read more…
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 596,233, making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is located some 400 kilometres (250 mi) east of Stockholm (Sweden), 300 kilometres (190 mi) west of St. Petersburg (Russia) and 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn (Estonia). Helsinki has close historical connections with these three cities. read more…
Allinge-Sandvig is a small town on the northern coast of the Baltic island of Bornholm in Denmark. Its population is 1,633. It was part of the former municipality Allinge-Gudhjem. read more…
Sandhamn (“Sand Harbour”) is a small settlement in the central-peripheral part of the Stockholm Archipelago in central-eastern Sweden, approximately 50 km (30 mi) east of Stockholm. Sandhamn is located on the island Sandön (“Sand Island”), which is, however, colloquially referred to as Sandhamn. read more…
Helsingborg is a town and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality in Skåne County. It had 97,122 inhabitants in 2010. Helsingborg is the centre of an area in the Øresund region of about 320,000 inhabitants in north-west Scania, and is Sweden’s closest point to Denmark, with the Danish city Helsingør clearly visible on the other side of the Øresund about 4 km to the west. read more…
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. Tallinn occupies an area of 159.2 km2 (61.5 sq mi) and has a population of 432,000. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, 80 km (50 mi) south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn’s Old Town is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is ranked as a global city and has been listed among the top 10 digital cities in the world. The city was a European Capital of Culture for 2011, along with Turku in Finland. Tallinn is the financial and business capital of Estonia. The city benefits from the high level of economic freedom, liberal economic policy and has a highly diversified economy with particular strengths in information technology, tourism and logistics. Daily Mail called Tallinn one of world’s seven smartest cities. Tallinn is internationally renowned as a tourist destination, receiving more than 1.5 million visitors annually. The number of visitors has been growing steadily over the past decade. Tallinn Passenger Port is one of the busiest cruise destinations on the Baltic Sea, serving more than 520 000 cruise passengers in year 2013. From year 2011 regular cruise turnarounds in cooperation with Tallinn Airport are organised. read more…
Kronborg is a star fortress situated near the town of Helsingør (immortalized as Elsinore in Shakespeare’s Hamlet) on the extreme northeastern tip of Zealand at the narrowest point of the Øresund, the sound between Denmark and Sweden. In this part, the sound is only 4 km wide, hence the strategic importance of maintaining a sea fortress at this location commanding one of the few outlets of the Baltic Sea. The castle has for centuries been one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites list on November 30, 2000. Along with the fortress Kärnan, Helsingborg on the opposite of Øresund, it controlled the entranceway to the Baltic Sea. read more…