Westend, Espoo

Westend is a district of the city of Espoo, Finland. It is one of the wealthiest residential areas in Finland and is situated ten kilometers from the center of Helsinki and two kilometers from Tapiola.

History

Before Southern Espoo was heavily developed in the latter part of the 20th century, the village of Hiirala (Swedish: Hirböle) occupied the area. There are also old trenches in the area, built during the First World War for defending Helsinki from a possible German invasion.

See also

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Espoo

Espoo (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈespoː]; Swedish: Esbo, [ˈɛsbo]) is the second largest city and municipality in Finland. The population of the city of Espoo was 268,924 as of 30 September 2015. It is part of the Finnish Capital Region, and most of its population lives in the inner urban core 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. The city is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, in the region of Uusimaa.

Other bordering municipalities of Espoo are Nurmijärvi and Vihti in the north, and Kirkkonummi in the west. The national park of Nuuksio is situated in northwestern Espoo.

Espoo encompasses 528 square kilometres (204 sq mi), of which 312 km² (120 sq mi) is land.

Espoo has several local regional centers. Espoo is thus divided into seven major areas (Finnish: suuralueet, Swedish: storområden): Vanha-Espoo (with administrative center), Suur-Espoonlahti, Pohjois-Espoo, Suur-Kauklahti, Suur-Leppävaara, Suur-Matinkylä, and Suur-Tapiola.