Colorized Photos of Helsinki, Finland in the 1930s

Helsinki is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and the most populous urban area in Finland as well as the country's most important center for politics, education, finance, culture, and research.

Helsinki is located 80 kilometers (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia, 400 km (250 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 300 km (190 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It has close historical ties with these three cities.

After Stockholm and Oslo, Helsinki is the third largest municipality in the Nordic countries. It has one of the world’s highest standards of urban living, and one of the world’s most livable cities.

These vintage photos were colorized by Frank Hellsten that show what Helsinki looked like in the 1930s.

Horse and carriage in Helsinki, circa 1930

A Sami with his cow, 1930

Girls from the private school Privata Svenska Flickskolan at a cooking lesson, Helsinki, circa early 1930s

Longshoremen at port of Helsinki, 1930

Photographer Constantin Grünberg driving a Daimler cabriolet in Helsinki, circa early 1930s

The German airship Graf Zeppelin trying (unsuccessfully) to land in Helsinki on September 24, 1930

The kitchen of the then newly opened Elanto co-operative restaurant in Helsinki at Viipuri street 4, 1930

Two young ladies in Helsinki smoking and drinking cognac with coffee in the early 1930s

A Finnish company producing Mandarin lozenges used this procession to market their new product in Helsinki, 1930

A regatta in Helsinki in 1931

An idyllic summer day on the Pihlajasaari beach in Helsinki in 1931. The De Havilland D.H.60X Moth "Pilvetär" (K-SILD) was on display and it probably took daring sunbathers on a flight above the Helsinki archipelago

His first boat, Helsinki, 1931

The Finnish cargo and passenger ship S/S Aranda in Helsinki, 1931

The Finnish Steamship Company passenger ship Ariadne surrounded by yachts participating in a regatta off Helsinki in the summer of 1931

A traditional fishing boat in the Finnish archipelago in 1932

The engaged couple Brunberg, Helsinki, 1932

Customers at the Elanto butcher's shop at Pääskylänrinne 3, Helsinki, 1933

The Swedish ocean liner Kungsholm, photographed in Helsinki in July 1933

Enjoying the summer in Helsinki, 1934

12 m boats race in Helsinki, July 1936

Sven Salén’s May Be IV in Helsinki, 1936

The Elanto cooperative bakery shop nr. 89 in Helsinki in the 1930s

Window display of Goldfish swimwear and beach fashion in Helsinki in the 1930s

Aerial view of a regatta in Helsinki on August 28, 1939