Editing Helsinki (section)

=== Early history ===
After the end of the [[Last Glacial Period|Ice Age]] and the retreat of the ice sheet, the first settlers arrived in the Helsinki area around 5000 BC. Their presence has been documented by archaeologists in [[Vantaa]], [[Pitäjänmäki]] and [[Kaarela]].<ref name="NKent">{{Cite book |first=Neil |last=Kent |title=Helsinki: A cultural and literary history |publisher=Signal Books |year=2004 |location=Oxford}}</ref> Permanent settlements did not appear until the beginning of the 1st millennium AD, during the [[Iron Age]], when the area was inhabited by the [[Tavastians]]. They used the area for fishing and hunting, but due to the lack of archaeological finds it is difficult to say how extensive their settlements were. [[Palynology|Pollen analysis]] has shown that there were agricultural settlements in the area in the 10th century, and surviving historical records from the 14th century describe Tavastian settlements in the area.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=V.-P. Suhonen and Janne Heinonen |title=Helsingin keskiaikaiset ja uuden ajan alun kylänpaikat 2011, Inventointiraportti. Museovirasto, Arkeologiset kenttäpalvelut |url=https://www.hel.fi/hel2/kaumuseo/rakennusinventoinnit/raportit/kyl_paikkainventointi.pdf}}</ref>

[[Christianity]] does not gain a significant foothold in Finland before the 11th century. After that, a number of [[Christian cross|crosses]] and other objects related to Christianity can be found in archaeological material. According to the traditional view, the [[Kingdom of Sweden (800–1521)|Kingdom of Sweden]] made three crusades to Finland, thanks to which the region was incorporated into both Christianity and the Swedish Empire. Recent research has shown that these expeditions, to the extent that there were even three of them, were not the crusades that had been imagined. Later, the conquest of Finland was justified in terms of "civilisation" and "christianisation", and the myth of the Crusades was developed. It is more likely that it was a multidimensional combination of economic, cultural and political power ambitions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-04 |title=Keskiaikainen Helsingin pitäjä {{!}} Historia Helsinki |url=https://historia.hel.fi/fi/kaannekohdat/alkujuuret-ja-perustaminen/keskiaikainen-helsingin-pitaja |access-date=2024-02-21 |website=historia.hel.fi |language=fi}}</ref>

The early settlements were raided by [[Vikings]] until 1008, and the [[Battle at Herdaler]] was a battle between the Norse Viking leader Olav Haraldsson (later King [[Olaf II of Norway]], also known as Saint Olaf) and local Finns at Herdaler (now [[Ingå]]), not far from Helsinga, around 1007–8.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Väätäinen |first=Erika |date=2022-03-04 |title=Were There Ever Vikings In Finland Or Finnish Vikings? |url=https://scandification.com/finnish-vikings-and-vikings-in-finland/ |access-date=2024-02-24 |website=Scandification |language=en-GB}}</ref> The [[Heimskringla|Saga of Olaf Haraldson]] tells how Olav raided the coasts of Finland and was almost killed in battle. He ran away in fear and after that the Vikings did not raid the coasts of Finland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Battle of Herdaler |url=http://mcllibrary.org/Heimskringla/haraldson1.html | quote = Saga of Olaf Haraldson. See chapter 8: The Third Battle. }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Talvio |first=Tuukka |date=2002 |title= Suomen museo 2002 |location=Vammala |publisher= Suomen Muinaismuistoyhdistys |isbn=951-9057-47-1}}</ref>

Later the area was settled by Christians from Sweden. They came mainly from the Swedish coastal regions of [[Norrland]] and [[Hälsingland]], and their migration intensified around 1100.<ref name="NKent" />  The [[Swedish colonisation of Finland|Swedes permanently colonised]] the Helsinki region's coastline in the late 13th century, after the successful crusade to Finland that led to the defeat of the Tavastians.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tarkiainen |first=Kari |title=Ruotsin itämaa |publisher=Svenska litteratussällskapet i Finland |year=2010 |location=Helsinki |pages=122–125}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

In the Middle Ages, the Helsinki area was a landscape of small villages. Some of the old villages from the 1240s in the area of present-day Helsinki, such as [[Koskela]] and [[Töölö]], are now Helsinki districts, as are the rest of the 27 medieval villages. The area gradually became part of the Kingdom of Sweden and Christianity. [[King's Road (Finland)|Kuninkaantie]], or the "King's Road", ran through the area and two interesting medieval buildings were built here: {{ill|Vartiokylä hillfort|fi|Vartiokylän linnavuori}} in the 1380s and the [[Church of St. Lawrence, Vantaa|Church of St. Lawrence]] in 1455. In the Middle Ages, several thousand people lived in Helsinki's [[keep]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-04 |title=Keskiaikainen Helsingin pitäjä {{!}} Historia Helsinki |url=https://historia.hel.fi/fi/kaannekohdat/alkujuuret-ja-perustaminen/keskiaikainen-helsingin-pitaja |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=historia.hel.fi |language=fi}}</ref>

There was a lot of trade across the [[Baltic Sea]]. The shipping route to the coast, and especially to [[Reval]], meant that by the end of the Middle Ages the Helsinki region had become an important trading centre for wealthy [[peasant]]s, [[priest]]s and [[nobility|noble]]s in Finland, after [[Vyborg]] and [[Pohja]]. [[Fur]]s, [[wood]], [[tar]], [[fish]] and animals were exported from Helsinki, and [[salt]] and [[grain]] were brought to the fortress. Helsinki was also the most important cattle-breeding area in Uusimaa. With the help of trade, Helsinki became one of the wealthiest cities in Finland and Uusimaa. Thanks to trade and travel, e.g. to Reval, people could speak several languages, at least helpfully. Depending on the situation, Finnish, Swedish, Latin or Low German could be heard in the Helsinki area.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-16 |title=Keskiaikaista arkea Helsingin pitäjässä {{!}} Historia Helsinki |url=https://historia.hel.fi/fi/ilmiot/arjen-muuttuvat-kasvot/keskiaikaista-arkea-helsingin-pitajassa |access-date=2024-02-15 |website=historia.hel.fi |language=fi}}</ref>

Written chronicles from 1417 mention the village of [[Koskela]] near the rapids at the mouth of the [[Vantaa River|River Vantaa]], where Helsinki was to be founded.<ref name="NKent" />