Finns is
among the three oldest folk high schools in Finland,
situated in an old cultural setting in the little
village of Kauklahti in the southwestern part of
Espoo. The school was founded in 1891, and the
oldest buildings in the area are from the same
time. They constitute a fine example of old Finnish
wooden architecture. The accommodation areas are
built in the 1980s and 1990s.
The name Finns itself is not connected in any
way to the nationality of the Finns. Rather, the site is named after a farmer,
Vincentius Jacobsson, who lived here in the 1500s. He fought the efforts of the
then Swedish king, Gustav Vasa, to incorporate his farm up on the hill with the
surrounding Espoo Manor, which was erected as a local stronghold of the Swedish
kingdom. Incredibly enough, he succeeded in keeping his farm intact in his lifetime.
The locals had various troubles pronouncing the name Vincentius - “Finnsius....Finns”.
And so the hill was named after the stubborn and independent farmer. The students
at the folk high school are generally called “Finnsians”.
Finns embraces the teachings of Grundtvig, the Danish founder of the folk high
school movement. The main aim of the folk high school is to cater for the educational
needs of the Swedish-speaking population within the framework of adult education.
Address:
Finns Folk High School
Finnsbacken 4
FIN-02780 ESBO
phone: +358-9-811800 finns@svefol.net
Long
courses
Youth and leisure instruction,
120 credits
(upper secondary level)
Creative course (pottery and
painting), 1 year course
Philosophy, 1 semester
Multicultural Communication and
Conflict
Management course, 1 semester
Multiform courses
Basic medicine, 2 years
Homeopathy for animals, 2 years
Shorter courses
Together - tradition of 20
years of offering courses in
Swedish and Finnish for students
and pupils from the other language
group. Age span 11-18.
Courses in art history, cultural
history and handicrafts
Summer High School, mainly
offering prep courses in languages
and human sciences. Start summer
2005.
Multicultural Communication
and Conflict
Management course, 1 semester
The
Swedish Institute for
Distance Studies
- DISTISworks alongside
Finns FHS, offering about
80 courses for
independent studying.
Distis also
provides extracurricular
and completing courses to the students at the folk high school and to the rest
of the folk high school network as well.
