FINLAND

FINLAND / SUOMI.

200th Birthday of Johan Vilhelm Snellman.
Map of the first railway connection with St. Petersburg.
Last stamp in a minisheet of 4, issued on 11.01.2006.
Face value: 0.65 euro.
Design: Päivi Vainionpää.
Printed by Joh. Enschedé, Haarlem, Netherlands.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 300,000 copies.
Size: 42 x 24.5 mm.

Catalogs
- AFA No. 1768.
- LaPe Finland No. 1773.
- Michel No. 1784.
- Scott No. 1252d.
- StampWorld No. 1792.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 1750.

The first rail line in Finland, between Helsinki and Hämeenlinna, was opened on March 17, 1862. An extension from Riihimäki to the new Finland Station in Saint Petersburg was opened in 1870. However, the Finnish and Russian rail systems remained unconnected until 1912. Who promoted the connection Helsinki-St. Petersburg was Johan Vilhelm Snellman. The Ilmarinen locomotive, represented on the stamp, was the first used on this line.