Newsweek in plain Finnish | Sunday 26.7.2026

Alvar Aalto’s architecture. Garden Helsinki. Wildfires in Spain and France. Road accidents. Crab season.

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Alvar Aalto’s architecture

Finlandia House, Paimio Sanatorium and Lakeuden Cross are included in Alvar Aalto’s Aalto Works complex.

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The Aalto Works series includes, for example, Finlandia Hall in Helsinki, Paimio Sanatorium and Lakeuden Cross in Seinäjoki. Photo: Anna Aaltonen / Yle, Annika Holmbom / Yle, Pasi Takkunen / Yle

First, news about Alvar Aalto’s architecture.

The works of Finnish architect Alvar Aalto have been accepted into the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The list includes 13 sites designed by Alvar Aalto together with Aino and Elissa Aalto. These include, for example, Finlandia Hall in Helsinki, the Aalto Campus of the University of Jyväskylä, Paimio Sanatorium, and the Sunila Factory residential area in Kotka.

The series called Aalto Works is Finland’s 8th World Heritage Site.

Only particularly valuable cultural and natural sites that are intended to be protected and preserved are accepted for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Garden Helsinki

Petteri Orpo speaks in Parliament.

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The government gave a statement to Parliament last Tuesday about the decision to support the Garden Helsinki arena. Photo: Henrietta Hassinen / Yle

Then the news about the Garden Helsinki arena. There’s been a lot of talk about it for a couple of weeks now.

Parliament interrupted its summer recess last Tuesday when the government gave it a statement on the decision to support the Garden Helsinki arena project.

The government promised 35 million euros for the arena last spring. However, the government withdrew the support last Monday.

The MPs wanted to know why the government initially promised money to build the arena.

After the debate, the MPs voted on the government and the Prime Minister. The government received the confidence of the Parliament by a vote of 101-90.

Wildfires

Firefighters are extinguishing a forest fire.

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Firefighters extinguish a wildfire near Madrid. Photo: Cesar Manso / AFP

Then the topic is the wildfires in Spain and France.

Large wildfires are being extinguished in Spain and France.

Spain has declared a state of emergency due to the fires in areas such as Madrid and Toledo. In France, a fire is spreading in the southwest of the country near the city of Bordeaux.

More than 300,000 people have already been evacuated, meaning they have had to leave their homes to escape the wildfires.

Road rage

Soutujoentie covered by heavy rain Multialla.

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The Soutujoentie road collapsed in Multia, Central Finland, due to heavy rain. Photo: Jussi Lindroos / Yle

It rained so heavily in Finland last weekend that many driveways collapsed.

Several roads were closed due to landslides a week ago on Sunday. The landslides were particularly severe in the Tampere region and Central Finland.

Heavy rain creates holes, especially on gravel roads, and softens the road surface.

Crab season

There are several live crabs in a plastic container. There is a partially visible label with text on the top edge of the container.

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The crab season lasts until the end of October. Photo: Arttu Kuivanen / Yle

Finally, news about crab season.

The summer crab season has begun. Crab catches are expected to be normal this year. Approximately 3.5 million crabs will be caught in Finland during the season.

The crab season continues until the end of October.

This was Uutisviikko in plain Finnish - see you again next week!