About Kauniainen

The idyllic garden town of Kauniainen still abides by the same principles according to which it was established a century ago: a modern, people-oriented, functional and developing community, where interpersonal interaction forms a significant part of everyday life.

Kauniainen is one of the four towns in the metropolitan region. It is situated 15 kilometers west of the capital Helsinki and surrounded by the neighboring town Espoo.

The shopping center of Kauniainen has been built around the railway station. There you will find the Town Hall, the Library, the two churches as well as shops and other kinds of service. Surrounding the center are forests and nature trails, parks, schools, sport grounds and the villas and small houses which make Kauniainen the nice garden town it is today.

The birth and history of Kauniainen are rooted in refined late-nineteenth-century European community planning and the ideal of the garden city. In the early 1900s, the property company Ab Grankulla bought up some land around Grankulla railway station. Villas soon began to be built and models for garden city design were sought for instance in Stockholm and Copenhagen. The aim was to form a modern community in which the proximity of nature and the related outdoor activities, good community spirit and excellent public transport connections would make for an optimal living environment.