Vantaa (Vanda in Swedish) is a municipality in Finland. It borders Helsinki, the Finnish capital, on the north and east. Other neighbouring municipalities are Espoo in the west, Nurmijärvi, Kerava and Tuusula in the north and Sipoo in the east. Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, and Kauniainen make up the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.
Vantaa with its population of 184,039 (as of 2003-12-31) is the fourth biggest city of Finland. Its main claim to fame is being the location of the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. It also hosts a science park, Heureka .
The name "Vantaa" was taken in use in 1972 when the municipality gained market town rights. The first record of the area is as "Helsinge" in 1351 when king Magnus II of Sweden granted salmon fishing rights to river Vantaa to Estonian Padise monastery.
On October 11, 2002, the city was shocked by the explosion of a bomb in the local Myyrmanni Shopping Mall, killing 7, including the bomber, a 19 year old Chemistry student from Espoo-Vantaa Institute of Technology. For more information on this issue see Myyrmanni bombing.
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