HELSINKI SITES

                                               A Charming City

Senate Square was once a town square with a church and city hall, but its buildings were burned in 1808 during the Swedish-Russian war. Senate Square surrounded by pale yellow buildings form a unique and cohesive example of Neo-Classical architecture.  The church was rebuilt using St. Petersburg as a model.  The statue in the center of the square is of Czar Alexander II. Many university buildings are in the immediate area. The University accommodates 36,000 students, 60 percent of whom are female.  Diagonally across the square, the small blue stone building, 1757, with the slanted roof is one of only two pre-Russian-conquest buildings remaining in Helsinki,

Café Kapelli  built in 1860 has a glass tower on each end.   In the 19^th century the old fashion gazebo-like oasis was a popular hangout for intellectuals and artists. We had a fantastic lunch here and were able to sit in one of the glass towers to people-watch while we ate. Our meal was topped of with a scrumptious cloudberry dessert. I first ran into cloudberries in Newfoundland. They look like a raspberry and are about the same size, but are yellow-orange in color.

Market Square, Kauppatori, at the harbor end of the Esplanade, also is known as the Fish Market. It is a lively place and the heart of the city.  It mostly contains produce with a few souvenir and crafts kiosks intermingled. The fish stalls are on the outside facing the water. The fountain, dating to 1908, showcases a mermaid surrounded by water-spewing dolphins, and is a symbol of the city. The obelisk in the center of the market is called Czarina Stone. The double headed eagle, a remnant of imperial Russian rule, is the city’s first public monument and dates to 1835.

Esplanade Park, stretching west to the main thoroughfare Mannerheimintie, was established in the 1830s.  Running from Market Square to the Swedish Theater the boulevard has a broad expanse of trees and gardens in the middle. Small shops, department stores, and cafés abound. In the center of the wide center path of the esplanade was a series of bronze sculptures called Las Meninas.

     The sculptures looked like Spanish women dressed for a ball. Graduated in size, they held out their skirts like they were ready to enter a room or climb a flight of stairs. I understood they were part of a rotating exhibit, but I don’t know how long they were in the park.

The four people on the façade of Train Station, 1916, represent peasant farmers with their lanterns entering the capital. The building is an easily recognized landmark. The granite monument represents a transition between National Romanticism and the new Functional style. Besides domestic train travel there are three daily trips to Russia.

Helsinki’s blue and white City Hall, was designed in 1833 as a hotel. The building, located on the southern side of Senate Square, dates back to the 1700s. Until the early 1900s the City Hall Quarter was the center of commerce and social life in Helsinki. This building has housed City Hall since 1930. The mayor’s office is above the large balcony overlooking the harbor.

See posts: Rock Church 4-4-12   Sebelius monument 9-16-12   

                  Churches 7-27-11      Finnish Trivia 5-11-11

HELSINKI, FINLAND

                                            The Capitol City

       Often referred to as the Daughter of the Baltic, Helsinki, established in 1550, is a natural seaport on the Baltic Sea at the southern tip of Finland. A fountain at the waterfront square portrays this image. The city spreads out onto islands, peninsulas, and along coves where boats of all descriptions navigate. The sea is an integral part of the city. The city grew up around the natural harbor.

     The city has wide streets and many squares and parks. One of the worlds’ first planned municipalities, it is noted for its 19^th century neoclassical architecture. Finland’s busiest port city has the largest urban concentration in the country, with a combined population of about a million. With no medieval past, the city was built to supply the fortress. Today, the city is the center of Finnish politics, economics and culture.

     Helsinki is a low rise-city, but the buildings although only 4--5 stories high are enormous. The last major fire was in 1808. Brick buildings were constructed after 1920. We found the city very clean; there was no litter anywhere. Sidewalks were often granite slab, but many of the streets and squares are cobbled.

       Although smaller than other Scandinavian capitals, Helsinki is Finland’s largest city but still maintains a distinctive small-town ambiance. Instead of the ornate and grandiose buildings of many Baltic and Scandinavian cities it is city of understated functional architectural design with the tallest building reaching only 12 stories. The stone pastel yellow and blue buildings frequently have white trim and columns. The architecture traces the domination of neighboring Sweden and Russia, but reflects a reverence for nature. It is the world’s second most northern capital, after Reykjavik. Finns have perfected living with nature and exult in their unspoiled land. 

            Summer in Helsinki begins in May and lasts until mid-September. The average summer temperature for day and night is around 60 degrees. On hot days the temperature can rise to the high 80s. Warmest in July, it is slightly cooler off the coast. The Helsinki summer is bright white. During the summer equinox in late-June there are no less than 19 hours of daylight between sunrise and sunset. Temperatures cool significantly towards the end of September, and the days grow noticeably shorter with the impending arrival of winter.     

     Throughout its 450-year history, Helsinki has existed in the crosscurrents of the East and West. The colorful layers of history can be seen everywhere.

      Walking or biking is the best way to appreciate the city’s cafés, parks, market and islands. The city is very pedestrian friendly, but the drivers are not! Each morning wooden stands with colorful awnings spring to life at the bustling Market Square. Many Finns have country cottages and go there in summer. In winter the city buzzes with theater, political institutes and 20,000 university students.

      One of the main attractions in Helsinki is Suomenlinna, the mammoth fortress, built in 1748, by the Swedes. 

See post 6-10-12 Suomenlinna and more history

SENSE OF DIRECTION--SOMETIMES

                                      A Couple of Examples

               

In Koblenz, Germany we were moored at the confluence of the Mosel and Rhine Rivers.

After lunch I decided to stroll back to the point to better see the Kaiser Wilhelm statue. It only took a few minutes to stroll the cobbled promenade to my destination.

We had unseasonably hot weather on this trip all the time we were in Germany and Austria. The normal temperatures of 72-75 became mid to high 90s with several days over 100. This was a 90s+ day. My travel companion decided it was too warm for her and elected to stay aboard the boat.

             The  bronze  statue  of Wilhelm on his horse is huge. The original statue was destroyed, but replaced in 1990. Many concrete steps lead up to the monument, but I chose not to climb them. I walked all around the statue and then strolled along the Rhine River for a short way.

            It seemed as if I should be able to cut over to the Mosel  River by taking any street as the two rivers form a triangle of land. I walked through a residential area for some time, but the Mosel was elusive. I was just about ready to turn around and retrace my steps when I saw a couple of young men speaking to a girl getting into a car. It sounded like English.

            “Do you fellows speak English?” I asked.

            “Yes.”

            “I’m trying to get to the Mosel. Can’t I cut across here somewhere?”

            They started to give me directions and then said, “We’re headed that way. We’ll show you, if you like.”

            As we walked I learned they were Mormons doing their missionary work in Koblenz. It’s hard to miss them dressed in their black pants and white shirt and tie. They were most pleasant and we had a nice visit while walking. I was  grateful to the kind boys for their help.

When we reached the alley/road, which I would never have given a second glance to, I was glad they had walked along with me. I made a right turn and suddenly I was on the Mosel only a few feet away from the boat.

After a tram ride to Helsinki’s city center we decided to do a bit of site-seeing before returning to our hotel that was a bit out of the city center. Our guide had taken us on a city orientation jaunt. The  tram  stopped right in front of our hotel.

My regular travel companion has a great sense of direction so on the trips we make together I defer to her to get us around. This trip I was with a new travel companion  so I paid close attention to how the tram traveled as we planned to walk back to the hotel. Since this gal knew it all I caved on her insistence that she read the map. We started out okay, but before long nothing looked familiar and I said, “I think we missed a turn. We should have followed the trolley tracks.”

She was sure we were going the right way, so we kept walking. It was a nice walk through a neighborhood, but it still is not smart to wander around in unknown places in a new and strange city. To make a long story short we walked our bloody legs off for three miles. The streets were quiet and of course there was no car, cab or bus any where in sight.

Finally we spotted the hotel and as it turned out we had taken the VERY long way back following the waterfront. After that and a bit of annoyance on my part she spent  the rest of the trip proving to me she could read a map, and we never got lost again! The following day we walked downtown and it took us less than 15 minutes----easy when you go in a straight line!

THE SIBELIUS MONUMENT

        An Unusual Artwork

Outside of Helsinki, Finland  the Sibelius Monument is located in a lovely park at the water’s edge of a lake.   A competition, held in 1963, was won by female sculpture, Ella Hiltunun, who won over 50 other sculptors.

The 600 acid-proof stainless steel pipe sculpture shimmering in the park is dedicated to Finland’s famous composer, Jean Sibelius (1865-1957). Originally a lively debate ensued about the merits and flaws of abstract art. The steel pipes are welded together in a wave-like pattern. The purpose of the artist was to capture the essence of the music of Sibelius. It took four years to complete the 30-ton structure which measures 10.5 X 6.5 X 8.5 meters. Unveiled on September 7, 1967 it was Finland’s first abstract monument.

An effigy of Sibelius is included in the artwork. The cigar smoking composer moved from the city in 1904 and died at age 92. It is an interesting and unusual piece of artwork located in a lovely peaceful setting that certainly is easily recognizable.