The
Senate Square (in
FinnishFinnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. It is one of the official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a Finnish dialect, are spoken...
Senaatintori, in
SwedishSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the coast and on the Åland islands. It is to a considerable extent mutually intelligible with Norwegian and to a lesser extent with Danish...
Senatstorget) presents
Carl Ludvig EngelCarl Ludvig Engel, or Johann Karl Ludwig Engel was a German architect known for his neoclassical style. He had a great impact on the architecture of Finland in the first part of the 19th century....
's architecture as a unique allegory of political, religious, scientific and commercial powers in the centre of
HelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the southern part of Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, by the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it the most populous municipality in Finland by a wide margin...
,
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
.
The Palace of the Council of State was completed on the eastern side of the Senate Square in 1822. It served as the
Senate of FinlandThe Senate of Finland combined the functions of cabinet and supreme court in the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1816 to 1917 and in the independent Republic of Finland from 1917 to 1918....
and now houses the offices of the
Prime minister of FinlandThe Prime Minister is the Head of Government of Finland. The Prime Minister is currently married to the president, and is appointed by the President, who is the Head of State...
and the
cabinetA Cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or Executive Committee.- Overview :...
.
until 1907 when the Eduskunta building was completed.
The
Senate Square (in
FinnishFinnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. It is one of the official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a Finnish dialect, are spoken...
Senaatintori, in
SwedishSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the coast and on the Åland islands. It is to a considerable extent mutually intelligible with Norwegian and to a lesser extent with Danish...
Senatstorget) presents
Carl Ludvig EngelCarl Ludvig Engel, or Johann Karl Ludwig Engel was a German architect known for his neoclassical style. He had a great impact on the architecture of Finland in the first part of the 19th century....
's architecture as a unique allegory of political, religious, scientific and commercial powers in the centre of
HelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the southern part of Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, by the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it the most populous municipality in Finland by a wide margin...
,
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
.
Construction
The Palace of the Council of State was completed on the eastern side of the Senate Square in 1822. It served as the
Senate of FinlandThe Senate of Finland combined the functions of cabinet and supreme court in the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1816 to 1917 and in the independent Republic of Finland from 1917 to 1918....
and now houses the offices of the
Prime minister of FinlandThe Prime Minister is the Head of Government of Finland. The Prime Minister is currently married to the president, and is appointed by the President, who is the Head of State...
and the
cabinetA Cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or Executive Committee.- Overview :...
.
until 1907 when the Eduskunta building was completed. The main
UniversityThe University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, then part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...
building, on the opposite side of the Senate Square, was constructed in 1832.
The
Helsinki CathedralHelsinki Cathedral is an Evangelical Lutheran cathedral of the Diocese of Helsinki, located in the centre of Helsinki, Finland. The church was originally built as a tribute to the Grand Duke, Nicholas I, the Tsar of Russia and until the independence of Finland in 1917, it was called St...
on the northern edge of the Senate Square was Engel's lengthiest architectural project. He was working on it from 1818 until his death in 1840. The Helsinki Cathedral — then called the Church of St. Nicholas — dominates the Senate Square, and was finalized twelve years afters Engel's death, in 1852.
Statue of Alexander II
A statue of Emperor
Alexander IIAlexander II Nikolaevich , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor, or Czar, of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
is located in the center of the square. The statue, erected in 1894, was built to commemorate his re-establishment the
Diet of FinlandThe Diet of Finland , was the legislative assembly of the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1809 to 1906 and the heir of the powers of the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates....
in 1863, as well as his initiation of several reforms that increased Finland's autonomy from Russia. The statue comprises Alexander on a pedestal surrounded by figures representing the law, culture and the peasants.
During the
Russification of FinlandThe Russification of Finland was a governmental policy of the Russian Empire aimed at the termination of Finland’s autonomy...
from 1899 onwards, the statue became a symbol of quiet resistance, with people of Helsinki protesting to the decrees of
Nicholas IINicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Duke of Finland, and claimed the title of King of Poland...
leaving flowers at the foot of the statue of his grandfather, then known in Finland as "the good czar".
After Finland's independence in 1917, demands were made regarding the removal of the statue, and later, a suggestion was made that it should be replaced with the equestrian statue of Mannerheim (currently located along
MannerheimintieMannerheimintie , or Mannerheimvägen , named after the Finnish military leader and statesman Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, is one of the most famous streets in Helsinki, Finland. It was originally named Heikinkatu , after Robert Henrik Rehbinder, but was renamed after the Winter War...
, near
EduskuntataloThe Eduskuntatalo , or Riksdagshuset , is the building in which the Parliament of Finland meets. It is located in the Finnish capital of Helsinki.-History:...
). Nothing came of either of these suggestions, and today the statue is one of the major tourist landmarks on the city, standing as a monument to Finland's relationship with Imperial Russia.
Contemporary role
Today, the Senate Square is one of the main tourist attractions of Helsinki. Various art happenings, ranging from
concertA concert is a live performance, usually of music, before an audience. The music may be performed by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band. Informal names for a concert include "show" and "gig"...
s to
snowSnow is a type of precipitation in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by external pressure. Snowflakes...
buildings to controversial snow board happenings, have been set up on the Senate Square.
Digital
carillonA carillon is a musical instrument that is usually housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
music (in Finnish
Senaatintorin ääni) is played daily at 17:49 (5:49 PM) at the Senate Square. The optimal listening position is at the proximity of the Square's central monument, the bronze statue of Alexander II.
The broad flight of steps on the north side of the square, in front of the cathedral are so steep that unsuspecting visitors approaching the square from the north often assume that they are approaching a cliff edge: because the steps do not come into view until one is at the very top step, one experiences a moment of vertigo. Locals even refer to the point as the 'cliff edge.'.
American actor and film director
Warren BeattyHenry Warren Beatty is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director.-Early life and education:Beatty was born Henry Warren Beaty in Richmond, Virginia's, Bellevue neighborhood...
filmed scenes from his film
Reds (1981) on the square — Helsinki playing the role of St. Peterburg — but without showing the Cathedral. The title sequence of John Huston's
The Kremlin LetterThe Kremlin Letter is an American noir film directed by John Huston, starring Richard Boone, Orson Welles, Max Von Sydow, Bibi Andersson, Patrick O'Neal and George Sanders. It was released in February 1970 by 20th Century-Fox...
(1970) was filmed over the square at night, including the silhouette of the Cathedral. Snowy night scenes from
Jim JarmuschJames R. "Jim" Jarmusch is an American independent filmmaker. Jarmusch is a major exponent of independent cinema, particularly that of the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
's film
Night on Earth (1991) were filmed on the square, but given the impression that there is a traffic roundabout at the centre. The opening sequence of the music video for
Sandstorm"Sandstorm" is a 12" and a CD single by the Finnish DJ Darude. The single was released by record label, Neo in 1999 and re-released in 2000.Sandstorm was the best selling 12" worldwide in 2000.-Mainstream popularity:...
by
DarudeVille Virtanen , better known by his stage name Darude is a trance producer and DJ from Eura, Hinnerjoki, Finland. Debuting in 1995, he released the hit single "Sandstorm" in late 1999 and subsequent album Before the Storm...
was filmed on Senate Square, prominently featuring the Cathedral in the background.
Several buildings near the Senate Square are managed by the government real estate provider,
Senate PropertiesSenate Properties is a Finnish unincorporated state-owned enterprise, which manages a major part of the real estate assets owned by the Republic of Finland.-History:...
.
External links