Parking in Helsinki can be somewhat challenging for visitors. In this article, I will explain how the parking fee system works, as well as the best spots where you can find a place to park your vehicle, including how to find free parking in Helsinki. Parking Zones Parking fees in Helsinki are based on zones. There […]

The earliest and still working companies in the field of the applied arts were the Arabia ceramics factory (founded in 1873), and Nuutajärvi glass factory (founded in 1794). In 1928 Riihimäen Lasi organised a glass design competition. The winning designer, Henry Ericsson already shows the clean lines of modernism. The work of the 1930s, from furniture and everyday wares to graphic design, was characterised […]

In 1808, Russia invaded Finland. One year later Finland was ceded to Russia, and Helsinki was destroyed by a huge fire. More importantly, in 1812, Czar Alexander I declared Helsinki the new capital of the Grand Duchy of Finland. All this paved the way for a new town plan drawn up by Johan Albrecht Ehrenström. […]

Finland suffered great hardship during the World War II, and the post-war reconstruction effort was not completed until the 1950s. With the burgeoning growth of the city in the 1950s and 1960s, the focus of new building shifted to the suburbs. Tapiola Garden City was built among pristine forests and meadows in Espoo, west of […]

Nouveau ideas Helsinki’s architecture offers many examples of turn of the century Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) and the classicism that followed. These styles can be studied in numerous public buildings. The National Museum, the National Theatre, and Eliel Saarinen’s Central Railway Station are some of the landmarks of this period. Of the original interiors that still […]

The hectic construction that took place in the closing decades of the nineteenth century is evident nearly everywhere in central Helsinki. Four- and five-storey commercial buildings and residential blocks were erected on Pohjoisesplanadi, Bulevardi, and Erottaja, designed in a style that emulated the architecture of Vienna and Berlin. The so-called period of Eclecticism produced many […]

Finland was part of the Swedish empire until the early nineteenth century. Helsinki was founded in 1550 by King Gustavus I Wasa at the mouth of the River Vanda, to compete with the Hanseatic port of Tallinn across the Baltic, and to boost trade with Russia. In 1640, the town was shifted close to the […]

What does Helsinki have to offer visitors interested in architecture? Both architecturally and culturally, Helsinki is an idiosyncratic mix of eastern and western influence. The main theatres, museums, and concert halls are all centrally located, and many public and commercial buildings manifest outstanding architectural quality. HELSINKI IS YOUNGER and smaller than most of the other […]

Throughout Helsinki, you can find outstanding examples of a range of architectural styles from different eras. National Romanticism For instance, the Jugendstil architectural style is showcased beautifully in Helsinki if you know where to look. The romanticism of the art nouveau Jugendstil theme is expressed in the turrets, rural motifs and quirky granite detail of […]