Nevermind what I said yesterday about Helsinki threads, Nicke. :D



As you might know, we don't have a proper old town part here, because the city wasn't founded until few centuries ago. Most of the older mid-19th century buildings can be found from near the Senate Square, where also the Cathedral locates. They're not *that* special, so I've long time wondered whether they are worth showing here.

Today, I decided to take some photos there in the afternoon.




Buildings north of Senate Square:


(many of these buildings belong to the university)





http://img127.exs.cx/img127/1981/unionk2.jpg







http://img127.exs.cx/img127/5025/unionink1.jpg








http://img127.exs.cx/img127/2207/unionk3.jpg








http://img127.exs.cx/img127/8099/unionink4.jpg














http://img127.exs.cx/img127/6352/ukko.jpg







Bank of Finland, now part of the Central European Bank

http://img127.exs.cx/img127/728/suomenpankki.jpg





Main library building of the Helsinki University


http://img127.exs.cx/img127/6633/kirjasto.jpg






Senate Square



Buildings on the eastern side of the Senate Square



http://img127.exs.cx/img127/861/senaatintori.jpg





http://img127.exs.cx/img127/2998/senaatintori2.jpg








One of the apostle statues on top of the Cathedral

http://img127.exs.cx/img127/4727/pietari.jpg




http://img127.exs.cx/img127/1830/apostle2.jpg






Overlooking Helsinki downtown

http://img127.exs.cx/img127/2797/taivasapostolit.jpg





Looking toward south from the steps of the Cathedral, a bus carrying Russian tourists has just arrived.

http://img127.exs.cx/img127/6656/senaatintori3.jpg





Buildings on the southern side of the Senate Square and two different generations of trams

http://img127.exs.cx/img127/2112/kaksratikkaa.jpg






I've got few pics left of today's photo session. I'll post 'em later.



@ ch1le

Have you managed to get out those pics from the camera? :)

1st - the buildings are in excellent condition. You may be do not have 5000 of these buildings in Helsinki, but the ones you have, you love :)
2nd - they remind very much of St. Petersburg.
3rd - your pictures, @Oberleutnant, are wonderful!

WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW !!!!!!!!!!!!!! These photos are unbelievable !!!!!!! Helsinki has the best city centre out of all the S&B capitals IMO. :okay:

Helsinki is an interesting mix of St. Petersburg & Stockholm all in one ! The architectural styles are varying and they reflect Finland's history.

Thank you so much, Gatis. :) It was your ornate Riga threads that inspired me to do something similar!

The similar look with St. Petersburg isn't a coincidence, for Czar Alexander who commissioned the new (back then "new) downtown for Helsinki from the German architect Carl Ludvig Engel definitely liked his own city!

Anyhow, thanks again, man! ;)





Guard and her lion who stand in front of Czar Alexander's statue.

http://img102.exs.cx/img102/7079/alexstatue.jpg






She, on the other hand, was standing in front of the guard. :)

http://img102.exs.cx/img102/8404/infrontstatue.jpg








Yet another apostle

http://img102.exs.cx/img102/2465/apostle3.jpg








House of the Estates

http://img102.exs.cx/img102/5473/houseoftheestates.jpg






I have no idea what the building is on which these statues are (didn't get a good photo of the building itself), but my guess it's related to law or legistlation

http://img102.exs.cx/img102/6581/thesestatues.jpg






The tiny Sofia's Street (probably my favourite street in the city). The old telephone booth is still functional. The green area in the background is a hill on which several embassies are situated.

http://img102.exs.cx/img102/1875/sofiankatu2.jpg







Thought I could get away from *NOT* showing more of the Cathedral in a thread dealing with the Senate Square, but couldn't!

http://img102.exs.cx/img102/6053/dome.jpg






Walking away from Empire, toward more typical buildings. :)

http://img102.exs.cx/img102/6362/awayfromempire.jpg



There are still few pics left, and if I can find some older pictures of other Empire (or other 19th century buildings) I'll post them here.

@ DW

Thanks, but please no vs. comparisons. (And I personally have a very different opinion about the city center thing, but that has no place here!)

Edit: But of course we are all entitled to our opinions. :) Enough of that, however.

Thanks Ober :), you made a very beautiful photos :okay:. The cathedral is gorgeous and I also like that square near it very much. The "tiny" street is lovely too (although I wouldn't call it tiny ;)).

One of some things that I was impessed when I was in Helsinki (in summer 2002), is how the old buildings in Helsinki are clean, and in what condition they are (comparing to Tallin, Riga, Vilnius or Klaipeda)

Ober, there are no embassies on that hill. It is the observatoy park. Inside the park you can find the German Church & the Observatory which was comissioned by the czar of Russia and designed by C.L. Engel. You can also find the "Svenska Normallyceum" which is a Swedish school.

^
They are all on the same hill, aren't they? :) It is true, however, that the things you mentioned are indeed closer to the Senate Square than the embassies.

http://img124.exs.cx/img124/3831/samehill.jpg



@ ex. SDmaster

Interesting, I had no idea you had been here. :) Did you go outside the capital?



@ Edd

No, thanks to you. It helps when the weather is nice as well as the objects you photograph. :) Taking too much pics of the Cathedral, or at least ordinary pics, is something what I try to avoid. I'm quite sure you all are rather tired of seeing it everywhere by now.

Great pics, OL (I know, this term "great pics" is so fcuking old fashioned and boring, but what else could I say? ;))

Helsinki really has got some nice 19th century architecture in the downtown, plus there's a great looking waterfront, that's what many cities lack, Tallinn or Klaipeda could be primary examples. And one more good thing is that everything is so nicely ordered and clean, something we still lack here in Vilnius (I suppose in other Baltic cities as well) :)

And yes, it resembles St.Petersburg, just on a smaller scale and height.

Really cool pictures Ober! Especially love the statues, I just realized how little attention I usually pay to art like that. I really gotta keep my eyes open in the future :)

Well, Ober, you know there's at least one more person who really digs this style architecture: MotherSuperior! And the goes downright bananas over buildings like these. :banana: :banana: :banana:

THANK YOU! :hug:

Most of the older mid-19th century buildings can be found from near the Senate Square, where also the Cathedral locates. They're not *that* special, so I've long time wondered whether they are worth showing here.

Not that special??? These buildings are incredible. Any German city would kill for that kind of a town center.

Beautiful photos, Ober! Thank you for taking the time to make this thread. Once again I notice how nice your cobblestone streets are:)

great pics OL!
about the pic with russian tourist arriving, grrr, dam russians, when i was there, it was soo nice and quiet (pretty early morning on senate square) suddenly my ear caught noise, russians, my head sayd eagerly... and yes... they were, malesting the Alexander statue, pretty freaky how russians can make all places worse!

About not having a big oldtown - rofl, id give half of our old town for a quarter of the nice downtown(;))buildings in Helsinki!

@ol daaam, still havent got pics

Thanks all! :)


Really cool pictures Ober! Especially love the statues, I just realized how little attention I usually pay to art like that. I really gotta keep my eyes open in the future :)

I didn't notice the details myself until I zoomed the statues with my camera. In the old times the architects put so MUCH work into small stuff like this, nowadays everything so plain.



Well, Ober, you know there's at least one more person who really digs this style architecture: MotherSuperior! And the goes downright bananas over buildings like these. :banana: :banana: :banana:

THANK YOU! :hug:

Love the bananas. :)




Not that special??? These buildings are incredible. Any German city would kill for that kind of a town center.

:D

Meh, more or less they're just situated around a small strech, not even a kilometer long. Compared to Baltic old towns, the area is small.

Yhtenäisyys? :)





Beautiful photos, Ober! Thank you for taking the time to make this thread. Once again I notice how nice your cobblestone streets are:)

No, thanks to you. I like cobblestone streets, too, though for cars they're bad thing on the long run.






great pics OL!
about the pic with russian tourist arriving, grrr, dam russians, when i was there, it was soo nice and quiet (pretty early morning on senate square) suddenly my ear caught noise, russians, my head sayd eagerly... and yes... they were, malesting the Alexander statue, pretty freaky how russians can make all places worse!

The Russians I encountered were all very nice and orderly folk. :D


About not having a big oldtown - rofl, id give half of our old town for a quarter of the nice downtown(;))buildings in Helsinki!

I'd be happy with that switch! :D Let's do it! :)


I'm so glad that Senate Square and this area survived the 1960s, unlike hundreds of other old buildings. What I don't get, however, is that it seems that here people don't understand that restoring the old facades of buildings would be possible. I'd be happy, if when renovating those ugly 1960's / 1970's buildings, they'd give them original 19th / early 20th century facades.


@ol daaam, still havent got pics

I'll postpone the meet-up thread until you get em.






Great pics, OL (I know, this term "great pics" is so fcuking old fashioned and boring, but what else could I say? ;))

Thx, I also agree about the "great pics", too. :)


Helsinki really has got some nice 19th century architecture in the downtown, plus there's a great looking waterfront, that's what many cities lack, Tallinn or Klaipeda could be primary examples. And one more good thing is that everything is so nicely ordered and clean, something we still lack here in Vilnius (I suppose in other Baltic cities as well) :)

Well, give it time. I'm sure the situation is different now than what it was 10 years ago. How about in 2014?


And yes, it resembles St.Petersburg, just on a smaller scale and height.

True. Everything is just bigger in St. Petersburg.

ohoh! :)

well OL, folk you say... ok, i belive you, i dont think they would clime it, the russians i encountered were young.. Why do you want to postpone the thread, ill just post a little later(or i can make my friend run here with the pics, for a little $ ofcourse ;)).

Wonderful photos indeed! It's a shame that about half (not a fact) of the buildings from the 19th century were demolished during the 60's and 70's when they (decision-makers) didn't esteem old architecture and built those boring business structures. One building was located on the corner of Senate square where is that Nordea (former SYP) building today. It was wrong choice to demolish that, because UNESCO hasn't accept Senate Square on their list yet cause there's a 20th century building now. However we should remember that those old buildings were mostly in bad shape in the 60's. Those that remain today are redecorated and, thank god, not planned to be demolished.

Always nice to see these old eastern style.

I've been in Helsinki once in my life and felt in love with this city.

And this red colour is fantastic:
http://img127.exs.cx/img127/2112/kaksratikkaa.jpg

what really puzzels me why Czar Alexander's statue was not demolished
despite Soviet-Finnish war (or after Finland got independence)

what really puzzels me why Czar Alexander's statue was not demolished
despite Soviet-Finnish war (or after Finland got independence)

Russia wasn't that bad for Finland - we were highly autononomic under Alexander II's administration. The statue looks good and I think it's better leave it there to remind us about those years. Also the fact is that we didn't battle against Russia but Soviet Union. There were probably more Ukrainians than Russians against us...

Nice empire style .. :-)

WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW !!!!!!!!!!!!!! These photos are unbelievable !!!!!!! Helsinki has the best city centre out of all the S&B capitals IMO. :okay:

Helsinki is an interesting mix of St. Petersburg & Stockholm all in one ! The architectural styles are varying and they reflect Finland's history.

stämmer, fast Helsingfors är bra mycket sömnigare än både Sthlm och St Petersburg.

stämmer, fast Helsingfors är bra mycket sömnigare än både Sthlm och St Petersburg.

hea lammas (:

hea lammas (:

totta kai !