HELSINKI
The Cold Capital of Finland
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We were in Finland for only 5-6 hours, but we managed to see some things.
We were brought to Helsinki by a cruise ferry from Stockholm and the first sign in the port strictly forbade us to feed the birds 😉
The port is located directly opposite the market square, in the middle of which stands a stele with a double-headed eagle and the inscription Alexandrae. An inattentive tourist might think that this stele is dedicated to one of the Emperors Alexander, but no. This is a "monument to gallantry", as the Finns call it. This column was erected in memory of the visit to Helsingfors (the then name of the capital of Finland) by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the wife of Nicholas I. According to legend, the imperial barge could not approach close to the shore and the Emperor jumped straight into the water, picked up the Empress in his arms and carried her to the shore.
The Finns were supposedly afraid of the new Emperor, but after seeing this scene with the transfer of his wife through the cold waters, they changed their attitude towards Nicholas. And eventually, where Alexandra's foot touched the ground, the city's residents erected a memorial stele.
The market square itself looks spacious, with plenty of water in the bay.
This square is called a market square because there are shopping arcades here where you can buy some tasty treats and just have a snack.
All the shops and cafes in the market are made in the same style. Wandering around them is both beautiful and delicious.
A huge number of different fish dishes, venison, which is exotic in our latitudes, and, it’s hard to believe, bear stew.
The symbol of this market is the elderly waiter, the one standing at the edge in the photo.
Right next to the Market Square is the Senate Square. Around it are the Prime Minister's office, the museum, and the National Library. And on a huge stone podium stands the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, which is the Cathedral of the city of Helsinki.
Since the church is Lutheran, the amount of gold and decorations inside is very small.
Against the backdrop of the cathedral and the monument to what is now definitely Emperor Alexander (Alexander II returned parliamentarism to the Finns), we went for a walk along the streets of the capital of Finland.
Residents of the Finnish capital try to brighten up the grey weather with bright splashes of art.
And we found a new exhibit for our collection of hatches. If you haven't looked at the samples presented in it yet, then follow this link .
We were very happy when we reached this street with identical multi-storey buildings, because it led us to the most important attraction that we wanted to visit in the capital of Finland. We really wanted to get to Temppeleaukio .
Right in the middle of a residential area of 6-7 storey buildings lies a huge stone, on which young trees occasionally break through. This stone was our final destination for our walk around Helsinki. After all, the famous Temppeleaukio is located inside it.
We walked around the rock and found the entrance that leads to the most famous Rock Church in the world.
Everyone knows that the Finns are partial to heavy music. For every 100,000 residents, they have 53 metal bands - this is the largest number in the world. It is clear that with such a density of musical groups playing rock - they, someday, had to reach the churches. Which is what happened on June 29, 2006, when the first metal mass in Finland was held in the church, during which church chants were performed to the accompaniment of heavy rock. It was the church, carved out of a huge stone, with the complex name Temppeleaukio, that became the first in the world where "metal" was played during the service.
Thanks to this, the Temppeliaukio Church gained its worldwide popularity and received a second name - the Rock Church.
At the entrance, tables with prayers in many languages of the world are displayed, which confirms the international fame of this temple. We also found a version in Ukrainian.
The main hall of the church is round in shape. The walls are left untreated so that visitors can feel the power literally carved into the stone.
To convey the atmosphere of this place, we quietly recorded a short video. See what the famous Temppeleaukio church looks and sounds like.
Since the cruise ferry wouldn't wait, we walked quickly back to the port.
On the way, we walked through the park, which probably looks very nice in the summer.
Along the way we took pictures with deer and trolls.
And they appreciated the love of Helsinki residents for animals:
1. Seagull's head near the museum
2. Sculpture of a bear family in one of the courtyards.
We didn’t miss the ferry, and even managed to pop into the market to try some (no, not bear meat), but dried reindeer meat, which turned out to be delicious, just like the capital of Finland.
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