Helsinki Senate Square
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The Senate Square (in Finnish Senaatintori, in Swedish Senatstorget) presents Carl Ludvig Engel's architecture as a unique allegory of political, religious, scientific and commercial powers in the centre of Helsinki.
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[edit] 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 Finland and now houses the offices of the Prime minister of Finland and the cabinet. until 1907 when the Eduskunta building was completed. The main University building, on the opposite side of the Senate Square, was constructed in 1832.
The Helsinki Cathedral 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 Nicholas - dominates the Senate Square, and was finalized twelve years afters Engel's death, in 1852.
[edit] Statue of Alexander II
A statue of Emperor Alexander II is located in the center of the square. The statue, erected in 1894, has built to commemorate his re-establishing the Diet of Finland in 1863, and initiating several reforms increasing 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 Finland from 1899 onwards, the statue became a symbol of quiet resistance, with people of Helsinki protesting to the decrees of Nicholas II leaving flowers to at the foot of the statue of his grandfather, then know 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 Mannerheimintie, near Eduskuntatalo). 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.
[edit] Contemporary role
Today, the Senate Square is one of the main tourist attractions of Helsinki. Various art happenings, ranging from concerts to snow buildings to controversial snow board happenings, have been set up on the Senate Square.
Digital carillon 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.
[edit] Trivia
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- 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'.
- Filming on the square: American actor and film director Warren Beatty filmed scenes from his film Reds (1981) on the square - Helsinki playing the role of St. Peterburg - but without showing the Cathedral. Snowy night scenes from Jim Jarmusch's film Night on Earth (1991) were filmed on the square, but given the impression that there is a traffic roundabout at the centre.
