Helsinki: A Cultural and Literary History

Front Cover
Signal Books, 2004 - History - 256 pages
Helsinki is one of the world's most northerly capitals, but it is by no means a city frozen in northern wastes. Situated along the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, magnificent lakes and forests reach into Helsinki's urban heart, a rare event in today's world of suburban sprawl. The city's natural beauty, emphasized by parks and islands, is matched by an extraordinary cultural richness, the result of fruitful foreign influences and home-grown creativity. The Finnish capital offers a spectacular display of architecture and design: from the neoclassical magnificence imposed by a Russian Tsar to the modernist chic of Nordic functionalism. Neil Kent explores the history and culture of the Daughter of the Baltic, a small fishing village that became a powerhouse of design and technology. Tracing its dramatic past of conflict and conflagration, he explores the evolution of a national, and urban, identity through architecture, art and writing. tango, he explains why Helsinki is a distinctive mix of tradition and innovation. * City of Architects and Designers: Engel, Tsar Alexander I and the creation of an imperial metropolis; Alvar Aaalto and the birth of the modern; functionalism and high-tech innovation. * City of Music and the Arts: Sibelius, the national composer; conductors and performers; art galleries and installations; National Romanticism and the Nordic aesthetic. * City of Hospitality: Art Nouveau hotels and cafes; sauna culture; famous visitors and refugees: Lenin and Hitler; multicultural Helsinki and a history of migration.
 

Contents

Suomenlinna Fortress 46 Russian Stronghold 49 The Cantonist
56
CHAPTER FOUR
69
Folk Revival 72 Awakening of SwedishFinnish Identity 75 Finnish
79
CHAPTER FIVE
89
St Nicholas 92 Spiritual Diversity 94 Holy Trinity Church 95
95
Minority 101 Muslim Helsinki 102 Religious Freedoms 102
102
163 Schools 165 Helsinki University 166 Helsinki Polytechnic
163
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