The Old Student House ( fi, Vanha ylioppilastalo, colloquially called ''Vanha'', "the old one"; sv, Gamla studenthuset) is the former student house of the Student Union of the University of Helsinki, located in central

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, near the crossing of Aleksanterinkatu and

Mannerheimintie Mannerheimintie ( sv, Mannerheimvägen), named after the Finnish military leader and statesman Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, is the main street and boulevard of Helsinki, Finland. It was originally named Heikinkatu ( sv, Henriksgatan), after Rob ...

Description

The building was designed by

Axel Hampus Dalström Axel Hampus Dalström (22 March 1829 – 19 March 1882), was a Finnish architect. He was the director of the National Board of Public Building from 1869 to 1882.

and was completed in 1870. It represents the

neo-renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...

style of architecture. The student house was originally built at the edge of the city centre, so the students' parties would not disturb other citizens. The construction was funded by a collection from the citizens. In dedication of this collection, the façade of the building bears the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

inscription ''Spei suae patria dedit'' ("Fatherland gave to its hope"). Nowadays, the student house is located in the inner centre of Helsinki, near the Three Smiths Statue. Near the student house is located the New Student House, completed in 1910. At that point the Old Student House got its current name. In 1938 there was a discussion about whether the Old Student House should be dismantled to give place for a new business house. On November 25, 1968, one day prior to the Student Union's centennial celebration, a large group of students occupied the Old Student House which was designated as the location of the festivities. There was a fire in 1978 that badly damaged the building. Old Student House contains many famous

Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling an epic story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and ...

themed works of art, such as Akseli Gallen-Kallela's mural ''

Kullervo Rides to War ''Kullervo Sets Off for War'' ( fi, Kullervon sotaanlähtö) is a painting by Akseli Gallen-Kallela from the year 1901. He painted the subject in tempera painting (89 × 128 cm) and as a fresco (355 × 687 cm) which is located in the m ...

'' and Robert Wilhelm Ekman's 390 cm tall painting ''Väinämöinen's Play''.

Choirs and orchestra

Three choirs and one symphony orchestra rehearse in the Music Hall of Old Student House: *

Akademiska Sångföreningen The Academic Male Voice Choir of Helsinki ( sv, Akademiska Sångföreningen, lit=The Academic Song Association, ), abbreviated AS, colloquially also known as , but without lexical meaning. (), is a Finland-Swedish academic male-voice choir in H ...

* YL Male Voice Choir * Helsinki University Symphony Orchestra * Akademiska Damkören Lyran

Gallery

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Helsinki Renaissance Revival architecture School buildings completed in 1870 Kluuvi