Erottaja (; ), ; ; ), is a public square near the centre of

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. Erottaja square has been selected as the official geographic " zero point" of Helsinki. Distances to all other cities in Finland are measured starting from here.Traffic customer service of the

Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment The Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centres, , ; , ) are local offices of the Finnish government placed in each of the regions of Finland. Finland has a total of 15 ELY Centres, which are tasked with promoting ...

in Helsinki, 18 March 2015. In practice, the square functions as the meeting point of central Helsinki's two famous streets,

Esplanadi Esplanadi (), colloquially known as Espa, is an esplanade and urban park in downtown Helsinki, Finland, situated between the Erottaja square and the Market Square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for tr ...

and

Mannerheimintie Mannerheimintie () (previously known as ''Henrikinkatu'', ''Läntinen ja Itäinen Henrikinkatu'', ''Läntinen ja Itäinen Heikinkatu'', ''Turuntie'', ''Läntinen viertotie'', ''Heikinkatu''), colloquially known as Mansku, named after the Finni ...

. The square is the western endpoint of Esplanadi, with the eastern endpoint being at the

market square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...

. Mannerheimintie, the longest and most famous street in Helsinki, begins at Erottaja and continues northwest, past the districts of

Töölö Töölö (; , formerly spelled ''Thölö'') is the collective name for the neighbourhoods Etu-Töölö () and Taka-Töölö () in Helsinki, Finland. The neighbourhoods are located next to the city centre, occupying the western side of the Helsin ...

and Ruskeasuo, until finally merging with a highway leading outside the city. The starting points of both Finnish national roads, the

Tampere Highway Finnish national road 3 ( or '; ) is a Highways in Finland, highway in Finland between Helsinki and Vaasa via Hämeenlinna and Tampere. The road is long and it is part of the European route E12. of the highway is motorway, connecting Helsinki ...

( E12) and the Lahti Highway ( E75), are located approximately in Erottaja. The name 'separator' originates from 19th century, when Erottaja separated actual city centre from Uusimaa ()

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

. There was also a minor

bus station A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can st ...

at Erottaja. Very few lines started or ended there, most of them started or ended at the

Kamppi Center Kamppi Centre (, ) is a complex in the Kamppi district in the centre of Helsinki, Finland, designed by various architects, the main designer, however, being Juhani Pallasmaa. It is said to be Helsinki's new downtown commercial and residential ...

, at Elielinaukio or at Rautatientori. Helsinki route 20 (Erottaja -

Lauttasaari Lauttasaari (; ) is an island in Helsinki, Finland, about west of the city centre. Together with some surrounding unpopulated small islands, Lauttasaari is also a district of Helsinki. With 23,226 residents as of 2017, the island is Finland's se ...

) buses were a familiar sight for decades at Erottaja. Bus station as well as a well-known 'nakkikioski' (a kiosk selling sausages and other fast food) disappeared when the square was renovated in late 2010's. The

Swedish Theatre The Swedish Theatre () is a Swedish-language theatre in Helsinki, Finland, and is located at the Erottaja () square, at the end of Esplanadi (). It was the first national stage of Finland. History The first theatre in Helsinki, '' Engels Te ...

( Swedish: ''Svenska teatern'', Finnish: ''Ruotsalainen teatteri'') is located at Erottaja, at the western edge of the

park. A sculpture named ''Usko toivo rakkaus'' (Swedish: ''Tro hopp kärlek''), meaning "Faith hope love", by Eva Lange, was erected in front of it in September 2019.Pajuriutta, Satu
Bussiasemasta ja nakkikioskista tuttu Erottaja on nyt paraatiaukio, joka muistuttaa Suomen ja Ruotsin yhteiselosta
''

Helsingin Sanomat , abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of the Finnish capital ...

'' 12 September 2019. Accessed on 1 August 2021. Erottaja is also famous for being the most expensive lot in the original Finnish edition of

Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

, even more expensive than Mannerheimintie (the second most expensive lot). This has earned the square fame even outside Helsinki.

References

Squares in Helsinki {{SouthernFinland-geo-stub