Keisarinnankivi (

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

for "the stone of the empress") is a monument located 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 ...

Kaartinkaupunki Kaartinkaupunki (, ) is a neighbourhood in the southern part of Helsinki, 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 ...

in central

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, ...

. The monument, designed by

Carl Ludvig Engel Carl Ludvig Engel or Johann Carl Ludwig Engel (3 July 1778 – 14 May 1840) was a German architect whose most noted work can be found in Helsinki, which he helped rebuild. His works include most of the buildings around the capital's monumental ce ...

, is the oldest public monument in Helsinki. It was revealed with celebrations on the name day of Nikolai on 18 December 1835 to commemorate the first visit to Helsinki by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of

Emperor of Russia The emperor and autocrat of all Russia (, ), also translated as emperor and autocrat of all the Russias, was the official title of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarch from 1721 to 1917. The title originated in connection with Russia's ...

Nicholas I. The monument was erected at the spot where the imperial couple stepped ashore from the steamship ''Ischora'' on arrival in Helsinki on 10 June (

Old Style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, they refer to the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries betwe ...

: 29 May) 1833. The monument was funded by a national collection of funds and by a grant given by the Imperial Senate of Finland. The monument is an

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

made of red

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

, topped with a gilded

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

sphere. On top of the sphere is the symbol of Imperial Russia, a

double-headed eagle The double-headed eagle is an Iconology, iconographic symbol originating in the Bronze Age. The earliest predecessors of the symbol can be found in Mycenaean Greece and in the Ancient Near East, especially in Mesopotamian and Hittite Empire#icon ...

. The eagle sports the lion coat of arms of the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

on its chest. The gilded eagle was designed by the avian painter

Magnus von Wright Magnus von Wright (13 June 1805 – 5 July 1868) was a Swedish-speaking population of Finland, Swedish-Finnish painter and educator. In addition to bird illustrations, he was also known for his landscapes. He was one of the four sibling Von Wri ...

. The southern side of the monument bears a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

inscription and the northern side bears a

one, both explaining the purpose of the monument. At the time of the erection of the monument, it was unusual to use Finnish in such an official connection, as the official and main language of Finland at the time was

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

. Finnish was only made an official language in Finland in 1883. The inscriptions read: *IMPERATRICI ALEXANDRAE METROPOLIN FINLANDIAE primum adventanti die XXIX Majj X Junii MDCCCXXXIII *KEISARINNA ALEXANDRALLE SUOMEN PÄÄˍKAUPUNGISSA ensikerran käyneelle XXIX. p: Touko- X. p: kesä-kuussa MDCCCXXXIII An

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

translation is: "To the Empress Alexandra, who visited the capital of Finland for the first time on 29 May, 10 June 1833". After the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

on 17 April 1917 Russian

seamen Seaman may refer to: * Sailor, a member of a marine watercraft's crew * Seaman (rank), a military rank in some navies * Seaman (name) (including a list of people with the name) * ''Seaman'' (video game), a 1999 simulation video game for the Seg ...

tore down the bronze sphere and double-headed eagle on top of the monument and removed the

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

s on the base of the monument. The double-headed eagle was broken when torn down, but both the eagle and the sphere acting as its base still remained. They were reinstated after repairs in 1971 after first consulting the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

to verify it did not oppose this. The bronze sphere was gilded again in 2000 to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the city of Helsinki and its role as the

European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...

at the time.

References

External links

*
Keisarinnankivi
at the Helsinki Museum of Art {{Helsinki Cityscape 1835 establishments in the Russian Empire 1835 sculptures Buildings and structures completed in 1835 Outdoor sculptures in Helsinki Kaartinkaupunki Carl Ludvig Engel buildings Obelisks Double-headed eagle