
Mannerheimintie ( sv, Mannerheimvägen), named after the Finnish military leader and statesman
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (, ; 4 June 1867 – 27 January 1951) was a Finnish military leader and statesman. He served as the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War of 1918, as Regent of Finland (1918–1919), as c ...
, is the main
street
A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of d ...
and
boulevard of
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
,
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 Bo ...
. It was originally named Heikinkatu ( sv, Henriksgatan), after
Robert Henrik Rehbinder
Count Robert Henrik Rehbinder (15 July 1777 – 8 March 1841) served as the Secretary of State for the Grand Duchy of Finland between 1811 and 1841. One of the highest officials in the Grand Duchy, he played a significant part in establishing the ...
, but was renamed after the
Winter War
The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...
. The change of name was also suitable due to Mannerheim having
paraded in along that road during the
Finnish Civil War
The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper '' Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil ...
(1918), after German forces allied with Mannerheim's Finnish forces had retaken the city.
That event is also portrayed in the landmark statue of Mannerheim sitting horseback. The statue is located along the Mannerheimintie just outside the modern arts museum
Kiasma.
The street starts at
Erottaja in the city centre, near the
Swedish Theatre and continues in a northernly direction past the
Stockmann department store. It then continues as a main thoroughfare past the districts of
Kamppi,
Töölö,
Meilahti,
Laakso and
Ruskeasuo
Ruskeasuo (Brunakärr in Swedish, verbatim "Brown swamp") is a neighbourhood of Helsinki (Helsingfors in Swedish), about 3 kilometres north of the city center.
With a population of 2670 (year 2005) Ruskeasuo is a rather quiet residential area. ...
, until it finally merges into a busy
Tampere Highway
Finnish national road 3 ( fi, Valtatie 3 or '; sv, Riksväg 3) is a 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, conne ...
(
E12) leading outside the city towards
Hämeenlinna
Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of ...
and
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclo ...
. (Geographically, the highway only ends in central Tampere, having become a small street called Kalevan puistotie, meeting the major street Kekkosentie.)
Many famous buildings are located at or near Mannerheimintie. Besides the theatre and department store mentioned above, these include the
House of Parliament
A legislative chamber or house is a deliberative assembly within a legislature which generally meets and votes separately from the legislature's other chambers. Legislatures are usually unicameral, consisting of only one chamber, or bicame ...
, the main post office, the
Kiasma modern art museum, the
Finlandia Hall, the
National Museum
A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numbe ...
, the
Helsinki Opera House
The Finnish National Opera and Ballet ( fi, Suomen Kansallisooppera ja -baletti; sv, Finlands Nationalopera och -balett) is a Finnish opera company and ballet company based in Helsinki. It is headquartered in the Opera House on the coast of the T ...
,
Hotel Marski, and
Tilkka
Tilkka Hospital ( fi, Tilkan sairaala, sv, Tilkka sjukhus; often referred to simply as Tilkka) is a former military hospital in Helsinki, Finland. It is located at Mannerheimintie 164 in the Pikku Huopalahti district.
Tilkka military hospital was ...
.
There are many famous sculptures along the Mannerheimintie. There include the
Three Smiths Statue
The Three Smiths Statue is a sculpture by Felix Nylund, situated in Helsinki, Finland, in Three Smiths Square at the intersection of Aleksanterinkatu and Mannerheimintie. This realistic statue, unveiled in 1932, depicts three naked smiths hammeri ...
and the
Statue of Mannerheim near Kiasma.
There are only two streets running across Mannerheimintie:
Nordenskiöldinkatu overground, and Tilkanvierto below it as an underpass. There are very many other streets connecting with Mannerheimintie, but all of them either end at Mannerheimintie or continue across it under a different name.
See also
*
Hakamäentie
Finnish regional road 100 ( fi, Seututie 100, sv, Regionalväg 100), commonly known as Hakamäentie sv, Skogsbackavägen), is a regional road in Helsinki. It is an important cross-section between the northern districts of the Helsinki peninsul ...
*
Tampere Highway
Finnish national road 3 ( fi, Valtatie 3 or '; sv, Riksväg 3) is a 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, conne ...
*
Vihdintie
*
Paasikiven–Kekkosentie
References
Streets in Helsinki
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
{{Europe-road-stub