The Snellman Park ( fi, Snellmaninpuisto) is the oldest park in the city of

Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...

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 ...

, located at the Vahtivuori district in the city center between the Kauppakatu and Minna Canthin katu streets, in the adjacent block of

Kuopio Cathedral Kuopio Cathedral ( fi, Kuopion tuomiokirkko, sv, Kuopio domkyrka) is a stone Neoclassical-style Evangelical Lutheran church in Kuopio, Finland, and the seat of the Diocese of Kuopio. The cathedral was built between 1806 and 1815. The park covers an area of 1.4 hectares. Today, the park and its surroundings are part of the larger Kuopio National City Park, established in late 2017. The park is named after

J. V. Snellman Johan Vilhelm Snellman (; 12 May 1806 – 4 July 1881) was an influential Fennoman philosopher and Finnish statesman, ennobled in 1866. He was one of the most important 'awakeners' or promoters of Finnish nationalism, alongside Elias Lönnrot ...

(1806–1881), the senator and the

Fennoman The Fennoman movement or Fennomania was a Finnish nationalist movement in the 19th-century Grand Duchy of Finland, built on the work of the ''fennophile'' interests of the 18th and early-19th centuries. History After the Crimean War, Fennoman ...

, who influenced the affairs of the

Grand Duchy A grand duchy is a country or territory whose official head of state or ruler is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess. Relatively rare until the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the term was often used in the ...

from Kuopio, among other places. Snellmaninpuisto Kuopio 01

Prior to the park phase, the first main market in the city, known as ''Kustaantori'' ("

Gustav Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media *Primeval (film), ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film *Gustav (film series), ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hu ...

Square"), ''Suurtori'' ("Grand Square") or ''Kirkkotori'' ("Church Square"), was located in the Snellman Park area. From 1842, trees were planted in the area and around the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

, initially

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...

s. In the 1850s, the old market square was moved to the site of the current Kuopio Market Square, and the former market square began to be converted more widely into a park. The park was known as ''Kirkkopuisto'' ("Church Park") for its close location to the cathedral. In the middle of the park, a bust of J. V. Snellman sculpted by was unveiled on July 3, 1886, which largely led to the use of the park’s current name. The park area has been modified in several phases; in 2018–2019, as part of the renovation of the park, a large part of the older stand will be felled. In this case, weak trees can be removed and enough space is cleared for the light that the new tree seedlings need. The

Finnish Heritage Agency The Finnish Heritage Agency ( fi, Museovirasto, sv, Museiverket), previously known in English as the National Board of Antiquities, preserves Finland's material cultural heritage: collects, studies and distributes knowledge of it. The agency is ...

classifies the Snellman Park and Kuopio Cathedral and its surroundings as a nationally significant target area for the built cultural environment (''Snellman Park'', ''Kuopio Cathedral'' and ''wooden blocks'').

References

Kuopio Parks in Finland {{EasternFinland-geo-stub