Helsinki Daily: Johannes church

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Johannes church

Here is a view from the railway bridge back towards the center

The two spires belong to the Johannes church

This is a closer view of the church

Now I'm again two days away so I'll leave you with a cute little fellow that I found during one of my walks in the old town region. This is a Gottland pony (no taller than a great dane) also called Gottland russ. (Gottland is an island in Sweden).

10 comments:

crocrodylApril 18, 2009 at 11:23 AM
The church is beautiful! Stunning architecture!
And the horse ... simply cute:)
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UnknownApril 18, 2009 at 6:43 PM
I think this is my first visit to your blog and I must tell you I really enjoy your wonderful pictures! Great work!
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Jane Hards PhotographyApril 18, 2009 at 7:13 PM
Your history on Helsinki is very comprehensive. The horse is such a cutie and that building is magnifcent.
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LinneaApril 18, 2009 at 7:21 PM
That church is quite an imposing structure. You'll have to show us what it looks like inside one day. And that pony...fat and happy! Enjoy your break.
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Mary ElizabethApril 19, 2009 at 1:32 AM
Hi Tarolino, enjoy the trip.
Beautiful structures and that Pony wow so cool.
Thanks for sharing, read you soon!
Mary Elizabeth @ Now and Then
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SandyCarlsonApril 19, 2009 at 5:20 AM
The neon lights add a surreal quality to the first photo with the church at the center. I love the surreal nature of reality!
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Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the GardensApril 19, 2009 at 12:08 PM
The church is stunning with its copper roof. I love the tiny pony...eating..loves its food.
Thank you very much for your very kind comment on " Underahottersun". I do appreciate the Talent Award, you have kindly given to me.
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hpyApril 20, 2009 at 9:16 AM
Do people still skate in the square next to the church in winter?
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UnknownApril 21, 2009 at 4:10 AM
Oh I'm so glad to visit your site. It's a great way to learn more about your country and traditions. The church is beautiful and that pony is the cutest one ever.
Happy Twirls
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GeorgeApril 23, 2009 at 3:08 AM
The church is beautiful and the pony is cute!
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Thankyou for taking the time to come and visit.

Welcome to HD

Brief history:

Helsinki was first founded by order of king Gustav Wasa of Sweden around the waterfalls of were the river Vantaa runs into the sea, today called The Old Town, in 1550. It was to be a harbour town competing with the city of Tallin, the Estonian capital. It was later on decided that this area did not work well as a harbour site and Helsinki was moved to an other part closer to today's city center in 1640.
In those days the capital of Finland was the town of Turku more to the west along the south coast.
Helsinki has had a history of turmoil and bloodshed due to many wars between Sweden and Russia and has been burned down a few times. The first time was 1570 during an attack from the Russians. In the old days houses were mainly made of wood.
In 1695-1697 was the great hunger years and a huge number of the population succumbed to cholera and starvation.
The black death decimated two thirds of the whole population in 1710. It came to Finland due to the lively hansa connections and in those days Helsinki was a multinational and multilingual town. Something that then dissapeared during the Russian occupation until these days when the same status has again been reached.
The Sveaborg fortress was built by order from the Swedish king for protection against the Russians in 1748-50 as the Russians had managed to occupy Helsinki six years earlier.
In 1808 Sveaborg was finally forced to capitulate to the Russians and Finland became an autonomic part of the Russian empire.
A year after, in 1809 Helsinki was granted capital status as there had been a great fire in Turku previously and the rebuilding work was taking very long.
In 1828 the university was removed from Turku to Helsinki (allthough these days there is a university in Turku too).
The first newspapers started coming out in 1829.
In 1877 the first telephone network started operating.
In 1884 the electricity works started to operate.
In 1891 the first horse drawn tram started trafficing. Trams are a common sight on the streets of Helsinki even today but obviously not drawn by horses any longer. The tram network became electric in 1900.
In 1896 the first public showing of a movie took place.
In 1917 during the Russian revolution Finland was granted indipendancy on the 6th of December.
In 1918 there was an internal war in Finland and also German forces occupied Helsinki.
During the second world war in 1939 the Russians attacked Finland and through the war years many buildings in Helsinki were bombed down.
After the second world war in 1946 Helsinki grew significantly as many of the surrounding villages were incorporated into Helsinki.
In 1950 the amusement park Linnanmaki was founded. It's still operating today but looks very different from the original. Some original features still exist.
In 1952 was the olympic games in Helsinki.
In 1982 the first mobile phone network was taken into use in Helsinki. Also the underground (Metro) started trafficing in that year.
In 1995 Finland became a member of the European Union .
In the year 2000 Helsinki celebrated its 450th birthday.

Helsinki Daily

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Johannes church

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