Tähtitorninmäen observatorio ja puisto (Observatoriebergets observatorium och park)

English translation (from the Finnish)

The text above is the record as published by the Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), in Finnish. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto); it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Description

The observatory of the Keisarillisen Aleksanterin yliopiston tähtitieteellinen tutkimuslaitos has been, at the time of its completion, an architecturally and technically exemplary observatory building, even by international standards. The building, designed by the architect C.L. Engel, served in its original use for nearly two hundred years. It rises on Tähtitorninvuori, at the end of the main axis of Helsinki, Unioninkadunkadun. The Tähtitorninvuori park surrounding the observatory is the first municipal full-scale public park, designed and built by the city. The park plantings are designed to frame urban and sea views from the highest hill of Kaupunginniemi, which has been a viewpoint throughout history. Tähtitorninvuori with its observatory and park is an important part of the maritime Helsinki, which has been classified as one of the national landscapes of Finland.

The observatory building stands on a site that city planners have seen, since the early stages of the city, as a suitable location for an important monumental building. The symmetrical building complex of the observatory consists of the actual observatory building, two service buildings attached to it with staff residences, and a forecourt enclosed by a wall. The square central section of the main building has a main observation tower, and at the ends of the narrow side wings, which are of equal height, are observation halls, with cylindrical observation towers above them. The practical solution has given the building an architecturally impressive form. In the walls and ceiling of the meridian hall at the western end, there are hatches at each observation point, through which a view opens from the southern horizon through the zenith to the northern horizon. For east-west observation, there is an ensivertikaalisali at the southern end of the building. The separate astrophotography, or refractor, tower designed by the architect Gustaf Nyström was completed in 1889.

Before the park and the apartment block city were built, an unobstructed view across the open rocks of the peninsula opened from the rocky Tähtitorninvuori. The dominant position of the hill has always defined its significance as part of the environment. A special feature of the park design of Tähtitorninvuori is the viewing terraces and the landscapes that open from them onto the city and the sea. The prestige of the park is also reflected in the fact that it is mentioned in almost all Helsinki travel guides published before the war, as well as in informational publications presenting Helsinki.

On the Tähtitorninmäki square, erected in 1898, is the sculpture "Haaksirikkoiset" by Robert Stigell, depicting a family shipwrecked.

History

Tähtitorninvuori served in its time, judging by the name Kasaberget, as a watch-fire site. A defensive fortification was built on the hill in 1748 according to C.A. Ehrensvärd's town fortification plan, and the hill was named Ulricasborgsberget. On C.P. Hagström's town survey map of 1787, the hill is a rocky lookout point where, during the Crimean War, there was an optical telegraph for communications with Viapori.

Tähtitorninvuori, rising at the end of Unioninkatu on the north–south axis of the capital, was considered a suitable site for public buildings, for which the visibility and view offered by the location were of particular importance.

When the university was ordered to be moved to Helsinki after the fire of Turku in 1827, astronomy professor F.W.A. Argelander proposed Ulriikaporinvuori as the site of the observatory to the relocation committee. Nicholas I confirmed the site, and C.L. Engel drew up the architectural plans according to Argelander's brief. When completed in 1834, the building was one of the most functional and best-equipped observatories of its era, and its design principles were applied, among other places, to the Pulkovo Observatory, the leading centre of astronomy at the time.

The separate so-called refractor tower designed by Gustaf Nyström was brought into use in 1890. In the 1970s a workshop was built in the west wing of the observatory, and a caretaker's flat in the east wing. The lecture hall, the east and west rotundas and the meridian hall were restored in 1984 to designs by architect Olof Hansson.

Until the end of the 19th century the observatory, standing on bare rock, was a landmark visible over the city, which is why the place name Tähtitorninvuori (Observatorieberget) was adopted. The name was made official in 1928, and in colloquial speech the name Tähtitorninmäki is used.

In 1883 the magistrate stated that Tähtitorninvuori should be made “as far as the view and fresh air are concerned, one of the most pleasant outdoor recreation places”. The park plan drawn up by city gardener Svante Olsson as his first task was completed in 1890. Rocks were filled in to make the park possible. In the park design, particular attention was paid to views and visibility. The vegetation did not screen the surrounding urban landscape but framed it, and several terraces were made in the park for viewing it. On its completion in 1903 the park was the “official” viewing point for the landscapes of Kauppatori, the harbour, Katajanokka and Kruunuvuorenselkä. The significance of the townscape was also reflected in efforts to protect the view by limiting building heights in the blocks on the southern side of the hill and by extending the Ullanpuistikko on the southern side.