Suomen Pankki, Kansallisarkisto ja Säätytalo (Finlands Bank, Riksarkivet och Ständerhuset)

English translation (from the Finnish)

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Description

The Suomen Pankki, the Kansallisarkisto and the Säätytalo, north of Senaatintori, represent Helsinki's role as the capital and continue the classicist architecture of the monumental city centre. The Suomen Pankki is the country's central bank, the Kansallisarkisto is the country's central archive, and the Säätytalo was the country's first Diet building. The monumental buildings, which have become national symbol buildings, form a group that embodies the ideal of town planning at the end of the 19th century. The interiors are decorative interior art, and the structures used advanced iron construction for their time. The international architectural competitions held for the design of the Bank and the Säätytalo are among the earliest in Finland.

The main building of the Suomen Pankki has the form of an Italian Renaissance palace, as do many other European bank buildings of the period. Architecture reflecting the roots of modern banking has served as a model in the design of the country's banks. The forecourt of the Bank, designed by the German architect Ludwig Bohnstedt, has a monumental character. To the north it is bordered by the building of the Valtionarkisto, with its colossal order rising from a plinth and its central risalit, and to the east by the Säätytalo, designed by the same architect, Gustaf Nyström, with its columned gable. Like the Bank, the Säätytalo stands freely on its own plot, following the models of the Ringstrasse in Wien. On the Bank's forecourt stands the statue of J.V. Snellman, erected in 1923.

The oldest main building of the Valtionarkisto, now the Kansallisarkisto, has three sections of different sizes facing in different directions, separated from one another by fire walls: the act storehouse, that is the document depository, the research room with its cast-iron gallery and documents, and the office wing between them. The interiors, with their decorative paintings, are impressive, as are the main entrance staircase hall and the spaces connected to it. The archive extension parallel to Snellmaninkatu dates from the 1920s, and the extensions on the west and north sides of the old part date from the early 1970s, from which period the public entrance to the archive also dates.

The programme of the Säätytalo, built as the meeting place of the three non-noble estates, is reflected in its classicist façades, their column systems, and the festive interiors decorated with lavish paintings. The tympanum of the classical temple-front gable of the Säätytalo bears a bronze sculpture group. Its central figure is Emperor Alexander I confirming the laws and rights of Finland. The group on the right depicts the development of the people through struggle towards a better future, and the group on the left depicts development through work.

The interior of the Säätytalo is dominated by a monumental glass-roofed staircase hall. Above the stair landing rises a version of the statue of Alexander II holding the law, a pedestal sculpture by Walter Runeberg, which stands in Senaatintori. For each estate there is a large plenary hall on the second main floor, with associated office and anteroom spaces. On the Kirkkokatu side, the former burghers' plenary hall is now the Juhlasali; the peasants' estate hall on the Rauhankatu side is the Luentosali; and the clergy's hall on the Snellmaninkatu side is the Tiedotussali.

Behind the Säätytalo there is a small park with fountains. A unified park plan was drawn up for the surroundings of the Suomen Pankki and the Säätytalo in 1890.

History

The site of the Suomen Pankki, the Kansallisarkisto and the Säätytalo lies in the oldest part of Helsinki, Vironniemi, which was already a built-up urban area in the 17th century.

The Suomen Pankki was founded in 1811 in Turku under the name Waihetus-, Laina- ja Depositioni-Contori. The bank was moved to Helsinki in 1819. The Suomen Pankki is the fourth-oldest central bank in the world. Its operations acquired central-bank features through the monetary realisation of 1840, the introduction of the Finnish markka in 1860–1865, and the establishment of commercial banks in the latter half of the 19th century.

The Suomen Pankki building was constructed to the east of Pyhän Kolminaisuuden kirkko. The bank's building project became topical in the 1870s, when the bank's income grew during the boom in timber exports. The international architectural competition for the design of the bank building was won in 1876 by the German architect Ludwig Bohnstedt. The building was completed in 1883. In the 1870s Bohnstedt had designed three banks in Germany. For security reasons the building was made solidly constructed. The sculptural decoration was made by C.E. Sjöstrand. The extension behind the main building, from the turn of the 1960s, and the Rauhankatu banknote printing works, from the mid-1950s, were designed by architect Harry W. Schreck.

The competition for the J.V. Snellman memorial, held in 1913, was won with a joint proposal by sculptor Emil Wikström and architect Eliel Saarinen. The national memorial, financed by public subscription, was unveiled in 1923 in front of the Suomen Pankki. Architect Eliel Saarinen designed the pedestal and the surroundings of the memorial. J.V. Snellman completed the monetary reform through which Finland received its own currency, the markka, in 1860. In 1863 Snellman was appointed to the Senate as head of the Finance Department. In this post he directed Finland's economic policy, and thanks to him the markka was tied in 1865 to a silver standard, which stabilised the value of money.

The decisions and documents of the central government of Finland were kept in Stockholm during the Swedish period. During the autonomy period the Senate archive was established in 1816, to which the documents concerning Finland transferred from Sweden were moved. The Senate archive became the national central archive. Initially the archive served only the needs of administration, but in 1859 it was opened to the public. The actual Valtionarkisto came into being in 1869, and its name described the purpose of the office, which was to preserve the documents of state administration.

In 1890 the Valtionarkisto moved from the Senate castle to a building designed by Professor Gustaf Nyström, which had been built in 1886–1890. The attic sculpture group of three female figures (Finland surrounded by history and archaeology), the emblem of the Kansallisarkisto, was designed by sculptor C.E. Sjöstrand. The ceiling paintings of the research room and the wall decorations of the entrance hall were made by decorative painter Salomo Wuorio in 1890. The original iron floor slabs of the document store were replaced with fireproof reinforced concrete in the 1950s. The extension designed by architect Magnus Schjerfbeck was completed in 1928, and the extension designed by architect Olof Hansson, to which the main entrance was moved, was completed in 1973. The wall painting in the catalogue room was made by the artist Tor Arne in 1974. The name Valtionarkisto was changed to Kansallisarkisto in 1994.

The Säätytalo, meeting place of the Diet of the Estates of the clergy, peasants and burghers, was completed in 1891. The Diet of the Estates had met regularly since the 1860s, at first in the Ritarihuone, completed in 1862 for the nobility, which was built on a site reserved in the town plan for the estates' house. A site on Tähtitorninmäki was also proposed for a building for all the estates. The final location, however, was found close to the Ritarihuone. The last invited competition in this eventful design process was won by Gustaf Nyström. The competition for the design of the frieze of the Säätytalo's gable was won by Emil Wikström with his work "The development of the Finnish people through struggle and work up to its first Diet, 1809". The sculpture group, consisting of 26 bronze figures larger than life-size, was installed in place in 1903.

The Diet of the Estates met until 1906, when the system changed to a unicameral parliament. When the unicameral Eduskunta began its work in 1907, the premises of the Säätytalo were not sufficient for its 200 members. The parliamentary library was located there, and committee meetings were held there until 1931, when the Eduskuntatalo was completed. After that the building was known as the Tieteellisten Seurain Talo.

The Säätytalo was transferred to the administration of the Prime Minister's Office in 1978, but events of learned societies continued to be held in the building. The Säätytalo was thoroughly renovated in 1988-1993. The Renaissance and Art Nouveau decorations, ornaments and marbling originally made by decorative painter Salomo Wuorio and his assistant C. Ehrling were restored.

The park plan drawn up by Svante Olsson in 1890 covered the park in front of the Suomen Pankki and the park surrounding the Säätytalo. The forecourt of the Suomen Pankki, with its plantings, was renovated in the 1920s.