Helsinki Christmas Market

Alexander II is a monumental statue located at the Senate Square in central Helsinki, Finland. The main figure in the statue depicts the Grand Duke of Finland Alexander II giving a speech at the 1863 Diet of Finland that he had assembled, wearing the uniform of an officer of the Finnish Guards' Rifle Battalion. The statue also includes four allegorical sculptures, representing four different virtues - Law (Latin: Lex), Work (Labor), Peace (Pax) and Light (Lux). Ordered by the Estates and designed by Johannes Takanen and Walter Runeberg, the monument was revealed in April 1894. The revelation was a great patriotic demonstration to the memory of emperor Alexander II, who the Finns saw as a noble ruler who had sought to limit the autocracy of the emperor.During the Russification of Finland started in 1899 by Nicholas II of Russia - the grandson of Alexander II - the statue became established as the site of anti-Russian demonstrations, remembering Alexander II who had become popularised as the "liberator emperor". There are currently only two monuments to Alexander II outside Russia on public spaces. The other one is the Monument to the Tsar Liberator in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. The sculpture by Mark Antokolsky is on the courtyard of the Russian art museum in Kyiv, Ukraine. There is a monumental column designed by N.I. Barinov and A.K. Brun in the Alexander Park in Odessa.

The Senate Square (Finnish: Senaatintori, Swedish: Senatstorget) presents Carl Ludvig Engel's architecture as a unique allegory of political, religious, scientific and commercial powers in the centre of Helsinki, Finland. Senate Square and its surroundings make up the oldest part of central Helsinki. Landmarks and famous buildings surrounding the square are the Helsinki Cathedral, the Government Palace, main building of the University of Helsinki and the Sederholm House, the oldest building of central Helsinki dating from 1757.

Helsinki Cathedral (Finnish: Helsingin tuomiokirkko, Suurkirkko; Swedish: Helsingfors domkyrka, Storkyrkan) is the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran cathedral of the Diocese of Helsinki, located in the neighborhood of Kruununhaka in the centre of Helsinki, Finland at the Senate Square. The church was originally built from 1830–1852 as a tribute to the Grand Duke of Finland, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. It was also known as St Nicholas's Church (Finnish: Nikolainkirkko, Swedish: Nikolajkyrkan) until the independence of Finland in 1917. It is a major landmark of the city, and possibly the most famous structure in Finland as a whole when viewed globally.

Aleksanterinkatu (Swedish: Alexandersgatan; "Alexander Street") is a street in Kluuvi, the commercial centre of Helsinki, Finland. In the city plan by Carl Ludvig Engel, it was the Decumanus Maximus, the main east–west street in the city, crossing the Cardo, Unioninkatu (Union Street) at the corner of the Senate Square. The street begins near the Presidential Palace and continues to meet with Mannerheimintie, the longest street in Helsinki. It runs past several famous buildings, such as Ritarihuone (the seat of Finnish nobility), the Helsinki Cathedral, the former Finnish main office of the Nordea bank, the main building of the University of Helsinki, and the Stockmann department store. The street, colloquially known in Helsinki as "Aleksi" (Swedish: "Alexen"), was named for Emperor Alexander I of Russia in 1833. It was originally named Suurkatu (Swedish: Storgatan), meaning "Grand Street", but was renamed after the Emperor's death in his honour. The streets crossing Aleksanterinkatu are named after the Emperor's mother, his brothers, and his sisters. Aleksanterinkatu has been the official Christmas street of Finland since 1949. At Christmas time, Aleksanterinkatu is traditionally decorated with elaborate Christmas lights between Unioninkatu and the Three Smiths Statue from late November to Epiphany. The tram lines 2, 4, 5 and 7 run along Aleksanterinkatu. Of these, only 4 and 5 run along the street's entire length.

Helsinki City Hall (Finnish: Helsingin kaupungintalo, Swedish: Helsingfors stadshus) is a central administrative building of Helsinki, Finland. City Hall is located in the Kruununhaka district, overlooking Market Square, at address Pohjoisesplanadi 11–13. City Hall is the seat of the City Council of Helsinki.

The Bank of Finland (Finnish: Suomen Pankki, Swedish: Finlands Bank) is the central bank of Finland. It is the fourth oldest central bank in the world.

The City Centre Campus (Finnish: Keskustakampus, Swedish: Centrumcampus) is one of the four campus areas of the University of Helsinki. It is located at the historic centre of Helsinki. The campus houses the following faculties: Faculty of Arts Faculty of Behavioural Sciences Faculty of Law Faculty of Social Sciences Faculty of Theology In addition, the university central administration and several independent research institutes.

Helsinki City Museum (Finnish: Helsingin kaupunginmuseo, Swedish: Helsingfors stadsmuseum) is a museum in Helsinki that documents and displays the history of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Its mission is to record and uphold Helsinki's spiritual, material and architectural heritage. The museum features personal memories and everyday life of the city's residents. It also acts as the regional museum for central Uusimaa with a mission to promote and steer museum activities in the region. Helsinki City Museum is located next to the Senate Square in the oldest blocks of the city. It also operates four other museums around Helsinki: Villa Hakasalmi, Burgher's House, Worker Housing Museum and Tram Museum. Entrance to all museums is free of charge.The museum's collections contain about one million photos, for instance popular photos of early 20th century Helsinki by Signe Brander, and 450,000 items.

The Holy Trinity Church (Finnish: Pyhän Kolminaisuuden kirkko, Swedish: Heliga Treenighetskyrkan, Russian: Свято-Троицкая церковь) is a Finnish Orthodox Church located in the Kruununhaka district of Helsinki, on the corner of Unioninkatu and Rauhankatu. The church was built in the neo-classical style in 1826 under the direction of the architect Carl Ludvig Engel, and was dedicated and opened in the following year. The Holy Trinity services the city's orthodox community with Divine Liturgy held in both Church Slavic and Finnish.The church is Helsinki's oldest Orthodox church. When Finland became 1808 autonomic Grand Duchy of Finland, a number of Russian civil servants, merchants and soldiers moved to Helsinki. They needed a place for worship, and the czar supported their efforts to get a church. In the 21st century, many of the churchgoers still speak Russian, but majority of them are immigrants born in the Soviet Union.

The herring market or herring fair (Finnish: silakkamarkkinat, Swedish: strömmingsmarknad) is an annual event held in various cities in Finland, notably in Helsinki in October. During the Helsinki herring market, many archipelagoans arrive in the South Harbour to sell fish and other archipelago products directly from their boats. The event is organised by the city of Helsinki. The first fair in Finland is considered to have been held in Turku in 1636. The Helsinki event is also very old; it said to have first been held in 1743. In 1820 its place was settled as the South Harbour. The event has been forgotten from time to time, for various reasons, but in the 1980s it was revived and has become very popular. In addition to the Helsinki and Turku fairs, the fair held at Rauma is also notable.

Havis Amanda is a fountain and a statue in Helsinki, Finland by the sculptor Ville Vallgren (1855–1940). The work was modelled in 1906 in Paris, and erected at its present location at the Market Square in Kaartinkaupunki in 1908. Today it is recognized as one of the most important and beloved pieces of art in Helsinki.

The National Library of Finland (Finnish: Kansalliskirjasto, Swedish: Nationalbiblioteket) is the foremost research library in Finland. Administratively the library is part of the University of Helsinki. From 1919 to 1 August 2006, it was known as the Helsinki University Library (Finnish: Helsingin yliopiston kirjasto).The National Library is responsible for storing the Finnish cultural heritage. By Finnish law, the National Library is a legal deposit library and receives copies of all printed matter, as well as audiovisual materials excepting films, produced in Finland or for distribution in Finland. These copies are then distributed by the Library to its own national collection and to reserve collections of five other university libraries. Also, the National Library has the obligation to collect and preserve materials published on the Internet to its web archive Finnish Web Archive. The library also maintains the online public access catalog Finna.Any person who lives in Finland may register as a user of the National Library and borrow library material. The publications in the national collection, however, are not loaned outside the library. The library also is home to one of the most comprehensive collections of books published in the Russian Empire of any library in the world. The National Library is located in Helsinki, close to the Senaatintori square. The oldest part of the library complex, designed by Carl Ludvig Engel, dates back to 1844. The newer extension Rotunda, designed by architect Gustaf Nyström, was completed in 1906. The bulk of the collection is, nonetheless, stored in Kirjaluola (Finnish for “book cave”), a 57,600-cubic-metre (2,030,000 cu ft) underground bunker drilled into solid rock, 18 metres (59 ft) below the library.