Helsinki and History
We trudge through the snow, our breath floating into the solemn dark night. Lights adorning the neo-classical buildings hugging the Senate square slightly brighten the night sky like half-used bulbs, frantically flickering. The city hibernates. We stop and feel the snow sinking into our cottoned socks. In front of us up a row of slick steps, rests the mammoth Helsinki Cathedral as white as cream. And it glows like a birthday cake’s only candle. Imposing thick columns guard the entrance and a green dome graces the top. The church dominates the entire square; it forefronts the Helsinki panorama.
The entire square was rebuilt in the 19th century after the Tsar invaded and burned most of the original city to the ground. Originally named for the invader of Finland, Tsar Nicolas I, St Nicolas Church was renamed upon Finnish independence in 1917 and now represents the Evangelical Lutheran church. On the other side of town, sits Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral. With its red-brick façade and golden cupolas, it is the largest Orthodox Church in Western Europe. As I stretch my neck and gaze into the Cathedral’s blinding white walls, I wonder if you can see Uspenski from the top. Returning from whence we came, past the Government Palace, the National Library and University, I wonder how inanimate structures of bricks, stones, and metals become infused, lit with meaning, how symbols evolve and their meanings transform.
