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29-790: 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"),

58-530: A summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was held at the Presidential Palace. Visiting guests do not stay at the Presidential Palace nowadays , although they did in the past. Although the palace has nearly 3 000 square metres of floor space, and private apartments for the President and their family, much of the palace is occupied by offices and accommodation for

87-410: A cost of 45 million euros. On 3 May 2024, a taxi crashed into a pillar located near one of the palace's guardhouses. The driver, who was believed to have suffered a medical seizure at the time of the incident, was hospitalised. In its role as the official residence of the president of Finland, the Presidential Palace has hosted a number of important foreign visitors and dignitaries. Royal visitors to

116-463: A pedestrian street at an event organised by the Helsinki society in 1967. Especially the organisation Liikennepoliittinen yhdistys Enemmistö supported converting the street into a pedestrian street. A pedestrian street experiment was held on Aleksanterinkatu from 12 June to 12 October 1970 between Mannerheimintie and Unioninkatu. The experiment was continued from 13 October 1970 to 8 January 1971 between Mannerheimintie and Fabianinkatu . During this time

145-413: A salt storehouse stood on the site. Johan Henrik Heidenstrauch  [ fi ] , then one of the elite of Helsinki's merchants, purchased the entire lot and erected between 1816 and 1820 a stately residence designed by architect Pehr Granstedt  [ fi ] . The Heidenstrauch House resembled a palace more than a merchant's house. In 1837 it actually became a palace when it was purchased for

174-513: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Presidential Palace, Helsinki The Presidential Palace ( Finnish : Presidentinlinna , Swedish : Presidentens slott ) is one of the three official residences of the president of the Republic of Finland . It is situated in Helsinki , on the north side of Esplanadi , overlooking Market Square . At the beginning of the 19th century,

203-476: Is also the name of the main street in many other Finnish cities, e.g.: Tampere , Lahti , Oulu , Porvoo and Loviisa . [REDACTED] Media related to Aleksanterinkatu (Helsinki) at Wikimedia Commons 60°10′08″N 24°57′04″E  /  60.169°N 24.951°E  / 60.169; 24.951 This Southern Finland location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This European road or road transport-related article

232-648: 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. Aleksanterinkatu is Helsinki's historical main street, whose eastern part was named Suurkatu ( Swedish : Storgatan , meaning "grand street") and Kuninkaankatu (Swedish: Kungsgatan , meaning "king's street") under Swedish rule ) and got its current name Aleksanterinkatu in 1833 after Alexander I of Russia . At

261-463: The 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, on 5 October 1951. In the 1980s the western part of Aleksanterinkatu was changed to a public transport street, which is only allowed for trams , taxis and maintenance vehicles. At this point the sidewalks were considerably widened. As Mikonkatu was later changed to a pedestrian street, these first traffic lights in Helsinki were removed. The architect Jorma Mänty presented his plan of converting Aleksanterinkatu into

290-583: The Dining Hall, and the Hall of Mirrors (the small Hall of State). They are used by the president for official functions and receptions. These include the promotion and appointment ceremony for Defence Forces and Frontier Guard cadets, State Banquets, and the Independence Day reception . The latest major renovations to the palace were done in 2012–2014 when the building services engineering was brought up to date for

319-821: The Executive Committee of the Helsinki Workers and Soldiers Soviet. With the victory of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War , the Reds abandoned the Palace, which was temporarily used by German and White Finnish military staff. From June 1918 onwards, renovations and repairs were made to the palace in anticipation of its role as a royal residence for Prince Frederick of Hesse , who was elected as king of Finland in October 1918. However,

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348-711: The Great Ballroom. The Ballroom was accordingly converted into a Throne-Room, with the Imperial throne placed on a dais. Alexander returned to the palace again in 1876 to open that year's session of the Diet. The Throne-Room continued to be used as the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Diet until 1906. That was the last Imperial festivity in the palace. Alexander III did stay there in 1885 (although he resided at his Finnish residence in Langinkoski more often). The palace

377-851: The Office of the President, including the Secretary General, Presidential Cabinet, military Aides-de-Camp , and the household staff. Foreign guests can be housed at Mäntyniemi , the Königstedt Manor in Vantaa , or the Finnish State Guesthouse next to the Hilton Helsinki Kalastajatorppa Hotel in Munkkiniemi . Southern Finland Southern Finland ( Finnish : Etelä-Suomen lääni , Swedish : Södra Finlands län )

406-403: The creator of neoclassical Helsinki and, after his death, by his son, Carl Alexander. Giacomo Quarenghi also looked over the plans. All the timber storehouses behind were torn down and a new wing added. This wing, built along the north of the courtyard, contained on the second floor the chapel (the present library), ballroom, banquet hall in direct connection with the earlier reception floor of

435-453: The following year, after Nicholas I's death. In 1856, the palace was also visited by the new Emperor 's three oldest sons – Nicholas , Alexander , and Vladimir . It was during the reign of their father, Alexander II , that the palace had its most brilliant time. He visited the city in 1863 and 1876, staying on both occasions at the palace. In 1863 the Diet of Finland was opened by Alexander II in

464-668: The furnishings and art collections of the palace being returned from storage in the National Museum and the Ateneum art museum, and also being supplemented. Since then, it served as the official residence of the president. The palace was again refurbished and modernised by Martti Välikangas in 1938. The Presidential Palace served as the official residence of all the presidents of Finland up to 1993, except for Presidents Risto Ryti , Gustaf Mannerheim , and Urho Kekkonen , who preferred to reside at Tamminiemi . The palace ceased to be used as

493-618: The international political situation in the aftermath of World War I led to him renouncing his acceptance of the Finnish throne in December 1918. Following this, the upper floors served as the Ministry for Foreign Affairs . After the new Constitution was passed in 1919 it was clear that the most suitable residence for the President was the former Imperial Palace. Complete repairs were made at speed, with

522-524: The main building, as well as a kitchen. The palace was completed in 1845, though repairs had to be made from time to time as mostly it stood empty and was not regularly heated. It was visited for the first time by a member of the Imperial family nine years later, in February 1854, when Emperor Nicholas I 's younger son, Grand Duke Constantine , stayed there for a month. His brother Nicholas stayed there in June of

551-582: The palace have included Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Olav V of Norway, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Juan Carlos I of Spain, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran, and Emperor Akihito of Japan. A number of US Presidents have visited the palace, including Gerald Ford , Ronald Reagan , and George H. W. Bush . Other distinguished visitors have included Pope John Paul II , Josip Broz Tito , Nikita Khrushchev , Boris Yeltsin , Horst Köhler , Xi Jinping , Shinzō Abe , and Vladimir Putin . On 16 July 2018

580-651: The political conditions of World War I the palace was converted into Helsinki Temporary Military Hospital I in October 1915. With the February Revolution of 1917 and the abdication of the Emperor/Grand Duke, the palace ceased to be a military hospital and became the property of the Senate which renamed it as the Former Imperial Palace . From March to April 1918, the palace was used as the headquarters of

609-404: The president's principal official residence during the presidency of Urho Kekkonen. He and his wife disliked the noise of nearby traffic and the lack of gardens, and soon moved to Tamminiemi, which remained Kekkonen's residence until his death. However, the palace again served as the principal residence of the president during the presidency of Mauno Koivisto , until the new residence, Mäntyniemi ,

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638-654: The price of 170 000 rubles to be converted into a residence for the Governor-General of Finland . However, Nicholas I desired that it should become the official residence in Helsinki of the Emperor of Russia , the Grand Duke of Finland , and so the building became the Imperial Palace in Helsinki . The necessary rebuilding and furnishing work, carried out between 1843 and 1845, was directed by architect Carl Ludvig Engel ,

667-458: The same time the street was extended across the reclaimed Kluuvinlahti bay to the west to reach its current extent. The former shorelines of Kluuvinlahti have been marked with brass plaques across the street in the artwork Kluuvinlahden fossiilit by Tuula Närhinen . The street used to have intense traffic. Because of this, the first traffic lights in Helsinki were installed in the corner between Aleksanterinaktu and Mikonkatu shortly before

696-463: The street was closed for private car traffic. It was still open for maintenance and goods transport traffic and for trams. Pedestrian access on Aleksanterinkatu was improved by moving the driveway to between the Three Smiths Statue and the Stockmann department store in 1980. Aleksanterinkatu never became a pedestrian street but its sidewalks were renovated from 1982 to 1986. Aleksanterinkatu

725-650: Was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Western Finland and Eastern Finland . It also bordered the Gulf of Finland and Russia . On September 1, 1997 the Uusimaa Province , the Kymi Province and the southern parts of the Häme Province were joined to form the new Southern Finland Province. All the provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010. The State Provincial Office

754-478: Was a joint regional authority of seven different ministries. It promoted national and regional objectives of the State central administration. The State Provincial Office of Southern Finland employed about 380 persons. Its service offices were located in the cities of Hämeenlinna , Helsinki , and Kouvola . The administrative seat was placed at Hämeenlinna. Southern Finland was divided into six regions: Southern Finland

783-688: Was completed. The palace contains private apartments and reception rooms for the president on its third floor, including the Yellow Room, the Red Waiting Room, and the President's Study. The palace also contains the Office of the President, which includes offices for the Secretary General, the Special Counsel to the President, and the Master of the Household. The palace's State rooms include the Hall of State,

812-474: 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

841-406: Was refurbished during 1904–1907 by Johan Jacob Ahrenberg . He built a new suite of reception rooms, including a new Throne Room (the present Hall of State) where the sculpture Psyche and Zephyr by Walter Runeberg was placed, and a reception vestibule facing Mariankatu. The palace was last visited by a member of the Imperial family when Nicholas II visited the palace for one day in 1915. Under

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