Festivities and ideologies
Go community hall hunting and learn about local history
In Helsinki, there are about twenty or thirty halls built or owned by different kinds of people’s associations. The ideologies may be long gone, but many of the halls are still in active use as assembly rooms for associations and clubs or as banqueting rooms.
The halls open up interesting paths into the local history and are always worth visiting. Here is one way to go about it:
You could start your tour at the original location of Helsinki. The view at Vanhakaupunki is dominated by Kellomäki Hill, where you can see Helsinki’s oldest youth association hall that is still in use, Berghyddan. This popular location for various festivities is owned by the Swedish language association Gammelstadens Ungdomsförening, which recently celebrated its centenary. The youth association movement, born in the late 19th century, consisted of organisations for popular education. Not being bound to the political parties, the associations formed a counterforce to the workers’ movement.
For a community hall hunter, the district of Malmi is the place to go. You only need to walk a couple of hundred metres in order to see the voluntary fire fighters’ hall, the Swedish youth association’s hall Solhem, and the Malmi people’s hall which is located just behind the hospital. There is a lot going on at the halls: the voluntary fire brigade works for the City of Helsinki and is called in for duties when necessary. Solhem offers activities for children and young people. The people’s hall is a location for plays and dancing classes.
Travel a little closer to the city centre, but stay north of the Pitkäsilta bridge: this part of town is dominated by Paasitorni, the granite tower of the Helsinki Community Hall. The most impressive hall in Finland celebrates its centenary this year. Today, Paasitorni has been converted into a high-profile conference centre, but the workers’ ideology is still alive and well in these quarters.
Moving on from Siltasaari to Lauttasaari, Länsiulapanniemi point is the location of ‘Policemen’s summer home’, which can also be hired by the general public, not only policemen. The most remarkable feature of the building is its well preserved 1950s interior. And even if the house might be closed, the couple of hundred tiny summer cottages on the point are certainly a sight to see.
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Text: Tapani Sainio
Photo: Anna-Maija Halme
