Talk to anyone about visiting Finland, and undoubtedly someone will say that the Temppeliaukio Church (part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland) is not to be missed. It is one of Finland’s most distinctive landmarks. Completed in 1969 and designed by Finnish architects Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen, the church is carved directly into solid bedrock. Its circular sanctuary is crowned by a striking copper dom that allows natural light to pour in through a ring of skylights, creating a calm, atmospheric space.
Hah! There are so many tourists visiting this place (at $9 each), that someone on the staff comes on over the loudspeakers every ten minutes or so to shush people and tell them to be silent!
The organ was built by the Urkurakentarmo Veikko Virtanen and has 43 stops, 4 manuals and 3,001 pipes. The façade was designed by the building’s architects. Supposedly the raw, exposed granite rock walls provide exceptional natural acoustics, making the organ and concert performances sound unique.
We also visited the rock garden on top of the church.
The church faced major controversies regarding architectural blacklisting, moral spending debates and planning permission fights before becoming a beloved landmark. Architect members of the Helsinki city building department voted against the design, forcing the congregation to take the matter to court to win building approval. Architectural magazines and museums effectively blacklisted the building in the 1970s because the designs broke away from strict rationalist box-style design rules, making it hard for the brothers to get future jobs. Also, during construction in the late 1960s public opinion and leftwing critics questioned spending large amounts of money on a stone church while severe famine in Nigeria dominated world news headlines. Many local citizens wanted a conventional above-ground cathedral instead of a radical modern structure blasted into the granite bedrock.
If ever I were to come back to Finland, I’d like to attend a service or concert here.
After our visit, we took the tram and walk past a park where we saw scores of ducks before visiting the Sibelius Monument. The Sibelius Monument represents the essence of the music, the spirit of nature, and the national cultural legacy of the celebrated Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Created by sculptor Eila Hiltunen and unveiled in 1967 in Helsinki, Finland, it translates his auditory art into a physical form.
Over 600 welded steel pipes resemble giant organ pipes, capturing the rhythm and movement of music. The cluster of vertical metal tubes mimics a quiet Northern birch forest, reflecting the deep ties between his melodies and the rugged Finnish outdoors. The hollow pipes allow the wind to pass through them, creating a subtle, singing sound that turns the static metal into a living sound sculpture.
Because the main structure is abstract, a separate stainless steel bust featuring the literal face of Jean Sibelius was added to the side to directly honor his physical identity.
One highlight of the day was meeting Anna Hietala, from my Cada Día Spanish class! She lives not far from the Cafe Regatta, so we met there for lunch. They have a fire pit in which you can roast sausages, but it turned out to be a very windy day so it was not so easy. You can see that I’m wearing layers (two tee shirts plus a sweater) and Anna came in a sun dress! The Cafe is open all year round and there is no indoor seating!
What a pleasure to be able to come halfway across the world and to meet people whose voices you know well, but haven’t met in person. Now I’ve met Anna! She joined the class during the pandemic, as did I, so it’s been years.
