The ''Eino Leino'' is a

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

of Eino Leino (1878–1926) sculpted by Lauri Leppänen in the Esplanadi Park in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. It is located in the northeast corner of Teatteriesplanadi, close to the intersection of the Pohjoisesplanadi and Mikonkatu streets. The statue was unveiled on September 26, 1953, the 63rd anniversary of Leino's publication of his first

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

in ''

Hämeen Sanomat ''Hämeen Sanomat'' is a morning broadsheet newspaper published in Hämeenlinna, Finland. History and profile ''Hämeen Sanomat'' was established in 1879. The headquarters of the paper is in Hämeenlinna. The owner of the paper which is publishe ...

''. The Eino Leino Society, the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the publishing company Otava had declared a memorial competition in 1948, which was decided in 1951 in the second round in favor of Leppänen. Leppänen had personally known Leino while he was alive. Leppänen hoped to place the statue in Taka-Töölö on the corner of the Eino Leinon katu and Topeliuksenkatu streets, but it was placed on the Esplanade.Eino Leino – Helsingin kaupungin taidemuseo
in Finnish) Arvo Turtiainen wrote a poem about the statues in the Esplanadi Park, in which he lamented that Leino was placed halfway between the two restaurants and still spoke to ''Taru ja Totuus'', the girls statue owned for

Zachris Topelius Zachris Topelius (, ; 14 January 181812 March 1898) was a Finnish author, poet, journalist, historian, and rector of the University of Helsinki who wrote novels related to Finnish history. Given name Zacharias is his baptismal name, and this ...

. The statue with its pedestal is high. Engraved on the pedestal of the statue is a verse from Leino's poem '' Väinämöinen's Song'': "One is a song above the others: a harsh song of the spirit of the human ideology". An interesting detail in the statue is its hand, into which a five-

mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

coin was inserted when it was cast. This is related to the story that Leino stated in his life that he "is not poor as long as he has a mark on his hand".HS: Eino Leino sai lantin kouraansa
(in Finnish)

References

Kaartinkaupunki Statues and sculptures in Helsinki {{Finland-stub