![Folkets hus Berghäll](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Folkets_hus_Bergh%C3%A4ll.jpg)
Paasitorni ( sv, Folkets hus), also known as the Helsinki Workers' House, is a conference and congress centre of exceptional value in terms of its architecture and cultural history. The historic building is located in
Hakaniemi
Hakaniemi (; sv, Hagnäs) is an unofficial district of Helsinki, the Finnish capital. It covers most of the neighbourhood of Siltasaari in the district of Kallio. Hakaniemi is located at the sea shore and is separated from the city centre by the ...
,
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...
,
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 was designed in
Art Nouveau style by architect
Karl Lindahl, opened in 1908 as conference and leisure premises for the working class, and for a long time, served actively as a
workers' house. As a professional congress centre Paasitorni's functions have been developed since the mid-1990s. Today Paasitorni houses almost 30 spaces for meetings and events for 8–800 people, four restaurants (Paasiravintola, Paasin Kellari, Juttutupa and Graniittilinna) and hotel
Scandic Paasi with 170 hotel rooms. A floating restaurant pavilion, Meripaviljonki, seating 200 was also opened in 2015 in front of Paasitorni, by the
Eläintarha
Eläintarha ( sv, Djurgården) is a large park in central Helsinki, Finland. The name "eläintarha" means "zoo".
The park's location acts as a divisor between the districts of Töölö to the west, and Hakaniemi and Kallio to the east. The sout ...
nlahti bay.
History
The imposing facade of castle-like Paasitorni is built in stone carved out of the bedrock where the building now stands, some of which was set aside at the farsighted suggestion of the original workmen and used in the extension completed in 1925. The granite facade with its high tower made it an eye-catching public building visible for miles. Sufficient granite was quarried to also build a wall encircling the outside space and pave the neighbouring street running down to the shoreline.
![Entrance, Paasitorni and Scandic Paasi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Entrance%2C_Paasitorni_and_Scandic_Paasi.jpg)
The oldest part of the Paasitorni building, completed in 1908, is late Art Nouveau in style. The building's facade, main staircase and the Congress Hall are expertly decorated with images of tools and symbols depicting various occupations to highlight the skill of the craftsman. In the 1918
Finnish Civil War
The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...
, the Reds made the building their headquarters. The
Germans
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, region1 =
, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
who had come to the aid of the Whites fired on the Workers' House heavily during the
Battle of Helsinki
The Battle of Helsinki was a 1918 Finnish Civil War battle, fought in 12–13 April between the German troops and Finnish Whites against the Finnish Reds in Helsinki, Finland. Together with the battles of Tampere and Vyborg, it was one of the ...
. The tower and the Congress Hall were severely damaged and had to be rebuilt after the war. The Congress Hall's Art Nouveau chandeliers dating back to 1919 were designed by Karl Lindahl.
In 1925 the Worker's House gained a new granite-clad extension also designed by architect
Karl Lindahl. The new extension incorporated the building's current main entrance, the vestibule and the second floor restaurant. In terms of style, this section with its solid black pillars epitomises 1920s Nordic Classicism.
In the mid-1990s it was decided to commence restoring Paasitorni's premises in keeping with the architect's original plans. The premises were skilfully restored between 1996 and 2007. In 2010 Paasitorni was presented as a candidate Unesco World Heritage Site together with eight other important buildings in the labour movement. Paasitorni was found perfectly to meet Unesco's criteria for a
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
in terms of authenticity and historical integrity. The main aim of the renovation work and new building work has been to retain the spirit of each of Paasitorni's historic periods.
External links
Official site of PaasitorniPaasitorni in the Heart of Helsinki -filmOfficial site of the restaurants of PaasitorniOfficial site of Scandic PaasiEmporis – Paasitorni"Folkets hus på Broholmen" illustrated article on the building's completion, ''Arkitekten'' Volume 6, issue 8, November 1908, 106–13
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Art Nouveau architecture in Helsinki
Buildings and structures completed in 1908
Buildings and structures in Helsinki
1908 establishments in Finland