SkyWheel Helsinki is a 40-meter (131 feet) tall

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsule ...

in central

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 ...

. One of its gondola cabins, the SkySauna, is the world's first

sauna A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...

on a Ferris wheel. It opened to the public on June 3, 2014. It was originally named the Finnair SkyWheel and its placement on

Katajanokka Katajanokka ( sv, Skatudden) is a neighbourhood of Helsinki, Finland, with around 4000 inhabitants in 2005. The district is located adjacent to the immediate downtown area, though in the first major town plan for Helsinki from the mid-18th cent ...

harbor is where the airline

Finnair Finnair ( fi, Finnair Oyj, sv, Finnair Abp) is the flag carrier and largest airline of Finland, with its headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helsinki Airport, its hub. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both domestic and international ...

first located its flight operations in the 1920s.

Design

The

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

-based Dutch Wheels designed and constructed the wheel. It is a model R40. It has 30 climate controlled gondolas, allowing the wheel to operate year-round. Of these, 29 blue-and-white gondolas can accommodate six people, except for the VIP gondola which can accommodate four. The wood paneled SkySauna gondola can hold up to five people. The VIP gondola features a glass floor and leather chairs.

References

External links

* {{Helsinki Cityscape 2014 establishments in Finland Buildings and structures completed in 2014 Ferris wheels Tourist attractions in Helsinki Buildings and structures in Helsinki Saunas Landmarks in Finland Finnair