Vaasanpuistikko (

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

: ''Vasaskvären'', unofficial name Vaasanaukio), meaning "

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

park", is an area 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 ...

, surrounded by the streets of Helsinginkatu, Vaasanpolku and Pengerpolku around the western entrance to the

Sörnäinen metro station Sörnäinen metro station (, ) is a station on the Helsinki Metro. It serves the central Helsinki districts of Sörnäinen and Kallio. Sörnäinen is the easternmost station on the system to be located underground. The station was opened on 1 Sep ...

, near the so-called Sörnäinen curve. Even though Vaasanpuistikko is located in the neighbourhood of

Alppiharju Alppiharju ( sv, Åshöjden) is a district of approximately 12,000 inhabitants in the eastern part of the Central major district of Helsinki, Finland. It consists of sub-districts Alppila and Harju, and is bordered by Kallio in the south, Taka-T ...

, it is commonly thought of as a part of

Kallio Kallio (; sv, Berghäll; literally " the rock") is a district and a neighbourhood in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, located on the eastern side of the Helsinki peninsula about one kilometre north from the city centre. It is one of the mo ...

. Vaasanpuistikko is connected with Vaasankatu. Around Vaasanpuistikko are located the Sörnäinen metro station, a pawn shop, a self-defense school, a gym, a driving school and an

S-market The S Group ( fi, S-ryhmä, sv, S-gruppen) is a Finnish retailing cooperative organisation with its head office in Helsinki. Founded in 1904, it consists of 20 regional cooperatives operating all around Finland in addition to SOK, ''Suomen Osuu ...

shop. There are numerous bars, pizzerias and other restaurants located nearby. Helsinki city council member Kimmo Helistö made a proposal in 2007 to rename the square as "Arto Mellerin aukio" after the poet

Arto Melleri Arto Matti Vihtori Melleri (7 September 1956 in Lappajärvi – 13 May 2005 in Helsinki) was a Finnish poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet ...

, but the proposal was not supported.Kurvin aktiivit aikovat rauhoittaa Ikuisen vapun aukion
''

Helsingin Sanomat ''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of ...

'' 13 April 2007. Accessed on 23 June 2014. Vaasanpuistikko is sometimes humorously referred to with the nicknames "''Piritori''" ("Amphetamine square") and "''Ikuisen vapun aukio''" ("Square of the eternal

Walpurgis Night Walpurgis Night (), an abbreviation of Saint Walpurgis Night (from the German ), also known as Saint Walpurga's Eve (alternatively spelled Saint Walburga's Eve), is the eve of the Christian feast day of Saint Walpurga, an 8th-century abbess in ...

"). As of 2022, there have been concerns about increasing substance abuse and restlessness on the square and on the streets nearby.

References

External links

*
City council proposal to improve the area of Vaasanpuistikko and the Sörnäinen metro station
archived on 22 April 2012
Yle Elävä Arkisto: Ikuisen vapun Piritori
{{Coord, 60, 11, 16, N, 24, 57, 38, E, region:FI-ES, display=title Squares in Helsinki