The Parliament House ( fi, Eduskuntatalo, sv, Riksdagshuset) is the seat of the Parliament of Finland. It is located in the Finnish capital Helsinki, in the district of Töölö.

History

In 1923 a competition was held to choose a site for a new parliament house. Arkadianmäki, a hill beside what is now Mannerheimintie, was chosen as the best site. The architectural competition which was held in 1924 was won by the firm of Borg–Sirén–Åberg with a proposal called Oratoribus ( Latin for "for the speakers"). Johan Sigfrid Sirén (1889–1961), who was mainly responsible for preparing the proposal, was given the task of designing Parliament House. The building was constructed 1926–1931 and was officially inaugurated on March 7, 1931. Ever since then, and especially during the Winter War and Continuation War, it has been the scene of many key moments in the nation's political life.

Architecture and features

Sirén designed Parliament House in a

stripped classical Stripped Classicism (or "Starved Classicism" or "Grecian Moderne") Jstor is primarily a 20th-century Classical architecture, classicist architectural style stripped of most or all Ornament (art), ornamentation, frequently employed by governmen ...

architectural style combining

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...

with early twentieth century modernism. Sirén's combination of simplified columns and balusters with simplified planar geometry bears comparison to similar explorations by

Erik Gunnar Asplund Erik Gunnar Asplund (22 September 1885 – 20 October 1940) was a Sweden, Swedish architect, mostly known as a key representative of Nordic Classicism of the 1920s, and during the last decade of his life as a major proponent of the modernist s ...

and Jože Plečnik. The exterior is red

Kalvola Kalvola is a former municipality of Finland. Its seat was in Iittala. It was consolidated with Hämeenlinna on 2009-01-01. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Tavastia Proper region. The municipality had a popu ...

granite. The façade is lined by fourteen columns with

Corinthian capitals The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order w ...

. The building has five floors, each of which is unique. The floors are connected by a white marble staircase and famous paternoster lifts. Most important for visitors are the main lobby, the stately

plenary chamber A debate chamber is a room for people to discuss and debate. Debate chambers are used in governmental and educational bodies, such as a parliament, congress, city council, or a university, either for formal proceedings or for informal discourse, ...

(Session Hall) and the large reception hall (State Hall). Notable later additions to the building are the library annex completed in 1978 and a separate office block,

Pikkuparlamentti The Finnish Parliament Annex ( fi, Pikkuparlamentti, sv, Lilla parlamentet "Little Parliament") is a building in the centre of Helsinki, Finland. It houses offices for about one hundred members of the Parliament of Finland. The building was built ...

( en, Little Parliament), the necessity of which was an object of some controversy, completed in 2004.

Floors of the Parliament House

First floor

The first floor contains the main lobby, the Speaker's reception rooms, the newspaper room, the information service, the documents office, the messenger centre, the copying room, the restaurant, and some separate function rooms. At both ends of the lobby are marble staircases leading up to the fifth floor.

Second floor

The second floor, also known as the main floor, is centered on the plenary chamber. Its galleries have seats for the public, the press, and diplomats. Also located on this floor are the reception hall (the Hall of State), the Speaker's Corridor, the Government Corridor, the cafeteria, and adjacent function rooms.

Third floor

The third floor includes facilities for the information unit and the media, and provides direct access to the press gallery of the plenary chamber. The Minutes Office and a number of committee rooms are also located here.

Fourth floor

The fourth floor is reserved for committees. Its largest rooms are the Grand Committee room and the Finance Committee room.

Fifth floor

The fifth floor contains meeting rooms and offices for the parliamentary groups. Additional offices for the parliamentary groups are located on the sixth floor, along with additional facilities for the media.

Statues of the former presidents

Most of the statues of former presidents of the Republic of Finland have been placed in the vicinity of the Parliament House. On the lawn in front of the house are the statue of

K. J. Ståhlberg K is the eleventh letter of the Latin alphabet. K may also refer to: General uses * K (programming language), an array processing language developed by Arthur Whitney and commercialized by Kx Systems * K (cider), a British draft cider manufac ...

from 1959 and the statue of

P. E. Svinhufvud Pehr Evind Svinhufvud af Qvalstad (; 15 December 1861 – 29 February 1944) was the third president of Finland from 1931 to 1937. Serving as a lawyer, judge, and politician in the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland, he played a major role in the ...

from 1961, both carved by

Wäinö Aaltonen Wäinö Valdemar Aaltonen (8 March 1894 – 30 May 1966) was a Finnish artist and sculptor. The Chambers Biographical Dictionary describes him as "one of the leading Finnish sculptors". He was born to a tailor in the village of Karinainen, Finla ...

, the former on the north and the latter on the south. In the same block, in the Parliament Park immediately north of the Parliament House, there is a statue of Kyösti Kallio from 1962,Kyösti Kallion muistopatsas
Helsingin taidemuseon Julkiset veistokset (in Finnish) carved by his son

Kalervo Kallio Niilo Kalervo Kallio (28 March 1909 – 2 November 1969) was a Finnish sculptor. He was the son of the fourth President of Finland Kyösti Kallio.

Sightseeing

Guided tours are arranged on Saturdays at 11:00 and 12:30 and on Sundays at 12:00 and 13:30; in July and August also at 14:00 on weekdays. On Tuesdays and Fridays, one can watch the Parliament in session from the public balcony.

Gallery

Notes

References

External links

Parliament House brochureOfficial website of the Finnish ParliamentShort movie featuring Parliament House
{{Helsinki Cityscape Landmarks in Finland Buildings and structures in Helsinki Parliament of Finland Legislative buildings in Europe Neoclassical architecture in Finland Seats of national legislatures Government buildings completed in 1931 1931 establishments in Finland Töölö