Punavuori ( sv, Rödbergen) is a

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural are ...

in the center of

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 ...

, the capital of

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 ...

. The name Punavuori (English: Red mountain) refers to red cliffs located between Sepänkatu and Punavuorenkatu. They were still visible in the 19th century, nowadays they are covered with buildings and pavement. Punavuori was traditionally a working-class neighbourhood, today it is known as a bohemian district popular among artists, students and hipsters. It is one of the most densely populated areas in Finland. After the new location and growth of Helsinki in the 18th century, Punavuori became the area next to the center. During the 19th century the district had a seedy reputation. Most of the

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...

s and

beerhouse A beerhouse was a type of public house created in the United Kingdom by the 1830 Beerhouse Act, legally defined as a place "where beer is sold to be consumed ''on'' the premises". They were also known as 'small' or 'Tom and Jerry' shops Existing pu ...

s were found in Punavuori. The social problems were aggravated by quickly built rent-apartments for the poor. Helsinki Viiskulma

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the district went through a process of

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...

. Today Punavuori offers many trendy small shops and

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s and

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

s. Important streets include Uudenmaankatu and Iso Roobertinkatu. In the old

Helsinki slang Helsinki slang or ('Helsinki's slang', from Swedish language, Swedish , 'city'; see #Etymology, etymology) is a local dialect and a sociolect of the Finnish language mainly used in the capital city of Helsinki. It is characterized by its abunda ...

, the district is called "Rööperi" (derived from the district's Swedish name). Punavuori

In popular culture

A Finnish cover version of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' song "

Penny Lane "Penny Lane" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in February 1967 as a double A-side single with "Strawberry Fields Forever". It was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songw ...

" has lyrics referring to Punavuori. The song is called "Rööperiin" which means "To Punavuori", using the slang term derived from the Swedish name. The song has been recorded by

Pepe Willberg Pertti "Pepe" Willberg (formerly Toivo Pertti Uolevi Willberg, till 1955 Kaukonen; born on 17 December 1946) is a Finnish singer, songwriter and guitarist. Biography Willberg was born in Turku and started his musical career in the beginning of ...

(and later by other artists). The lyrics for the chorus part are: "Rööperiin, mä kaipaan niin" ("I yearn for Punavuori").

Art galleries

Punavuori is located within the trendy Design District of Helsinki, an area with a large concentration of museums,

art galleries An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

, local design shops,

antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

markets, theatres, and other landmarks within the art and

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

scene. Even though Punavuori area consists of only 13 streets and its total area is about 42 ha, there are many art galleries in the neighborhood, plus many design shops and trendy cafes, bars, and restaurants. Galleries in the area include: Art Salon Piirto, Atelier Matti Pikkujämsä, Bukowskis (design auction market), Exhibition Laboratory, Galleria Artika, Galleria Kajaste, Galleria Mafka & Alakoski, Galleria Sinne, Helsinki Contemporary, Life Art, Photographic Gallery Hippolyte and Rööperin taidesalonki.

References

External links

{{coord, 60, 09, 42, N, 024, 56, 17, E, dim:10000_scale:100000_region:FI-ES_type:city(8218)_source:dewiki, display=title Ullanlinna district

In popular culture

Art galleries

See also

References

External links