The Pitkäsilta (; , ) is a bridge in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, connecting the districts of

Kruununhaka Kruununhaka (; ) is a Subdivisions of Helsinki#Neighbourhoods, neighbourhood of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Kruununhaka became the area next to the harbour and the center, when Helsinki was moved from the earlier location in the mid-1660s ...

and

Siltasaari Siltasaari ( Finnish), or Broholmen ( Swedish), is a central neighborhood of Helsinki, Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, a ...

. It was completed in 1912 by the design of the architect Runar Eklund. Pitkäsilta is one of the best known landmarks of Helsinki. The bridge's name comes from near the end of the 19th century, when the district of Siltasaari was still an island. Two bridges led to the island, and bridge in the spot of the current Pitkäsilta was longer.

History

The first wooden bridge across the Kaisaniemi Bay was opened 1651, followed by three other wooden ones until the present stone bridge was built in 1910–1912. Pitkäsilta was damaged in the 1918 Finnish Civil War

Battle of Helsinki The Battle of Helsinki was a 1918 Finnish Civil War battle, fought on 12–13 April by the German Empire, German troops and White Guard (Finland), Finnish Whites against the Red Guards (Finland), Finnish Reds in Helsinki, Finland. Together wit ...

as well as in the air raids of World War II. Some of the marks are still visible.

National symbolism

The Pitkäsilta connects Helsinki downtown to the once working-class districts of Siltasaari,

Kallio Kallio (; ; 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 most densely pop ...

and

Hakaniemi Hakaniemi (; ) is an unofficial district of Helsinki, the Finland, Finnish capital. It covers most of the Subdivisions of Helsinki, neighbourhood of Siltasaari in the district of Kallio. Hakaniemi is located at the sea shore and is separated from ...

. Most of the trade union and leftist party headquarters were also located around the northern end of the bridge. For several decades, the Pitkäsilta was considered as a divider and a symbol of the gap between the left and right. In the Finnish political jargon, the compromises between these factions are still sometimes referred as ″crossing the Pitkäsilta″ ().

References

{{Finland-struct-stub Bridges completed in 1912 Bridges in Finland Buildings and structures in Helsinki Kruununhaka