O ne of the sites in Helsinki at which I wanted to visit on my morning walk from the Hilton Helsinki Kalastajatorppa was the Sibelius Monument in Helsinki — and it was conveniently on my way. I walked southeast on Paciuksenkatu — and at the turn where the thoroughfare becomes Linnankoskenkatu, I turned right onto a quiet street named Merikannontie, which was adjacent to one of the many inlets of the Gulf of Finland.
An Unusual Sculpture: Sibelius Monument in Helsinki
I approached Sibeliuksen puisto — which is Sibelius Park in English — where the unusual sculpture is located…
…and there it was: 24 metric tons of welded steel, simulating 600 organ pipes in honor of Jean Sibelius, who was a composer and violinist.
Sibelius was born on Friday, December 8, 1865 in what was then known as the Grand Duchy of Finland.
Like the Hilton Helsinki Kalastajatorppa hotel property, the sculpture is situated on a base of solid rock.
On the side of the sculpture is a bust of Sibelius.
Sibelius died on Friday, September 20, 1957…
…and in his honor, the sculpture and bust were created by Eila Hiltunen, who was born in Russia but moved to Finland.
This is a closer look at the bust of the man who was born with the name Johan Julius Christian Sibelius.
I was born and raised in New York and yet I did not know this bit of trivia: a smaller version of the Sibelius Monument is located on the grounds of the headquarters of the United Nations in New York; and it was also created by Eila Hiltunen, who died in Helsinki on Monday, November 10, 2003.
The next few photographs capture the intricate work by the sculptor.
This view is from underneath the sculpture towards the bust of Jean Sibelius.
One can almost hear the organ music playing.
Let the inner child in you come out and try your hand at “composing music” while underneath the sculpture by using your voice to create noise.
This is one of the bases supporting the sculpture.
Looking southwest in the distance is the street named Merikannontie, with one of the many inlets of the Gulf of Finland just beyond it – and with the light blanket of snow, creating idyllic scenery.
This is the signature of Eila Hiltunen, who started working on the sculpture in 1961 and finished it prior to its unveiling on Thursday, September 7, 1967.
Sibelius Monument is one of the most popular sculptures — as well as one of the best known tourist attractions — in Helsinki. A busload of tourists from China marveled at the sculpture while I was there, taking many photographs and simply having fun before departing on the bus to the next attraction.
Snow was forming on the insides of the “pipes”…
…as well as gathering at the ridges at the bottom of each “pipe.”
The snow was still falling in the cold air — albeit lightly — as seen in the photograph above.
Summary
There is no charge to visit the sculpture or the beautiful park itself; and you can stay as long — or as briefly — as you like…
…and it was time for me to walk on to my next stop…
All photographs ©2017 by Brian Cohen.
