FIN: Sibelius Park

Mechelininkatu, Helsinki, Finland

I was unsure whether to write on Sibelius Park as a separate post or include it somewhere in a future post since I didn't take lots of photos there. However, I think the park that's situated within the Töölö neighbourhood of Helsinki deserves its own entry due to the presence of a cool-looking monument there.

My BFF and I walked to the park after visiting Temppeliaukio Church and having lunch at one of the restaurants near the church.

Regatta Café over there is rated highly by visitors.

Sibelius Monument is dedicated to the late Jean Sibelius, who's considered to be the country's greatest composer of all times.

Sculpted by a local artist named Eila Hiltunen, the monument was unveiled on 7 September 1967.

The monument showcases hollow steel pipes welded together in a wave-like pattern.

The abstract art has had its fair share of criticisms, especially since it looks like stylised organ pipes even though the composer had created little music for organs. In her defence, Eila Hiltunen explained that the pattern captured the essence of the music of Sibelius. She also added a sculpture of the face of Sibelius next to the main monument.

We didn't explore much of the park as we planned to cover other attractions for the day, but we did enjoy our brief visit to the green space.

I'd love to sit there all day long with a book, listening to the chirping sound of the birds at the same time.

The park was occupied by quite a number of barnacle geese.

Awwwwwww! Huddling together for warmth~

Did you know that there's a smaller version of the Sibelius Monument at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France? There's also a work of art with a similar concept by the same artist at the grounds of the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York City, the USA.