Anni Sinnemäki visited Burgher’s House Museum after long break
The national campaign when politicians are invited to intern at museums, Poliitikon museoharjoittelu, held by the Finnish Museums Association on 19–23 August, introduced decision-makers to museum work. Helsinki City Museum was visited by two deputy mayors, Anni Sinnemäki and Daniel Sazonov. Sinnemäki visited the Burgher’s House Museum and learned more about cultural environment work, whereas Sazonov was introduced to cultural wellbeing work and met with museum grandmas and grandpas.
The courtyard of the Burgher’s House Museum is bustling with life, as the children from the daycare centre next door play in the sandpit and summer visitors walk in through the yellow gate of Kristianinkatu 12 to the oldest residential wooden building in Helsinki city centre. The last time Anni Sinnemäki visited this house was in the 1980s, and she remembers the small size of the house, the beautiful interior and a certain sense of wealth. The purpose of this visit is to learn more about the diversity and significance of museum work. During the visit, discussions were held on urban development, rooting in one’s hometown, and Helsinki’s cultural environment program.
Sinnemäki says that she has always been interested in urban planning and architecture and ponders which timeline is valued at any given time when new urban areas are planned. According to Sinnemäki, there are many challenges associated with new construction and restoration – how sustainability can be taken into account in material choices, for example.
“Currently, preserving sites from the 80s and 90s is important, because we usually want to tear down buildings and areas constructed 40–50 years ago. Schools and daycare centres have been a hot topic recently, and we are currently discussing office buildings. Many of the city’s cultural centres are also from the 80s and 90s, and we want to reform them now, while preserving what is good,” Sinnemäki says.
According to the deputy mayor, it is important to make sure that new buildings are boldly constructed amidst the contemporary built environment. In the past, the entire Kruununhaka district was built around the Burgher’s House. The impressive bridge construction worksite in Hakaniemi, Merihaka and Kruunuvuorenranta is now visible from the crossing nearby.
According to the 1812 city plan, the Burgher’s House built on the Siltavuori rocks is a small house for the gentry with a hall and three bedrooms. Later on, a kitchen was built in the main building, the hipped roof was replaced with a ridged roof and a porch was added in front of the door. The former outbuilding was replaced by a stone house built in 1905. The courtyard is a model example of housing development by blocks of houses in the 1800s. According to City Museum Architect Mikko Lindqvist, the Burgher’s House was created at a time of great changes, when the tools used for guiding the construction of the city were only just being created. The small wooden house has upright, decorative windows with shutters that have also been added in the courtyard. They offer protection from the light and provide privacy.
Cultural environments are a central identity builder for the city and its residents. According to Sinnemäki, the policy of selling the City’s empty buildings has been successful. Buildings all over Helsinki need people who are able to see the spirit and soul of the building as owners to keep them genuinely alive.
According to the cultural environment programme, Helsinki is home to people coming from elsewhere, and newcomers find it easy to put down roots here. One of the key tasks of the City Museum is to strengthen the feeling of putting down roots in Helsinki among those moving to and those already living here. According to Anni Sinnemäki, putting down roots is associated with micro locations and neighbourhoods, as well as the residents’ feeling of belonging.
Many visitors from Helsinki and further away visit the Burgher’s House Museum in the summer. When we visited the house to write this article, we met Taiwanese students Michelle and Wunwun and a couple from Vuosaari, who were all admiring the quiet and cosy old house in a capital city buzzing with noise. The summer season continues until 29 September at the Burgher’s House Museum. You still have time to catch the Martta Bröyer special guided tour and enjoy some really old jokes!
Photo: Katariina Salmi / Finnish Museums Association
