Helsinki is full of beautiful art nouveau builidngs. I love the doorways to these buildings. Here are a few of my favourites.
the exotic door at number 5
The stone frame around the door was obviously made to last.
was this designed to scare off unwanted visitors?
Stone was obviously very popular at the time these buildings were made.
a good solid doorway
The wooden doors are beautifully carved.
cats on the door
There were 3 fabulous stone doorways in this building.
next door
While the stone frames were the same, each door had a different motif.
it has a dog
I wonder if it was a clue to the preference of the owner, or just an easy way to identify your front door. The third one had flowers.
the door to a lovely yellow building
The houses are all very well maintained and looking beautiful.
above the door
Some of the shapes are very inventive.
I really love this one
pity about the shadow
flower detail
amazing!
This one could be opened in 2 ways. There was one hinge for a regular door and another if it needed to be a wider opening, very clever.
that's a hinge!
Wouldn’t it be great if this much thought was put into some modern buildings?
The next one is the tiny doorway to a shop on Bulevardi – a very elegant Helsinki street.
isn't it cute?
Also in Bulevardi.
a most impressive entrance
I’m not sure what this building is, but it looks very important.
Soumi is Finland
Above the door is a beautiful mother and children.
Mum and the kids
One one side of the building are the boys.
the boys
And on the other side…
the girls
I know nothing about the tape.
a curly one
The next one is my favourite. I walk past it as often as I can.
very elaborate
The detail on this door is incredible.
pressed metal birds on the doors
I would love to know more about the life of this building.
a well worn handle
The door is surrounded by stone carvings.
animal motifs are popular
I love the little fox.
cute fox
The entrance is to the Pohjola building, an iconic Helsinki building, which is under scaffolding just now.
he doesn't look happy
Helsinki is a beautiful city. If you go take the time to just wander, there is a surprise at every turn.
How interesting! I also love the doorway at No.2 (pic #9), such an amazing shape – very Art Nouveau! I have only had the pleasure of spending a couple of hours in Helsinki (way back in 1995)… You are making me want to go back again!
By: Lu on June 8, 2011
at 12:37 pm
Helsinki is a beautiful city – big enough to have lots of interesting things to see and do and small enough to be easy to navigate.
By: bagnidilucca on June 9, 2011
at 4:08 am
My goodness, Debra, these are gorgeous! I’ve never seen such elaborate and exquisitely carved and designed doors before. I’ve also never visited Helsinki before, but Finland sounds like an amazing country to explore. Thanks for showing us around. 🙂
By: Reggie on June 8, 2011
at 12:46 pm
Finland is beautiful and the people are very nice – and speak English. You should go.
By: bagnidilucca on June 9, 2011
at 4:07 am
Helsinki is also on my list, but not so easy to get to as some other places in Europe, Not so cheap either, I imagine.
By: Richard Tulloch on June 8, 2011
at 1:46 pm
We often fly Finnair from Australia. It is a great airline and you get to stop in Helsinki. We don’t really find Finland all that expensive, particularly now with the good exchange rate. It is more expensive than Italy, but probably much the same as Australia. I think food etc has become very expensive in Australia.
By: bagnidilucca on June 9, 2011
at 4:06 am
These are so interesting and really different from the designs in Italy. I love that hinge!
By: paninigirl on June 8, 2011
at 1:51 pm
The design is completely different from Italy. Both places are gorgeous.
By: bagnidilucca on June 9, 2011
at 4:04 am
Lots of imagination and creativity and magnificent craftmanship. Thanks for sharing them. Great photos as usual.
By: Mulino Dominillo on June 8, 2011
at 2:18 pm
Finns are very good craftsmen.
By: bagnidilucca on June 9, 2011
at 4:02 am
Finns are very good craftmen. My grandfather and father were excellent capenters.
By: bagnidilucca on June 9, 2011
at 4:03 am
debra: like you told me, one of these days. helsinki looks very interesting.
i bet they had very excellent craftsmen and women. all that done by hand. amazing. a quality art hopefully handed down even to some of this generation.
thanks for sharing.
By: george miori on June 8, 2011
at 4:19 pm
Extraordinary craftsmanship and art! Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures. Really amazing.
By: Anna Harrison on June 8, 2011
at 6:07 pm
They are beautiful aren’t they? So different from Italy.
By: bagnidilucca on June 9, 2011
at 4:01 am
Some look familiar must have walked past them at sometime. Thank you for sharing these.
By: kirsi sade on June 8, 2011
at 9:10 pm
The first doors were all in the area near the water past the Russian church. I wandered there for the first time. The others are in the city centre.
By: bagnidilucca on June 9, 2011
at 4:00 am
I’m really enjoying these Finnish posts Debra. They take me back to our holiday there…
By: Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella on June 9, 2011
at 4:16 am
I have a whole category on Helsinki. I just love it.
By: bagnidilucca on June 9, 2011
at 5:11 am
Debra, maybe you could do a coffee table book. Doors of the World…I’d buy it!
By: cityhippyfarmgirl on June 9, 2011
at 4:23 am
That sounds like a good idea. Of course, I would have to do lots more door searching.
By: bagnidilucca on June 9, 2011
at 5:12 am
I agree with the idea of a coffee table book – all of those doors are beautiful and a coffee table book with the title of “knockers” would also be a great ice breaker! The doors in this post look as though they are influenced by celtic mythology or some such – almost hobbit-like (though for rather tall hobbits). I love them.
By: Jan on June 9, 2011
at 5:08 am
Nordic mythology played a big part in the design of these builidngs. They are art nouveau, but with a definite Finnish flavour.
By: bagnidilucca on June 9, 2011
at 5:13 am
Hi Deb,
We are at Airlie Beach at the moment.. Bowen for the long weekend. The weather has been great, although probably some showers over the weekend.
My husband Lawrie and I hired a camper van. We left Adelaide on the 2/5/11
We have slowly travelled up the east coast from Melbourne.
We have had a great time, swimming, bush walking, sightseeing and relaxing. And of course supporting the Aust. economy. Hopefully Italy in 2012.
Cheers Judy.
By: Judy on June 9, 2011
at 7:49 am
Have a great time! It is a bit cold in Brisbane just now. It was only 12 degrees today, very cold for us.
By: bagnidilucca on June 9, 2011
at 7:54 am
Love all of the beautiful architectural details in this post. Must get to Finland one of these days. I have friends in Sweden and my hubby has rellies (long lost but recently reconnected with) in Latvia. Sounds like a trip being planned…
Welcome back to Aus. It’s a cold one here in Adelaide too. MLT
By: mltucker on June 13, 2011
at 9:48 am
Finland is beautiful. We have been several times and love it.
By: bagnidilucca on June 13, 2011
at 9:56 am
Just read this one. Love the one with cats! I wish I could have that door as my door.
By: maru on June 25, 2011
at 12:50 am
I love the architecture in Helsinki. The houses and apartment buildings are beautiful.
By: bagnidilucca on June 25, 2011
at 1:42 am
That is a great, lovely variety doors in Helsinki. I enjoyed all of them.
Thank You presenting them.
By: sartenada on July 17, 2011
at 2:23 pm
Nice to hear from you. I love the beautiful buildings in Helsinki.
By: bagnidilucca on July 17, 2011
at 9:21 pm
[…] here to see some fabulous Finnish doors and look in the Helsinki category for more on heavenly […]
By: Beautiful Helsinki « Bagni di Lucca and Beyond on July 29, 2011
at 12:38 am
I love the one with the cats! All these doors have such beautiful detail. I am glad you took the time to capture these with your camera and share them here, Debra! Great post!!
By: margieinitaly on July 6, 2012
at 10:01 pm
I have another blog called Beautiful Helsinki with several posts on the architecture in this gorgeous city.
By: Debra Kolkka on July 7, 2012
at 10:04 am