The Life and Travels of Mrs Suvi

Now that I ended the Saturday Statues challenge I can publish statue posts on any day of the week! Have a look at some found on one of the main streets in Helsinki, Aleksanterinkatu.

These two ladies adorn one of the entrances to the old department store Aleksi 13. The store opened in 1967 in the historical Lindqvist building. The building itself was completed in 1900 and it was the first commercial building in Helsinki. The statues are called Spinning and Hunting and they are by Robert Stigell. Stigell was educated in St. Petersburg, Rome and Paris. The lady on the left holds a spear and rope for hunting. The lady on the right is spinning a lump of wool into yarn. The symbolism behind their actions is that these connect to the building’s original purpose – handicrafts and livelihood.

Now this one has quite an interesting history. I always thought the text Kullervo just refers to the Finnish folklore Kalevala. The name has been inspired by it yes, but in the end the text is the name of an insurance company that used to be in the building! There is another one quite as ugly on the other side of the door which has the text Pohjola above it. Again referring to an insurance company that operated in the building. Both were designed by Hilda Flodin.

Have you noticed these sculptures on your stroll on Aleksanterinkatu?

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