Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)

tags: Hietaniemen Hautausmaa, Hietaniemi cemetery, Etu-Töölö, Helsinki, Finland, nature, photoessay

On my last day in Helsinki, my host and I walked through the northwestern portions of the city (Etu-Töölö -- my recent featured Image of the Day includes images from this walk) to visit several places, including Sibeliuksenpuisto (Sibelius Park) where the famous monument is located and Hietaniemen hautausmaa (Hietaniemi cemetery). This graveyard is the burial place for many famous Finns, including writers, artists, actors, and nearly all of its presidents.

Gravestones and statues were visible through the snow-covered trees as far as the eye could see in every direction;

Unlike the cemetaries in NYC, which are uncared for and are mostly filled with broken-down and damaged gravestones, Finnish graveyards are carefully maintained, scenic and almost park-like;

Hietaniemi Cemetery is within walking distance of the city center, and it is next to a beach. This graveyard is unusual because it is comprised of four parts: Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, Jewish and Islamic cemetaries. The Lutheran cemetery is further subdivided into two areas. The older portion is the final resting place of a number of famous people, including C.L. Engel, the man who designed a large part of the city, world-renowned architect Alvar Aalto, Finland's best-known artist, Gallen-Kallela (whose home I visited shortly after arriving in Helsinki), authors Mika Waltari and Topelius and six Finnish presidents.

The strong winds from the previous day's snowstorm deposited snow everywhere in a variety of patterns. I thought this gravestone had a particularly interesting snowy design;

Here's another tombstone with an interesting pattern in its snow covering;

Some of these gravesites had such elaborate stones and markers that I thought it would be interesting to find the markers for some famous people and photograph them to share with you, but alas, my numb fingers and toes prevented me from following up on this idea.

Since the Finns are predominantly Lutheran, crosses were quite popular as grave markers. I took this opportunity to photograph several different styles to share with you. Here's a very plain cross made of marble;

And a much fancier cross made of marble;

Read more about the Hietaniemi cemetery [English or Suomi]. As you can see from this one reference, ther eis plenty more to see in this cemetary, so I plan to spend more time investigating and photographing it when I return to Helsinki.

But if you think I walked through twenty-foot high snowdrifts in a sub-zero blizzard just to look at a few grave markers, you'd be very mistaken. I actually made this perilous journey for a much different (and life-affirming) reason: to visit the birds to handfeed and photograph them. As if to remind me of my true purpose, a little birdie flew past my head and landed on the trunk of a pine tree and clung there, asking for something to eat;

I plan to publish a photoessay of the friendly birds of Hietaniemen Hautausmaa tomorrow, so be ready for that!