Presidential Palace - World War I - Helsinki, Finland
N 60° 10.085 E 024° 57.395
35V E 386613 N 6671884
The Presidential Palace in Helsinki is currently one of the official residences of the President of the Republic of Finland. It served as a temporary military hospital during World War I.
Waymark Code: WMPFQW
Location: Finland
Date Posted: 08/24/2015
Views: 46
The Presidential Palace is of the Neoclassical architectural style and painted a pale yellow with six columns defining its front entrance. The palace has had many varied uses over the years, including an Imperial Palace, a military hospital during World War I, the headquarters of the Executive Committee of the Helsinki Workers and Soldiers Soviet, and the official residence of the President of Finland.
"The Palace was completed in 1845, though repairs had to be made from time to time as mostly it stood empty and was not regularly heated. It was visited for the first time by a members of the imperial family as late as 1851. The visitor was the young heir apparent Alexander Nikolayevitsh (later Czar Alexander II). During Alexander II's reign the Palace had its most brilliant time. The Czar visited the city three times (1856, 1863, and 1876), staying on each occasion at the Palace.
Different kinds of use
Under the aggravated political conditions of World War I the residence was converted into the Military Hospital of the Finnish Senate. In 1917-18 the revolutionary council of the soldiers and workers stayed in the house, and during the very first years of Finland's independence one of the upper floors served as the Ministry for Foreign Affairs."
-- President of the Republic of Finland
"Under the political conditions of World War I the palace was converted into Helsinki Temporary Military Hospital I in October 1915. With the February Revolution of 1917 and the abdication of the Tsar/Grand Duke, the palace ceased to be a military hospital and became the property of the Senate which renamed it as the Former Imperial Palace."
-- Wikipedia