Sibelius Park

Sibelius Park, which originated in the 1780s, is Finland’s first musical park.

Early Stages of Sibelius Park

Sibelius Park has a long history, as its area was part of the park-style residence garden commissioned by Governor Anders de Bruce in the 1780s. The Governor passed away in 1787, and the park area was divided into two parts at the beginning of the 19th century.

Governor Otto Carl Rehbinder leased the southern part of the residence garden in 1848 and established a private nursery garden there. In 1863, the nursery garden area was transformed into an open promenade park.

The Era of Star Park

A wooden restaurant pavilion was constructed in the promenade park, with a multi-coloured star affixed to its roof. The park quickly became known as Star Park, and the area became a popular social and gathering place for city residents.

The Star Park restaurant was destroyed by arson in 1890. Despite the fire, the area surrounding the restaurant was known as Star Park until the 1960s.

The Birth of the Current Sibelius Park

In 1961, it was decided to place a statue depicting a young Jean Sibelius in Star Park, and the park’s name was changed to Sibelius Park. Consequently, the burial site and memorial for German soldiers who fell in the Hämeenlinna area in 1918, which was then located in the area, were moved to the Old Cemetery. The statue, created by Kain Tapper, was unveiled to the public on Sibelius’s birthday in 1964.

Finland’s First Musical Park

In 2014, Sibelius Park was designated Finland’s first musical park in honour of Sibelius. Some of the park benches play piano compositions from the composer’s Wood Nymph suite (Cinq morceaux op. 75, 1914–19) when sat upon. The pieces are performed by diploma pianist Erkki Korhonen, and the sound production was created by Sibelius Celebrations.

Another special feature of Sibelius Park is a chessboard formed by white and black paving stones, where you can play outdoor chess. The large pieces are kept in a box in the park, for which you can borrow the keys with your library card from the information desk at Hämeenlinna Main Library.