Tampere Central Square, Finland - Church

Church, Monuments

Tampere's prime street is Hämeenkatu, which runs from the railroad station by way of Keskustori in the Central Square to the extensive boulevard Hämeenpuisto. In the square is the Hämeensilta overpass, with four figures by Wäinö Aaltonen: the Tax-Collector, the Hunter, the Tradesman and the Finnish Maiden. Close by is the former community library, in neo-Classical fashion, in front of which is another work by Aaltonen, a monument to Aleksis Kivi "The Muse blessing the Poet". The most prominent buildings in Keskustori are the neo-Classical Old Church built by Carlo Bassi in the year 1824, on a cruciform plan, with an Empire-style belfry by C. L. Engel, 1828; the Town Hall, in neo-Renaissance style by Georg Schreck in the year 1890 and the neo-Classical Tampere Theatre by Kauno S. Kallio in the year 1913.