Three smiths statue
Encyclopedia
The Three Smiths Statue is a sculpture
by Felix Nylund, situated in Helsinki
in Three Smiths Square at the intersection of Aleksanterinkatu
and Mannerheimintie
. This realistic statue, unveiled in 1932, depicts three smith
s hammering on an anvil
. The smiths are naked
.
The top part of the bronze
statue's granite
base is encircled by the Latin text MONUMENTUM – CURAVIT – LEGATUM – J. TALLBERGIANUM – PRO HELSINGFORS A.D. MCMXXII ("The statue was erected with the help of a donation from J. Tallberg by Pro Helsingfors in the year 1932"). The statue was donated to the city of Helsinki by the Pro Helsingfors foundation
, which had acquired it with the help of a monetary donation by the businessman Julius Tallberg. Tallberg's commerce house is situated at the northern end of the three smiths square.
The statue was damaged in a bombing during the Continuation War
in 1944. Marks of the damage can still be seen in the base of the statue, and the anvil has a hole caused by a bomb shrapnel.
The Three Smiths Statue is a popular meeting place, the Green League
has often located their election
campaign quarters next to it and a Peru
vian street music orchestra has performed in the area on many summers.
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
by Felix Nylund, situated in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
in Three Smiths Square at the intersection of Aleksanterinkatu
Aleksanterinkatu
Aleksanterinkatu is a street in the centre of Helsinki, Finland. In the city plan by Carl Ludvig Engel, it was the Decumanus Maximus, the main east-west street in the city, crossing the Cardo, Unioninkatu at the corner of the Senate Square.The street begins near the Presidential Palace and...
and Mannerheimintie
Mannerheimintie
Mannerheimintie , or Mannerheimvägen , named after the Finnish military leader and statesman Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, is one of the most famous streets in Helsinki, Finland. It was originally named Heikinkatu , after Robert Henrik Rehbinder, but was renamed after the Winter War...
. This realistic statue, unveiled in 1932, depicts three smith
Smith (metalwork)
A metalsmith, often shortened to smith, is a person involved in making metal objects. In contemporary use a metalsmith is a person who uses metal as a material, uses traditional metalsmithing techniques , whose work thematically relates to the practice or history of the practice, or who engages in...
s hammering on an anvil
Anvil
An anvil is a basic tool, a block with a hard surface on which another object is struck. The inertia of the anvil allows the energy of the striking tool to be transferred to the work piece. In most cases the anvil is used as a forging tool...
. The smiths are naked
Nudity
Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
.
The top part of the bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
statue's granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
base is encircled by the Latin text MONUMENTUM – CURAVIT – LEGATUM – J. TALLBERGIANUM – PRO HELSINGFORS A.D. MCMXXII ("The statue was erected with the help of a donation from J. Tallberg by Pro Helsingfors in the year 1932"). The statue was donated to the city of Helsinki by the Pro Helsingfors foundation
Foundation (charity)
A foundation is a legal categorization of nonprofit organizations that will typically either donate funds and support to other organizations, or provide the source of funding for its own charitable purposes....
, which had acquired it with the help of a monetary donation by the businessman Julius Tallberg. Tallberg's commerce house is situated at the northern end of the three smiths square.
The statue was damaged in a bombing during the Continuation War
Continuation War
The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...
in 1944. Marks of the damage can still be seen in the base of the statue, and the anvil has a hole caused by a bomb shrapnel.
The Three Smiths Statue is a popular meeting place, the Green League
Green League
The Green League is a centrist green liberal political party in Finland. It has ten seats in the Finnish Parliament and two in the European Parliament. The current chairperson is Ville Niinistö....
has often located their election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
campaign quarters next to it and a Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian street music orchestra has performed in the area on many summers.