DickandDot

This was the coldest day of the winter so far (-23ºC, windchill -31ºC) and in the near future. Fortunately this meeting was indoors. :)

And then on Epiphany back to Geopoly and the city centre. Unioninkatu ("Union Street") is one of the historical axis in the Empire-style centre, marking the border of the 1st and 2nd districts and continuing south to the 3rd. The cache itself is in the 1st, Kruununhaka.
Helsinki was founded in 1550 some 6 km north in what is now Vanhakaupunki, but moved to Kruununhaka in 1640. Elevated to be the capital of the new Grand Duchy of Finland in 1812, the rather small town needed a more stylish centre, so what now is Kruununhaka was completely rebuilt in grand Empire style (leading it to double as St. Petersburg or Leningrad in American and British movies during the Cold War). The commercial centre has since moved westwards to Kluuvi and Kamppi, but the administrative centre is still here: the Government Palace, the Presidential Palace, the Lutheran Cathedral, City Hall, many ministries etc. The University of Helsinki main building is also right on the edge of the Senate Square, but technically located in the 2nd district (Kluuvi). Besides all that, Kruununhaka is a densely-built and highly valued residential area with mainly buildings from the 1800s and the pre-war era (and in Finland we mean pre-WWII by that).

Here is one of the preserved or at least best-kept parts of the fortifications from the times of World War I built in a large half-ring on the land side of Helsinki. Finland was a part of the Russian Empire in 1809–1917 before gaining independence after the Russian Revolution. The Empire wanted to protect its capital St. Petersburg, so in fear of a German attack it started to built large fortifications along the Gulf of Finland – the direct sea route to the capital. Helsinki being the capital of the Grand Duchy and a garrison city for the army and the navy, it had to be defended even if the enemy would try to invade by land. WWI never actually came to Finland, but in 1918 a four-month civil war between the "whites" and "reds" broke out, during which the Germans landed in Hanko and took Helsinki to help the government or "white" side. During those battles the "reds" probably used some western sections of the fortifications briefly (but not here in the east), otherwise they were never actually used in war.