Historical detailed plan maps of the city of Helsinki

Old detailed plans of Helsinki.

The detailed plan maps for years 1820, 1838 and 1878 can be downloaded as TIFF-files. The guidemaps for all years can be found through WMS API.

Previewing the data in the kartta.hel.fi service:

• All detailed plan layers active
• All detailed plans can be found on the website: https://kartta.hel.fi/ > Layers > Background Maps > Historical Materials > Detailed Plans

Coordinate systems:

• Maintained in ETRS-GK25 (EPSG:3879), can be projected to other coordinate systems. See GetCapabilities query for other possible coordinate systems

API address:

• WMS API: https://kartta.hel.fi/ws/geoserver/avoindata/wms

Layers:

• Plan_ofver_Helsingfors_stad_i_borjan_af_1800_talet
• Asemakaavakartta_1820
• Asemakaavakartta_1838
• Asemakaavakartta_1878

Helsinki town plan map from the early 19th century

Helsinki town plan map from the early 19th century (Plan Öfver Helsingfors Stad I Början Af 1800 Talet). Year of publication according to the City Archives is 1803. The map is deposited in the Helsinki City Archives collections. Map was produced by the City of Helsinki, authors otherwise unknown. The map was once donated by the City Survey Department of the Real Estate Office to the City Archives for preservation and archiving.

The map shows some buildings in detail and the blocks with precise plot boundaries. Outside the built-up area of the city, future development is outlined at the block level. In addition, the map shows some terrain features, roads and paths.

1820

The detailed plan drawn up by Johan Albrecht Ehrenström (1762–1847) was approved in 1820. Ehrenström wanted to make Helsinki, the new capital of the Grand Duchy, representable with wide streets and spacious squares. Esplanade Park separated the stone city of Vironniemi from the suburb of Uusimaa. The buildings in the monumental centre around Senate Square were designed by the German C. L. Engel. Essentially, Ehrenström’s detailed plan was implemented. However, Kluuvinlahti Bay was eventually completely filled instead of building a canal, and the imperial palace and gardens, which were planned for the northern side of the present-day Meritullintori square, were never built. Map in Swedish.

1838

Claes Wilhelm Gylden (1802–1872) published the detailed plans of all 31 cities in Finland. His maps are the first uniform set of city maps. In addition to the detailed plans, the maps show the location of the cities in a smaller-scale map, city districts or quarters and public buildings. The maps are in Swedish. There is a facsimile of them from 1983.

1878

The very detailed map from 1878 by City Engineer Claes Kjerrström was awarded at the Paris World Fair. Plot subdivision and construction areas. The bottom right features the city districts in different colours and the names of the blocks. The map depicts the wooden city before the more extensive construction of stone houses.