Erottaja
Encyclopedia
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...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
.
Erottaja square has been selected as the official geographic "zero point" of Helsinki. Distances to all other cities in Finland are measured starting from here. In practice, the square functions as the meeting point of central Helsinki's two famous streets, Esplanadi
Esplanadi
In the heart of Helsinki, the capital of Finland, the two streets constituting Esplanadi are officially named Pohjoisesplanadi and Eteläesplanadi...
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...
. The square is the western endpoint of Esplanadi, with the eastern endpoint being at the market square
Market Square, Helsinki
The Market Square is a central square in Helsinki, Finland, and one of the most famous market places and tourist attractions in the city....
. Mannerheimintie, the second longest (longest being Hämeentie
Hämeentie
Hämeentie is the longest street in Helsinki, Finland, and among its major thoroughfares. Hämeentie is a multi-lane street beginning at the Hakaniemi square in Siltasaari, and ending near Vanhankaupunginkoski on Koskelantie....
) and most famous street in Helsinki, begins at Erottaja and continues northwest, past the districts of Töölö
Töölö
Töölö is the collective name for the neighbourhoods Etu-Töölö and Taka-Töölö in Helsinki, Finland. The neighbourhoods are located next to the city centre, occupying the western side of the Helsinki Peninsula....
and Ruskeasuo
Ruskeasuo
Ruskeasuo is a neighbourhood of Helsinki , about 3 kilometres north of the city centre....
, until finally merging with a highway leading outside the city.
There is also a minor bus station
Bus station
A bus station is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. It is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can stop...
at Erottaja. Very few lines start or end there, most of them start or end at the Kamppi Center
Kamppi Center
Kamppi Centre is a complex in the Kamppi district in the centre of Helsinki, designed by various architects, the main designer, however, being Juhani Pallasmaa. It is said to be Helsinki's new downtown commercial and residential centre...
or at Rautatientori
Rautatientori
Rautatientori is an open square in central Helsinki, immediately to the east of the Helsinki Central railway station. The square mostly serves as Helsinki's secondary bus station...
.
Erottaja is also famous for being the most expensive lot in the original Finnish edition of Monopoly
Monopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
, even more expensive than Mannerheimintie (the second most expensive lot). This has earned the square fame even outside Helsinki.