Hotel Torni
Encyclopedia
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
located 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...
, 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...
and part of the Sokos Hotel hotel chain. When opened in 1931, it became the tallest building in Finland, a position it maintained until the completion of the new Fortum (then Neste) headquarters
Fortum head office
The Fortum head office is a high-rise office building located in Espoo, just outside Helsinki, the capital of Finland. With a height of 84 metres , it is currently the second tallest habitable building in Finland....
in neighboring Espoo
Espoo
Espoo is the second largest city and municipality in Finland. The population of the city of Espoo is . It is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area along with the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. Espoo shares its eastern border with Helsinki and Vantaa, while enclosing Kauniainen....
in 1976, and it remained the tallest building in Helsinki until 1987 but now is the 4th tallest. Unusually, the tallest building in Finland is an apartment building. The interior of the building was completely renovated in 2005. It is located in Helsinki's Design District.
History
The hotel was designed by architects Jung & Jung in 1928, and has 14 stories. It is allegedly the place where the murder of the Mata Hari-like Minna Craucher was planned in 1932. The hotel served the needs of air defense during the Second World War, when members of the Finnish women's paramilitary organization Lotta SvärdLotta Svärd
Lotta Svärd was a Finnish voluntary auxiliary paramilitary organisation for women. During the Finnish Civil War it was associated with the Suojeluskunta. After the war Lotta Svärd was founded as a separate organisation on September 9, 1920. The name comes from a poem by Johan Ludvig Runeberg...
kept watch for enemy bombers. Immediately after the cessation of the war, Hotelli Torni served as the headquarters of the Allied Control Commission monitoring Finnish compliance with the obligations of the Moscow Armistice
Moscow Armistice
The Moscow Armistice was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side on September 19, 1944, ending the Continuation War...
. It became known as a center of culinary excellence.