Bok House (also Bokka House , Old Town Hall , Finnish. Bockin talo [1] ) is the oldest building in the Lev quarter [2] on Senate Square in Helsinki , located at 20. Aleksanterinkatu . Built in 1763 by the merchant Gustav Johan Bok. During the reign of the Russian Empire for several years it was the official residence of the Finnish governor-general ; during a visit to Helsinki, Emperors All-Russian and Grand Dukes of Finland Alexander I and Nicholas I stayed in it [2] . Currently, shops are located on the ground floor, other premises belong to the city municipality, some hold meetings of political groups, and are generally used as representative premises [1] [2] .
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From the east side of the house is Katarinankatu street.
History
In the second half of the 1700s, on Aleksanterinkatu Street (the original name is Suurikatu [[[Finnish | Fin.]] Suurikatu , Swedish. Storgatan ], which means "Big Street"), stone houses of wealthy citizens were built along the red line. In 1763, the construction of the Bok house was completed, which was built by the merchant and judge Gustav Johan Bok ( 1710 - 1788 ), one of the richest and most powerful representatives of the merchant bourgeoisie. Initially, the house was a two-story with an attic floor and resembled in appearance the nearby Cederholm house . Its first floor served as Bok's store, and the upper floor housed living quarters.
After Bock's death in 1788, the house was replaced by several owners until it was in 1801 in the hands of the Swedish crown. Russian troops entered Helsinki in 1808, and Russian officers were stationed in the house. The architect Karl Ludwig Engel , who was chosen for the reconstruction of the city, arrived in the city in 1816 , and his first task was to change the appearance of the Bok house, which became the official residence of the Finnish governor general. In 1816 - 1819 , the house was extended and remade, built up to three floors, and the appearance was changed in the Empire style . The facade overlooking Senate Square was decorated with Ionian columns bearing a pediment and a balcony. Engel also designed the living quarters in the house.
Bok's house served as the residence of the governor general for only two decades, until the completion of the construction of the new official residence of Smolny in 1838 . After that, the Helsinki authorities bought a house and made it a town hall, at that time a city court and an auction hall were located in Bok’s house, and in the east wing from Katarininankatu Street there was a police post, a detective bureau and a city prison [2] . In 1875, in the front room of the Bock House, a meeting of the First Council of Helsinki City Commissioners was held under the leadership of Leopold Mechelin [2] . After a major overhaul and reconstruction of the quarter in 1985-1988, Bok’s house, which underwent many changes and was used by various departments, received back the original layout and color schemes, which were previously provided for by the construction plan of the time of K. G. Engel [2] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Khropov, Alexander. Finland / Alexander Khropov, Elena Rukavishnikova. - Moscow: Litres, 2012 .-- S. 41. - ISBN 5457381951 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Quarter of the Town Hall in Helsinki. Leo - Helsinki: Information Bureau of the City of Helsinki, 2008. - S. 9-11. - ISBN 978-952-223-329-5 .