Hietaniemi Cemetery
The Hietaniemi cemetery is located mainly in the Lapinlahti quarter and partly in the Etu-Töölö district of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. It is the location for Finnish state funeral services and is owned by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.
Established in 1829, the cemetery includes a large military cemetery section for soldiers from the capital fallen in the wars against the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany: in the Winter War, the Continuation War and the Lapland War. In the centre of the military cemetery are the tombs of the unknown soldier and Marshal C. G. E. Mannerheim, commander-in-chief of the Finnish Defence Forces during World War II, and the sixth president of Finland. Other notable sections of the cemetery are the cemetery of the Finnish Guard, the Artist's Hill and the Statesmen's Grove. There are two Lutheran funerary chapels and a crematorium at the area.
Hietaniemi means "sand cape" and is a headland located centrally in Helsinki.
Description
The cemetery is partly located at a promontory, and partly directly adjacent to the Hietaniemi Beach.The cemetery is a popular tourist attraction, especially amongst Finns visiting the graves of relatives fallen in wars or the graves of the many famous Finns buried there since the 1820s.
Four other cemeteries are also located at the greater cemetery district of Hietaniemi: the Helsinki Jewish cemetery, the Helsinki Islamic cemetery, the Helsinki Orthodox cemetery and the cemetery of the St. Nicholas Orthodox Parish.
In the 2010s, it was confirmed that an extensive catacomb network was located beneath the Orthodox cemetery.
Notable interments
- Aino Aalto – Architect and pioneer of Scandinavian design
- Alvar Aalto – Architect and designer
- Elissa Aalto – Architect
- Tapani Aartomaa – Graphic designer and artist, and lecturer at the Institute of Design in Helsinki and Lahti Institute of Design
- Martti Ahtisaari – 10th President of the Republic of Finland, politician, ambassador, diplomat, and 2008 Nobel Peace Prize recipient
- Paavo Berglund – Conductor and violinist
- Erik Bergman – Composer of classical music
- Juhana Blomstedt – Abstract artist
- Rut Bryk – Designer, ceramist, printmaker, and textilist
- Paavo Cajander – Poet and translator
- Walentin Chorell – Author and actor
- Adolf Ehrnrooth – General and 1948 Summer Olympian
- Carl Ludvig Engel – Architect
- Ella Eronen – Renowned actor and poetic reciter
- Verna Erikson – Icon of White Finland
- Mauri Favén – Painter
- Erik von Frenckell – Nobleman, member of the Parliament of Finland, member of the International Olympic Committee and a vice president of the International Football Association FIFA
- Akseli Gallen - Kallela – Painter and illustrator of the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic
- George de Godzinsky – Composter, pianist, and conductor
- Maggie Gripenberg – Pioneer of modern dance in Finland
- Walton Grönroos – Baritone opera singer, oratorio, and Lieder singer
- Heimo Haitto – Classical violinist
- Tony Halme January 6, 1963 - January 8, 2010) – Politician, athlete, author, actor, and singer
- Eemil Halonen – Sculptor
- Tauno Hannikainen – Cellist and conductor
- Juhani Harri – Postwar and contemporary artist
- Eva Hemming – Prima ballerina, dancer, actress, and author
- Eila Hiltunen – Sculptor, including the Sibelius Monument
- Carl Hirn – Composer and music journalist
- Martha Hirn - Opera singer
- Harri Holkeri – Statesman, Prime Minister of Finland, and President of the UN General Assembly
- I. K. Inha – Photographer, author, journalist, and translator
- Tea Ista – Actor
- Tove Jansson – Creator of the Moomins, author, novelist, painter, and illustrator
- Viktor Jansson – Sculptor
- Yrjö Jyrinkoski – Voice artist and interpreter
- Kalervo Kallio – Sculptor
- Aimo Kanerva – Renowned artist
- Pentti Kaskipuro – Graphic artist
- Urho Kekkonen – 8th President of the Republic of Finland, prime minister, and cabinet member
- Lauri Kettunen – Linguist and professor at the University of Tartu and University of Helsinki
- Mauno Koivisto – 9th President of the Republic of Finland and prime minister
- Toivo Kuula – Composer and conductor
- Lorenz Leonard Lindelöf – Mathematician, astronomer, and politician
- Åke Lindman – Director and actor
- Paavo Liski – Actor, theater director, and artistic director
- Reko Lundán – Television presenter, writer, screenwriter, novelist, and journalist
- Leevi Madetoja – Composer, conductor, music teacher, and music critic
- Gustaf Magnusson – Major general, fighter ace, and Mannerheim Cross Knight
- Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim – 6th President of the Republic of Finland, military commander, and statesman
- Tarmo Manni – Actor
- Aarre Merikanto – Composer
- Oskar Merikanto – Composer, pianist, organist, and music critic
- Ukri Merikanto – Sculptor
- Usko Meriläinen – Composer
- Timo Mikkilä – Pianist and recipient of the Order of the Lion of Finland
- Usko Nyström – Architect and Professor of architecture at the Helsinki University of Technology
- Karl Lennart Oesch – Leading general during World War II
- Onni Okkonen – Art historian
- Juho Kusti Paasikivi – 7th President of the Republic of Finland, senator, member of Finnish parliament, envoy to Stockholm and Moscow, and Prime Minister of Finland
- Aladár Paasonen – Military officer who served as the Chief of Intelligence for the Finnish Defence Forces and served in the CIA
- Fredrik Pacius – Composer and conductor
- Selim Palmgren – Composer, pianist, and conductor
- Spede Pasanen – Film director, producer, comedian, and inventor
- Otso Pietinen – Industrial and advertising photographer
- Lasse Pihlajamaa – Accordionist
- Marjatta Pokela – Composer, singer, and musician
- Martti Pokela – Composer and folk musician
- Sakari Puurunen – Theater and opera diretor
- Lauri Kristian Relander – 2nd President of the Republic of Finland
- Essi Renvall – Sculptor
- Paavo Rintala – Novelist, poet, writer, and theologian
- Olli - Matti Ronimus – Poet and writer
- Sylva Rossi – Actor
- Janis Rozentāls – Latvian painter
- Risto Ryti – 5th President of the Republic of Finland
- Aira Samulin – Founder of the Rytmikkäät Mannekiinit fashion dance school, politician, and actress
- Timo Sarpaneva – Designer, sculptor, and educator
- Michael Schilkin – Ceramist
- Solveig von Schoultz – Writer and teacher
- J. S. Sirén – Architect
- Artur Sirk – Estonian political and military figure
- Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg – 1st President of the Republic of Finland, jurist, and academic
- Minna Talvik - Palmgren – Singer
- Väinö Tanner, 10th Prime minister of the Republic of Finland
- Henry Theel – Singer and actor
- Zacharias Topelius – Author, poet, journalist, historian, and roctor of the University of Helsinki
- Aimo Tukiainen – Sculptor
- Bruno Tuukkanen – Artist and recipient of the Order of the Lion of Finland
- Veikko Tyrväinen – Renowned tenor opera singer and soloist at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet
- Elina Vaara – Poet, writer, and translator
- Anita Välkki – Dramatic soprano
- Edward Vesala – Avant - garde jazz drummer
- Usko Viitanen – Baritone opera singer
- Heikki W. Virolainen – Sculptor
- Eeva - Kaarina Volanen – Actor
- Anna Vyrubova – Lady - in - waiting in the Russian Empire, best friend and confidante of Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna
- Leif Wager – Actor
- Petri Walli – Founder, vocalist, guitar - player, songwriter and producer of the Finnish psychedelic rock - band Kingston Wall
- Georg August Wallin – Orientalist, explorer, and professor
- Mika Waltari – Writer
- Jorma Weneskoski – Jazz musician and music promoter
- Tapio Wirkkala – Renowned graphic designer, designer, and sculptor, and 1955 recipient of the Order of the Lion of Finland
- Jack Witikka – Film director and screenwriter