Sibelius Park

Lonely Planet review

At lovely Sibelius Park you'll find a steel monument to the great Finnish composer. The organlike cluster of steel pipes is said to represent the forest.

This kinetic modern sculpture was created by artist Eila Hiltunen in 1967 to honor Finland's most famous composer, Jean Sibelius. Born in 1865 in Hämeenlinna, Sibelius wrote music for the glorification of his own people and in defiance of the oppressor, Russia. His most famous composition, Finlandia , came to represent Finnish patriotism and pride.

Hiltunen's innovative abstract structure was designed to blend with the natural surroundings. Appropriately for a monument to a composer, the sculpture creates its own music - the hollow stainless-steel pipes echo with the movement of the wind.