Beside the busy Kamppi shopping center, the conical wooden structure that is Kampin Kappeli (kampinkappeli.fi), or the Kamppi Chapel, is an ecumenical place to promote a very Finnish virtue: silence. Everyone is welcome to enter and sit in silence, surrounded by some of the busiest parts of the city.
Built in 2012 by Helsinki architectural firm K2S, this exquisite, ultracontemporary curvilinear chapel is constructed from wood (wax-treated spruce outside, oiled alder planks inside, with pews crafted from ash) and offers quiet contemplation in cocoon-like surrounds. Its altar cross is the work of blacksmith Antti Nieminen. Known as the Chapel of Silence, the Lutheran chapel welcomes people of all (or no) faiths. True to its name, inside is the purest silence you'll find in Helsinki.
Visit in winter season (September–May) for free, other times adults pay €5.
