Historical background

Natural stone in city buildings - history of stone construction in south-east Finland and St. Petersburg

The areas researched in the project had been presenting diverse use of stone on constructions from different techniques spacing over the last six centuries. In Finland stone in the past has been mainly used as a basement for wood structures except for its massive use on fortification systems, churches and river bench. The role of the material has changed during the years, merging traditions and modernity, as structural element or decorative one, holding a message from its birth that has been passed through the ages. In St.Petersburg it is possible to admire the mastering of stone material in all its forms and colors, from external use to indoor decoration, as a symbol of power and elegance. In Helsinki it is possible to admire the symbols of the cultural streams, as the romantic period well shown in the National Museum, or the modernism of the Finlandia Hall. Even old paving roads and statues, basements, claddings and roofs, new urban renovations and parks are an important heritage of the culture of the area.

The bibliographic information had been collected systematically in a database where building sites’ locations, architects, periods and kinds of renovations for each site had been recorded. The sites collected had been more than those studied in detail in the project.

Documentation of the use on the project area has been carried out through bibliographic research and site visit, documenting photographically and through bibliographic research on the historical use of natural stone in the St. Petersburg and Southern Finland. The findings had been collected in the following reports:

Use of natural stone and stone construction  Open pdf
The Kazan Cathedral in St Petersburg. 1801-2012. Ornamental stone design and restoration of that.    Open pdf
Story of Grandfather Rapakivi Local stone material and its use in the area is an important cultural heritage that is worth disclosure also to the youngest ones. Luodes, H., Panova, E., Zartayskaya I. Illustrator: Sokolok P. A childrens’ book explaining how the old granite has born and from what is formed.  Open pdf
Historical use of natural stone in the Southern Finland and St Petersburg area Historical use of natural stone in the Southern Finland and St Petersburg area” has been used as a base to emphasized the cultural relevance of the built creating town guides on Helsinki, Kotka, Kuopio, Lappeenranta and five from St. Petersburg. The guides are downloadable on mobile phones in a pdf form  Open pdf
Natural Stone of the Karelian Isthmus in Architecture of Saint-Petersburg Open pdf