The opening ceremony for Tove Jansson Park was held on the last day of August, with a Moomin theme fitting for the author’s work. The park’s new Moomin statue was unveiled at the event. The bronze Moomin statue by sculptor Matti Kalkamo is 60 centimetres tall and designed to be hugged. People also had the chance to meet Moomin characters at the event.
The event was opened by Sophia Jansson, Chair of the Board of Moomin Characters, Deputy Mayor Johanna Laisaari, Kati Laasonen from Katajanokkaseura, and City of Helsinki project manager Stefan Eklöf, who oversaw the renovation.
In her speech, Jansson remarked that Tove Jansson would certainly have been delighted if she had known that the park now bears her name and that there is a Moomin statue there. After all, both Katajanokka and the park were within the writer’s neighbourhood. Kati Laasonen recalled the process of renaming the park from Katajanokanpuisto to Tove Jansson Park, following an initiative by Katajanokkaseura.
The park got its own Children’s Tree
Johanna Laisaari and children from Daycare Centre Katajanokka planted the Children’s Tree, which this year is the Siberian spruce.
A Children’s Tree is planted every year in a new or renovated park and dedicated to the children born in Helsinki that year. Each Children’s Tree is marked with a dedication plaque and recorded in the City’s tree register, where it is assigned a special identifier.
History meets an adventurous maritime theme
Located to the south of Uspenski Cathedral, the park has been renovated while respecting its history, which dates back over a century. Ornamental plantings inspired by those made in the 1920s and 1930s have been restored in the centre of the park’s oval-shaped planting area. The amount of vegetation and recreational areas have also been increased in the area, and the park’s lighting has been renewed.
The playground has undergone the most significant refurbishment with a maritime adventure theme. The main attraction at the playground is an eight-metre-high purple climbing frame shaped like a seashell, the colour of which matches the park’s beautiful lilacs. The park also has the first mist area for warmer weather, made of pipes which emit a cooling mist.