For more pictures, see my Instagram account @minecrafthelsinki

Rebuilding the historical center of Helsinki, capital of Finland in 1:1 scale. I aim for as realistic map as possible, within the bounds of what is possible to do in Vanilla Minecraft. I started making this city in October 2018. This is a huge project and probably never will be "100% complete", but already in this current stage this is an enjoyable map.

Many buildings and blocks have been completed, mostly around the Helsinki Cathedral and Senate Square and Market Square. I encourage you to explore the city yourself. Though most buildings have only facades, the interiors have been built in quite a many buildings. A more complete list can be found below.

I am currently making a texture pack (StadiPack) for the city. I recommend you use it. Any other textures might look weird and ugly for the city, though the map will still remain playable:

https://www.planetminecraft.com/texture_pack/stadipack-1-0-0/

You might also like the Kulosaari Secondary School which is located in Helsinki, but away from the city centre:

https://www.planetminecraft.com/project/kulosaari-secondary-school

If you appreciate my work, don't forget to diamond, favorite and subscribe! Thank you!

Buildings completed include (but are not limited to):

The Senate Square
The Helsinki Cathedral
The University of Helsinki Main Building
The National Library
The Government Palace
The City Hall
Arppeaneum
The Hellenius House
The Bock House
The Sederholm House
The Kiseleff House
The Fennia-Patria House
The Wuorio House
The Aschan House
Old Banking House (Aleksanterinkatu 36)
Sofiankatu 4
The Nordea Banking House (Senaatintori)
The Exchange House
Havis Amanda
The UPM Headquarters
Kluuvi Shopping Center (exteriors)
Tiedekulma
The Grönqvist House
The Presidential Palace
The Pohjola House
The Lundqvist House
...and others.

Some history of Helsinki and Finland

From the 13th century onwards, Finland was a part of Sweden. Helsinki City was founded in 1550 by Gustaf Vasa to be a rival to the city of Tallinn. The old centre was located in the bottom of a shallow bay where there was a small existing village by the Vantaa river rapids. Only ruins remain as the centre was moved in the 17th century to its current position around the modern day Kauppatori and southern part of Kruununhaka to make it easier for ships to sail there. After the Swedish-Russian border moved to the west in the 1740s, the mighty sea fortress of Sveaborg (Castle of Sweden) was built in the end of the 18th century on the islands near Helsinki to protect the city. It is a Unesco Heritage site and a popular tourist destination.

In 1809 Russia occupied and finally annexed whole of Finland to its empire, although granting it the position of a Grand Duchy with its own government and many liberties. Czar Alexander I ordered the capital to be moved from the Turku located near Sweden in Southwestern Finland to Helsinki in order to keep better control of Finland. Soon afterwards the great fire of Turku 1820s destroyed as much as three thirds of the wooden city which hit the final nail on the coffin of Turku's position as the ***hole of Finland no longer being the most populous and important city in Finland.

The German architect Carl Ludvig Engel was commissioned to design the new grand empire style Helsinki Center for Finland's new government, and the Swedish Ehrenström made a grid patterned, wide street plan in contrast to the earlier consisting of narrow, winding alleys. Later, as the head of the Architecture office he designed hundreds of more buildings in Finland. The oldest part of Helsinki in Southern Kruununhaka, near Senaatintori and Kauppatori thus includes some remaining buildings from the end of the 18th century and many from the beginning of the 19th century.

In the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century city began growing at a very quick pace and the areas of Kluuvi, Punavuori, Ullanlinna, Kaartinkaupunki and Katajanokka, Eira, Kallio and Etu-Töölö were built. Many of them are in the Art Nouveau style of which there are about 600 in Helsinki. In 1917 Finland became independent and soon after a civil war between the communists (reds) and the government (whites), which the whites won. Atrocities were committed on both sides and the civil war divided the Finnish society for a long time.

In 1939 Finland was attacked by the USSR. To the surprise of all, Finns were able to defend themselves and the war ended after 100 days with minor territorial losses for Finland. In 1941 they sided with Nazi Germany against the USSR. Even though the USSR won the Continuation war, Finland managed to keep its independence and democratic system, despite the territorial losses of Eastern Karelia and Petsamo it suffered again.

In 1946 the city saw a massive territorial expansion from its neighbouring municipality to north and east and reached its current size. Thanks to the industrialization of agriculture pulling people away from countryside, cars becoming cheaper and more common, and elemental building techniques being developed, new parts of city could be constructed cheaply and rapidly far away from the city centre. Thus, mosts of Helsinki's suburbs of apartment buildings, rowhouses and detached homes date from the end of the Second World War to this day. The city also sprawled westwards and northwards towards Espoo and Vantaa which are part of the Metropolitan Area but not Helsinki itself.

Today, Helsinki has around 600 000 inhabitants and the metropolitan area around 1 200 000 inhabitants.