The
Historic Kaivopuisto Park
A
view from the park and its early 19th century spa, now a
restaurant and a night club, on the left. Entrance to the
park from the North on the right.
History
The Finnish Toy Dog Association's annual 2007 Championship Show will be held, once again,at the historic Kaivopuisto Park in the diplomatic quarter of Finland's capital. The club first received permission from the City of Helsinki to host its Millennium Show in the prestigious park in 2000. Since this highly successful event, the Toy Dog Association has returned to Kaivopuisto every year, and it continues to be the only canine club allowed to use the park, often called one of Helsinki's "crown jewels", for a dog show.
The park has a prime location on the southern tip of Helsinki. It offers perhaps the most spectacular view of Helsinki, the "Daughter of the Baltic", with a coastline dotted with small islands and historic buildings. These include the imposing Suomenlinna fortress. Built by the King of Sweden -- mostly with French money --, the fortress has guarded the sea approaches to Helsinki for over 250 years as part of the chain of defensive fortifications along Finland's southern coast. The plans included the fortification of the present-day park, but this was never completed.
The park's own history goes back to the 1830's when a businessman, Henrik C. Borgstrom, initiated the construction of the park and a spa to cater for a discerning clientele. The Kaivopuisto Spa had its golden era in the 1840's when it was especially popular among Russian nobility at a time when Finland was Grand Duchy of Russia.
A cholera epidemic and the Crimean War depleted the ranks of foreign visitors to the spa in the mid-1850's. The park saw military action when the Franco-British fleet sailed to the Finnish waters and began bombarding the Suomenlinna fortress and the coastal defenses, including the park and the spa, on August 8, 1855. Two artillery batteries in the park returned fire. Next day, the enemy bombardment was targeted at the Suomenlinna fortress while the people of Helsinki watched the action from the nearby Observatory Hill just north of the park. The enemy fleet sailed away on August 13.
Kaivopuisto Today
Today, the Kaivopuisto park is a popular venue among the people of Helsinki who come to the park for a Sunday stroll or to walk their dogs, play with their children or watch the sailing boats go by. Occasional cricket or soccer matches and improvised polo matches (without horses, but with plenty of champagne) are seen in the park, along with elaborate Sunday picnics.
For exhibitors, the park offers a site with immaculate lawns, beautiful flower arrangements, old trees and the historic Kaivohuone restaurant. Several embassies and diplomatic residences are located in the area: the American Embassy is a block from the park, and the British and French Embassy residences are overlooking it. In fact, we tell our British and French judges to be on their best behavior because their countries' Ambassadors can watch the proceedings from their gardens!
The area offers plenty to do for those who might not be interested in a dog show. These include the Mannerheim Museum, the home of Finland's wartime leader, Marshall C.G.E. Mannerheim, and the South Harbor and the Market Place, all within a walking distance from the park. Visits to the nearby islands and their yacht clubs for lunch are another option, as they are only a few minutes' boat ride away from the park.
Dog Show in the Park
Photo: Helena Hyvonen
For the Toy Dog Association, a show in the Kaivopuisto Park is a step back in history. The first Championship Show organized by its predecessor was held at the Kaivohuone restaurant in the park in 1922. By all accounts, the show was a success with 118 dogs entered under two German judges, although historians tell us that the club members were too exhausted by the effort to call an Annual General Meeting next year.
After we returned to the park in 2000, the Toy Dog Association's show has become as much a social event as a dog show with clubs and exhibitors holding their own picnics in the park and showing their dogs to visiting tourist groups. However, because of the park's special status as the City's showcase, there will be strict rules on parking, litter and traffic to the area. Parking in the park is limited, and we advise exhibitors to make arrangements to unload their crates and then move their vehicles away from the park, unless they prefer to do what the people in Helsinki do -- use public transportation. (Two tram lines, 3B and 3T stop about 100 meters from the park. Dogs are allowed on city buses and trams free of charge.)
A note to Scandinavian exhibitors: The park is within a few minutes of walking distance from the Silja Line ferry terminal.
Show Site:
Kaivopuisto Park
Previous Shows :
2007 * 2006 * 2005
Copyright © The Finnish Toy Dog Association
