Merikasarmi

Before the Foreign Ministry moved to the area in the late 1980s the buildings were renovated and partly rebuilt according to the plans of Professor of Architecture Erik Kråkström.

To the north of the Merikasarmi building, the icebreakers of the Finnish state are anchored to the Katajanokka quay.

Carl Ludvig Engel arrived in 1816 to plan the building, and after three months it was ready to be shown to Nicholas I of Russia.

In 1832 the barracks was transferred to the use of the navy of the Military of the Grand Duchy of Finland, founded two years earlier.

[1] The Governors-General of the Grand Duchy of Finland thought the atmosphere of the Katajanokka barracks was unhealthy for Russian soldiers.

[4] Valmet, founded after World War II, had its docks in the area and moved from Merikasarmi to Vuosaari in 1975.

A number of the old brick buildings to the west of the barracks was preserved, one of them houses the Katajanokka elementary school.

The original purpose of the square had been to serve as an exercise field and ceremony courtyard for the Russian military.

The purpose of the renovation is to make the premises more modern and more suitable for office use, and the entire building services engineering is under reconstruction.

[10] On the western end of the corridor are the pictures of Finnish Ministers of Foreign Affairs and a sculpture of a bird.

Carl Ludvig Engel designed an efficient system of heating, so that according to him, even during a winter of -30 degrees Celsius the indoor temperature was "so terribly hot I thought I was dying".

The library of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is located to the east of the northern buildings as is the judicial department.

The library has approximately 30 thousand books and twelve shelf kilometres' worth of material starting from 1918.

The library is open to the public during business hours and books can be loaned with proof of identity and contact details.

The western curtain wall room[5] building hosts the Europe department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The northern facade of Merikasarmi, facing the sea shore. The library and judicial department are on the B building in the foreground. In the middle is the main A building. The H building is on the right in the background.
The main facade of Merikasarmi under renovation in June 2019.
The Engel hall on the ground floor of the A building with its large glass doors. The H building comprising the western curtain wall rooms houses the Europe department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Icebreakers of the former shipping company Finstaship docked at Katajanokka in summer 2004: Sisu , Urho , Kontio , Otso , Apu and Voima . Apu was sold to Russia as a river icebreaker in 2006.