Maiden of Finland sculpture gets her cap on May Day eve
The sculptures—Maiden of Finland, The Hunter, The Tax Collector, and The Merchant—were created by Wäinö Aaltonen (1894–1966) and completed in 1929 for Tampere’s new Hämeensilta Bridge. They were donated to the City of Tampere by commercial counselor Rafael Haarla, in honor of the anniversary of the Haarla factory. Each of the bronze statues is about 4.5 meters tall and weighs between 800 and 1200 kilograms. At the time, they were the largest bronze sculptures ever made in Finland.
In 2017, the sculptures were temporarily removed to make way for the construction of the new tramway. Over a period of three years, the personnel of the Tampere Art Museum examined and restored the statues, and they were returned to the bridge in the autumn of 2020. The sculptures belong to the collection of the Tampere Art Museum, which also showcased Aaltonen’s work in the popular exhibition in 2023.
The only female figure among the Hämeensilta sculptures, the Maiden of Finland, is an idealized and vigorous Venus-like figure symbolizing a mythical ideal rather than a real person. She has also been interpreted as a Finnish counterpart to the ancient Greek goddess Athena, associated with wisdom and knowledge. Aaltonen frequently revisited the same themes in his sculptures, creating variations in different sizes and materials. A plaster version of the Maiden of Finland was once selected as the world’s most beautiful sculpture at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. The bronze version has also been exhibited internationally, including in Essen, Germany and Zurich, Switzerland.
The three male figures represent muscular athletes, embodying the legendary strength and way of life of the Birkarl people. In the newly independent Finland, public monuments like these were also a means of building national identity. Aaltonen’s deep understanding of the human form and movement was shaped by his athletic background, especially in wrestling. He applied this knowledge both in sculpting and in his own photographic posing. While today art and sport, or high culture and physical culture, are sometimes seen as separate realms, for Aaltonen they coexisted harmoniously.
Dressing sculptures is a tradition in many cities. In Tampere, the Birkarl sculptures occasionally appear in new attire, such as a student cap or sports jerseys. However, copyright considerations apply, as the artist intended the works to convey specific meanings. Dressing a sculpture can sometimes obscure or even conflict with its original message. Despite their robust appearance, the sculptures are also vulnerable to damage. Permission to dress the sculptures can be requested from the Tampere Art Museum, which may grant it for events of cultural or historical significance to the city.
This spring, The Teekkari Union of Tampere celebrates its 60th anniversary. For the last seven years, as part of their May Day ceremony, the students have crowned the Goldilocks statue in Konsulinsaari Island with a white student cap. This year the students are coming back to the traditional setting on Hämeensilta and the Maiden of Finland will once again receive her white student cap.
