The delight of speed (1936)

The delight of speed in the summer of 1936 in Helsinki. The speedboat is an Ares A-55. Photographer Pietinen´s image - here shown with my colorization - is in the Finnish Board of Antiquities archive on Finna.fi.

Legendary female aviator Elly Beinhorn in Helsinki 1952

German aviator Elly Beinhorn attended the 1952 Helsinki summer Olympics as a "flying reporter" for Quick magazine. Volker von Bonin took this picture - here with my partial colorization - of Beinhorn immediately after her arrival at the Malmi airport in Helsinki. The original is in the Helsinki city museum collection (N210167).

"Elly Beinhorn, referred to as “one of the most daring women of the 20th century” on the inside cover of her autobiography Alleinflug (Solo Flight), was born in Hannover, Germany in 1907 as the only child of a merchant family. In 1928 she was so fascinated by a lecture she attended held by the trans-Atlantic aviator Hermann Köhl that she immediately applied for acceptance to the Berlin-Staaken amateur pilot school. She received her amateur pilot license in the spring of 1929, and shortly thereafter she acquired her stunt pilot license at the flying school in Würzburg. Additional pilot licenses were to follow.

In 1931 she took off on her first solo flight to Africa. After a four-day-long trek through the desert, with the aid of locals she survived an emergency landing during her return flight to Europe, returning safely to Germany: “My emergency landing caused more headlines than my wildest flights.”

Several months later the 24-year-old ventured to circle the world in her Klemm KL-20 airplane. The flight took her via southern Asia to Port Darwin in Australia, where she boarded a ship to Panama. From there she flew via the Cordilleras to the east coast of South America, arriving in Buenos Aires on July 23, 1932.

In 1936 Beinhorn married the famous racecar driver Bernd Rosemeyer, who died in a car accident two years later, only ten weeks after the birth of their son Bernd. She remarried in 1941 and within a year gave birth to a much-longed-for daughter, whom she named Stephanie. After the war Beinhorn-Rosemeyer reapplied for and received her pilot licenses in Switzerland in 1951. Once the flying ban was lifted in Germany, she successfully participated in numerous competitions."

http://www.fembio.org/english/biography.php/woman/biography/elly-beinhorn/

Two modern Finnish ladies in the early 1930s

Two young ladies in Helsinki smoking and drinking cognac with coffee in the early 1930s. My colorization of a photo by an unknown photographer. The original is in the Helsinki city museum collection (N160953). 

The Finnish Steamship Co. steamer S/S Urania in Helsinki (early 20th cent.)

The Finnish Steamship Co Ltd. (FÅA) combined passenger and cargo ship S/S Urania in the Helsinki Southern harbour in the early 20th century. My colorization of a photo in the Helsinki city museum collection (N350500). The photographer is unknown.

The 68.6 m Urania - built in 1891 by Wigham Richardson & Co. in Newcastle - was one of the ships carrying Finnish migrants on the route Hanko - Copenhagen - Hull. (In Hull the migrants boarded bigger ships for the journey to the US). The Urania had cabins for 22 first class passengers, 34 second class passengers and 186 third class passengers.

S/S Urania sank in heavy fog near Kullen (not far from where I live) on February 2, 1913 when it collided with the Norwegian S/S Fancy while on its way from Hull to Copenhagen. The passengers and the crew were rescued by the heavily damaged Fancy to Helsingör, Denmark.

The legendary female aviator Elly Beinhorn in Helsinki 1952

The legendary German pilot Elly Beinhorn on arrival to Helsinki in the summer of 1952 (on the right). Beinhorn covered the Helsinki summer olympics for the German magazine Quick as a "flying reporter". The other lady on this picture is Gisela von Bonin, the wife of the photographer, Volker von Bonin. The original photo, here with my colorization, is in the Helsinki city museum collection (N210168)

"Elly Beinhorn, referred to as “one of the most daring women of the 20th century” on the inside cover of her autobiography Alleinflug (Solo Flight), was born in Hannover, Germany in 1907 as the only child of a merchant family. In 1928 she was so fascinated by a lecture she attended held by the trans-Atlantic aviator Hermann Köhl that she immediately applied for acceptance to the Berlin-Staaken amateur pilot school. She received her amateur pilot license in the spring of 1929, and shortly thereafter she acquired her stunt pilot license at the flying school in Würzburg. Additional pilot licenses were to follow.In 1931 she took off on her first solo flight to Africa. After a four-day-long trek through the desert, with the aid of locals she survived an emergency landing during her return flight to Europe, returning safely to Germany: “My emergency landing caused more headlines than my wildest flights.”Several months later the 24-year-old ventured to circle the world in her Klemm KL-20 airplane. The flight took her via southern Asia to Port Darwin in Australia, where she boarded a ship to Panama. From there she flew via the Cordilleras to the east coast of South America, arriving in Buenos Aires on July 23, 1932.In 1933 Elly Beinhorn was awarded the Hindenburg Cup, the highest German honor for an amateur aviator. With her famous Messerschmidt Me 108, which she christened “Typhoon”, in 1935 she flew from Gleiwitz in Silesia to Scutari on the Bosporus and back to Berlin in one day: 3,470 km in 13-1/2 hours.In 1936 Beinhorn married the famous racecar driver Bernd Rosemeyer, who died in a car accident two years later, only ten weeks after the birth of their son Bernd. She remarried in 1941 and within a year gave birth to a much-longed-for daughter, whom she named Stephanie. After the war Beinhorn-Rosemeyer reapplied for and received her pilot licenses in Switzerland in 1951. Once the flying ban was lifted in Germany, she successfully participated in numerous competitions.Since 1932, Elly Beinhorn-Rosemeyer has written a number of highly popular books on her life as an aviator and as the wife of a world-renowned racecar driver. After 5,000 mostly solo flight hours, at 72 she turned in her pilot licenses. Her conclusion: “I was fortunate to be able to fly at a time when flying was still a real adventure. I experienced that marvelous, independent era when one had the sky all to oneself!”Elly Beinhorn-Rosemeyer has received countless honors in the course of her long life, however she has never considered herself to be a 'star'. She has consistently supported the recognition of women aviators."

http://www.fembio.org/english/biography.php/woman/biography/elly-beinhorn/

A lady and an NSU motorcycle in Helsinki (1952)

In the summer of 1952 the German-Finnish photographer Volker von Bonin took this picture of his wife Gisela and their (I presume) NSU Fox bike. The original photo - here with my colorization - is in the Helsinki city museum collection (N210732).

A summer day on the beach in Helsinki 1931

An idyllic summer day on the Pihlajasaari beach in Helsinki in 1931. The De Havilland D.H.60X Moth "Pilvetär" (K-SILD) was on display and it probably took daring sunbathers on a flight above the Helsinki archipelago.

"Pilvetär", which was owned and operated by the Finnish Air Defense League (Ilmapuolustusliitto) saw some more serious duty in 1939 - 1940. It was part of the air defense in Finland´s Winter war against Russian aggression.

The photo by Foto Roos - here with my colorization - is in the Helsinki city museum collection (N43185).

An emancipated lady in the 1890´s

An emancipated lady in Helsinki in the 1890´s. My colouring of a photo in the Helsinki City

 museum archive (G16900).

A Russian ice cream vendor in Helsinki in 1898

This photo of a Russian ice cream vendor in Helsinki in 1898 - here with my partial coloration - is not known. The original image is in the Helsinki city museum collection (N5931). 

Idyllic Helsinki 100 years ago

The legendary Finnish female photographer Signe Branders shot this 

photo of the Munkkisaari sound in 1912. The picture - here with my coloration - 

is in the Helsinki city museum collection. 

Helsinki view from 1900

This photograph - here with my colouring - by an unknown photographer shows a scenery from Helsinki´s Southern harbour in 1900 (ab.). The passenger ship is Ebba Munck, which operated the route Helsinki - Vaasa at the time. The freight steamer is one of the FÅA ships, but I do not have any information about its name. 

The black and white photograph is from the Helsinki City Museum´s collection. 

The Helsinki telephone exchange in the 1920s

The Helsinki telephone exchange on a busy day in the middle of the 1920s.

The photo was published in the book "Bilder från Finland",
 1928. Colouring by me. 

French president Macron in Helsinki

Last week, while in Helsinki, I managed to get this shot of another visitor´s car: 

French president E. Macron in Helsinki

Urban architecture in Helsinki

Contemporary urban architecture in Helsinki:

The National Theatre in Helsinki (1902)

The new Finnish National Theatre building was inaugurated on April 9, 1902. Soon after the inauguration the Swedish monthly Ord och Bild published this photograph (here coloured by me) of the new theatre.

Some additional info on the theatre:

The Finnish National Theatre (Finnish: Suomen Kansallisteatteri), established in 1872, is a theatre located in central Helsinki on the northern side of the Helsinki Central Railway Station Square. The Finnish National Theatre is the oldest Finnish speaking professional theatre in Finland. It was known as the Finnish Theatre until 1902, when it was renamed the Finnish National Theatre.

For the first thirty years of its existence, the theatre functioned primarily as a touring company. The theatre did not acquire a permanent home until 1902, when a purpose-built structure was erected in the heart of Helsinki, adjacent to the city's main railway station. The building hosting the Finnish National Theatre today was completed in 1902 and designed by architect Onni Tarjanne in the National Romantic style, inspired by romantic nationalism. The theatre still operates in these premises today. (Wiki=

Maritime Helsinki

  

The closeness to the sea is one of the Finnish capital Helsinki's main assets:

 

M/S Mariella - Already a classic on the Stockholm - Helsinki route

Viking Line's M/S Mariella, here seen leaving Helsinki last week, is already a classic on the Stockholm - Helsinki route. The 176.9 m x 28.4 m ship was built on 1985. She takes 2500 passengers and 430 cars.

 

A rainy September morning in Helsinki

Just an ordinary rainy September 2 morning in Helsinki, when
I was waiting for the bus.

 

 

Sail training yacht S/y Navigator in Helsinki

During my brief visit to Helsinki last week, I was pleased to see the classic sailing yacht S/y Navigator moored at the Katajanokka marina. The 16.5 m x 3.58 m yawl, designed by Jarl Lindblom, has an interesting history. It was built in 1947 as a private yacht for the Finnish industrialist and shipowner Hans von Rettig. At the time the yacht was one of the best equipped in Finland. It was e.g. the first Finnish yacht with a jib furling system.

In 1980 the boat was donated to the Finland Swedish scout association to be used as a sail training yacht. The boat, which originally was called S/y Clipper, was at the same time renamed S/y Navigator.

In 1997 - 2006 the Navigator was completely refitted.

The schooner Linden in Helsinki

The three masted schooner Linden was built in Mariehamn (Åland) in 1992. For the time being the 49 m long Linden is based in Helsinki, where it is used for charters.