Vallila neighbourhood

Feel the wings of history

The district of Vallila to the north of the city centre was traditionally a residential area for the working classes. The neighbourhood gets its name from the Swedish “Vallgård”, referring to the fact that it was once grazing land; locals would pay a small fee to bring their cows there. There was also a “punishment room” (today Sörnäinen Prison), tannery workshops and later even a college of veterinary medicine. These days, the district has lots of small apartments that are home to students, artists and other creative people. You can also discover lots of restaurants serving dishes from around the world!

Wooden houses in Vallila

Wooden charm and
retro vibes

The area originally used for rearing cattle, has been developed in the 1930s into an industrial zone that has slowly been transformed into office buildings. As was often the case with working class residential areas, this neighbourhood also mostly had small apartments. The area now primarily contains apartment blocks but an area of wooden houses called Puu-Vallila (‘Wooden Vallila’) remains here to this day. The area is a model district built according to contemporary ideas about ideal construction and city planning . It was under threat of being demolished completely, but was instead fully refurbished in the 1980s, preserving its unique architectural value.

Photo Badass Food Stories
Grön's head chef Toni Kostian collecting ingredients from the restaurant's kitchen garden

Get that community feeling

Landmarks in the area include Saint Paul’s Church, the allotment gardens, and the former industrial complex called Pasilan konepaja. The complex used to house several machine shops and brick buildings of the State Railways. Here you can find The Folks Hotel, Konepaja Biergarten, Oluthuone Konepaja and a variable number of food stalls.

Many of the oldest industrial buildings have been turned into studio and workshop spaces for artists and designers. From Monday to Friday, a common sight on Teollisuuskatu are bank workers: the headquarters of three major banks are situated next to one another.

Our studio is situated in the rugged industrial zone in the former factory complex of the Orion pharmaceutical company. The most thrilling thing about the area is its tolerance and diversity. During the day, the area is buzzing with office workers and bankers, and by night the streets fill up with music and lively life from studios and workshops scattered here and there.

-Markus

Local Helsinkian

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