The wonderful life of The Lantern Bearers

The Lantern Bearers that guard the main entrance to Helsinki Railway Station are among the most famous statues in Helsinki. But did you know that Emil Wikström, who created them, was originally supposed to sculpt bear statues for the facade – and did you know that the 111-year-old Stone Men had two little sisters?

The Lantern Bearers are a prominent feature on the facade of the Helsinki Railway Station, which was designed by Eliel Saarinen. The building is considered one of the pearls of Jugendstil architecture, and its significance as a landmark in Finland’s capital and a milestone of Finnish architecture is considerable. The magnificent vaulted halls and decorated pillars on the front of the building made of natural stone exude dignity and harmony.

One of the most important sculptors of the Finnish Golden Age, Emil Wikström, designed The Lantern Bearers and completed them at the station’s main entrance in 1914. The four art deco-inspired statues hold orbs of light in their hands.

The giant male figures have a muscular torso, but their lower part is a column decorated in a manner characteristic of Saarinen. The Lantern Bearers’ haircuts are typical of the Awakening movement. The square-jawed tenant farmer Jalmari Lehtinen posed as a model for the sculptures.

In Saarinen’s original plans, the sculptures on the railway station facade were bears, which had already featured in the decoration of the main stairs of the Finnish National Museum and at the Vyborg Railway Station. In the end, Saarinen decided to commission Wikström to sculpt four robust male figures.

Today, The Lantern Bearers are also known as ‘The Stone Men’ (Kivimiehet), thanks to VR’s award-winning advertising campaign. The sculptures featured in the railway company’s print ads and as animated characters on television from 2002 onwards. In the ads, the statues got legs and travelled across Europe: they took part in a sculpture conference in Verona, where they discussed a cleaner environment, and travelled to Lapland for a winter break, among other things.

In addition to the ads, The Lantern Bearers have appeared in Kari Suomalainen’s cartoons. The Stone Men have also participated in costume in national celebrations in recent years, for example wearing the Finnish national ice hockey team’s jerseys and Käärijä’s bright green boleros. During the COVID pandemic, they also wore face masks. To mark the city’s 475th birthday, the statues will now be wearing Helsinki shirts.

“We wanted to celebrate our beloved hometown reaching this remarkable age in a dignified and festive way but one that would be different from those in previous years. Dressing the iconic Stone Men in shirts to celebrate Helsinki is an impressive way to tell the residents that everyone is invited to celebrate the city’s birthday again on 12 June,” says Anna Mäkelä, Communications Manager at the Helsinki Events Foundation.

The decision to dress the statues in costume is always given careful consideration. The Stone Men’s huge size and muscular upper body mean using many metres of fabric. Putting clothes on the sturdy men is also a challenging and complicated operation, even if they don’t exactly object.

A few years after the completion of The Lantern Bearer sculptures, their two sister works were unveiled at the Vyborg Railway Station. The little sisters were, unfortunately, completely destroyed in the Continuation War when the station was bombed.

The Vyborg Railway Station, designed by Eliel Saarinen in collaboration with architect Herman Gesellius, was very similar to the Helsinki Railway Station. The facade of the Vyborg Station also had a large arch and large window, with sculptures on both sides of its main entrance. At Helsinki Railway Station, the sculptures are men holding lanterns, while the main doors of the old Vyborg Railway Station were flanked by female statues, which were protected by two bear statues in front of them. The statues were sculpted by the Vyborg-born sculptor Eva Gyldén.

Vyborg’s spectacular railway station was destroyed in the Continuation War in August 1941 when Russian troops blew up the station. Now only a trace and fragments of the past stand as a reminder of the glory of the old station.

In Helsinki, visitors can still admire the splendid sight, 106 years after the station was inaugurated. In early June, The Lantern Bearers will wear Helsinki shirts and welcome admirers and travellers to their historic home – and to celebrate Helsinki’s birthday!

Text: Saija Holm
Image: Eeva Rista