Officials in the city of Helsinki will soon publish a map service with a difference: in addition to performing the pedestrian service of helping visitors find their destinations, it will also provide a brief history of the more peculiar names to be found in city locations.
For example, Kristina Freytag, who gave her name to Leskirouva Freytag kuja (Widow Freytag Lane) was a strong woman from the Viikki district, who lived in the city during the 17th century and was the widow of the master cavalryman Gerd Skytte. She fought for the landholdings bestowed on her deceased husband by such means as writing letters to Queen Kristiina of Sweden. This is the back story behind the street name Leskirouva Freytag kuja, according to Johanna Lehtonen, secretary of the city's nomenclature committee.
On the other hand the street known as Papukaija Zagulan polku in Tapaninkylä is a classic example of a puzzling and unusual Helsinki street name. All the same, like all other street names on the city, there's a rhyme and reason to it, Lehtonen observed.
"The name Papukaija Zagulan polku comes from a pet parrot that belonged to the Russian widow Countess Manjefa Multanovskaja. Apparently the parrot knew a few bad words, could whistle, sing and order around the estate's dogs. Family lore has it that the parrot was buried in a silver chest on the estate," Lehtonen related.
Special map service in time for summer
This summer Helsinki city officials plan to launch the unique map service, showing the names of all the streets, parks, waterways, squares and other public locations.
The service can be found at the web address kartta.hel.fi and will provide even more information than before on items such as ongoing and future construction projects as well as aerial images and historical maps.
"People can search for all the parks in Helsinki for example, and by clicking on a selected park, they will see the location's official Finnish- and Swedish-language names. It will also provide other basic information, such as when the name was taken into use and the story behind the name. The information has been gathered from documents of the naming committee and other sources," Lehtonen expanded.
The online service is part of a three-part book series on Helsinki's street names, the first of which was published in the 1970s and the third in 1999.
"Even after that, hundreds of new street names were introduced, about which city officials didn't have any documentation. We didn't want to produce another book, but wanted to place all of the existing names on an online map that could be continuously updated," she added.
More than 100 new street names every year
City officials give new names to between 100 and 150 streets every year. The new names are proposed by the nomenclature committee, which meets roughly ten times annually.
"The naming committee is a professional body that is made up of top professionals interested in nomenclature. The committee doesn't decide on names, but it makes proposals for consideration," Lehtonen noted.
Committee members aren't selected on the basis of political affiliation, rather are chosen for their representation of different fields. For example, it currently includes a representative of the city museum, the media, the Institute for the Languages of Finland and other organisations.
