Tampere - Central Square

(Local Name: Keskustori) Tampere's principal street is Hämeenkatu, which runs from the railroad station by way of Keskustori (Central Square) to the wide avenue Hämeenpuisto. In the square is the Hämeensilta (bridge), with four figures by Wäinö Aaltonen (1929): the Tax-Collector, the Hunter, the Tradesman and the Finnish Maiden. Nearby is the former municipal library, in neo-Classical style, in front of which is another work by Aaltonen, a monument (1928) to Aleksis Kivi ("The Muse blessing the Poet").

The most notable buildings in Keskustori are the neo-Classical Old Church (by Carlo Bassi, 1824), on a cruciform plan, with an Empire-style belfry (by C. L. Engel, 1828); the Town Hall, in neo-Renaissance style (by Georg Schreck, 1890) and the neo-Classical Tampere Theatre (by Kauno S. Kallio, 1913). By the rapids (koski) is the Koskikeskus shopping center.