Helsinki experienced massive growth after it became Finland’s capital in 1812. As the new economic and cultural center, its population exploded, architecture grew quickly, and technology flourished. But what did it look like? Let’s take a stroll through 19th century Helsinki, courtesy of the Helsinki City Museum’s vast database of photos from the late 1800s.

Market Square and Market Hall, 1890. Photo: Helsinki City Museum / Saxelin Carl Otto

Kiosk in Esplanadi, 1890. Photo: Helsinki City Museum

Helsinki’s first public transportation, the omnibus, 1889. Photo: Helsinki City Museum

A pair of cyclists, circa 1880. Photo: Helsinki City Museum

Unveiling the memorial of J.L. Runeberg, Finland’s national poet, in Esplanade Park, 1885. Photo: Helsinki City Museum / Hjertzell Fritz

Fish market at the Market Square, 1885. Photo: Helsinki City Museum

Rowing in Kaivopuisto, circa 1870. Photo: Helsinki City Museum

Group photo at a school for Swedish-speaking girls, 1886. Photo: Helsinki City Museum / Nyblin Daniel

Sitting outdoors, 1888. Photo: Helsinki City Museum / Rosenbröijer A. E.

Studio photo of the Gebhard family at the coffee table, 1890. Photo: Helsinki City Museum

A diver at the old town waterworks construction site, 1890. Photo: Helsinki City Museum

Family ski day, 1890. Photo: Helsinki City Museum

Members of the amateur photography club, 1890. Photo: Helsinki City Museum / Saxelin Carl Otto

G.W. Sohlberg workers on the roof of the factory, 1890. Photo: Helsinki City Museum

A walk by the sea on Seurasaari, 1890. Photo: Helsinki City Museum

Studio photo of a woman dressed as a sailor, 1890. Photo: Helsinki City Museum

Vappu celebration at Kaisaniemi, 1892. Photo: Helsinki City Museum / Wasastjerna Nils

Polytechnic Institute (later Helsinki University of Technology) Mechanical Engineering students playing cards, 1893. Photo: Helsinki City Museum

Market Square, 1895. Photo: Helsinki City Museum / Saxelin Carl Otto

Father and son sitting on a bench in Kaivopuisto, 1897. Photo: Helsinki City Museum

Father and daughter sitting in Kaivopuisto, 1897. Photo: Helsinki City Museum

Russian ice cream salesman in front of Ateneum, 1898. Photo: Helsinki City Museum

A much less crowded Aleksanterinkatu, 1899. Photo: Helsinki City Museum
Call me weird but it’s low key fascinating how clean the town was
Makes you wonder if they scrubbed the streets for the photographer.