Hietaniemi cemetery

Hietaniemi Cemetery is by far Helsinki's largest and a national memorial site. Begun in 1829 on a peninsula on the Baltic, it brings together separately consecrated sections for Lutherans, Orthodox Christians, Jews and Muslims, including an Islamic Tatar cemetery. At its centre lies the plain granite grave of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, marshal and president, alongside the Presidential Memorial Grove with every Finnish head of state since independence. A vast military section commemorates the dead of the 1939–44 Winter and Continuation Wars and is the focal point of national rites on Independence Day. Architect Alvar Aalto and many artists are buried here too. In summer the Baltic glints between the birches; in winter, when thousands of candles light the graves, visiting Hietaniemi is part of Helsinki's Christmas and All Saints' ritual.