The main building of the University of Helsinki, on the western side of Senate Square, designed by Carl Ludwig Engel in 1828–32 to mirror the Government Palace opposite. The Finlandia of Finnish learning, founded in 1640 in Turku and moved to Helsinki in 1828 after the great Turku fire. The university now has 30,000 students across multiple campuses, but this is still the historic heart.
The interior is mostly closed to the public, but the porch is a popular meeting place and the small University Museum on Snellmaninkatu (free entry) tells the institution's story. The National Library, next door at Unioninkatu 36, is one of the most spectacular library interiors in Northern Europe and is freely open.