HS Helsinki In the heart of Helsinki lies an ancient house that was renovated without saving costs: “A million euros have been put underground alone and it is nowhere to be seen”

Aleksanterinkatu and on the corner of Mariankatu is a house whose main entrance is not visible at first glance. The reason is the strange location of the building on the plot. It has turned its back on the sea and is looking towards the House of Knights.

The reason for the skew is found in history.

“The old customs and packing room was built in the 18th century as part of the city’s line of defense,” says chief designer, architect Simo Freese.

The building was supposed to be part of the fortification, but the actual fortification was never carried out.

For centuries during which the customs and packing room has been transformed into quite a variety of uses. After the end of customs operations, the building has housed the Kruununhaa Police Station, the Helsinki Construction Agency’s parking supervision and the Finnish Literature Society (SKS) with its bookstores.

The now completely renovated building has been converted into a Jewish cultural center. The center organizes trainings and parties. There is a kindergarten downstairs. There is also a museum open to the public that tells the history and culture of the Jews.

International The Chabad Lubavitch organization bought the Customs and Packing Room from the city in 2015.

The only potential buyer got the house very cheaply, the building cost only 110,000 euros. But there was a reason for that. The house was in very poor condition and it was known that it had to undergo an expensive renovation.

At the time of the transaction, the Helsinki City Center estimates that repairs to the protected building could cost three million euros. The estimate went well down. The final price tag for the repairs was EUR 6.5 million.

One would imagine that that amount would have given the building gold-plated tables, but this is not the case.

Most of the money has gone to structural repairs.

“One million euros have been put underground alone, and it doesn’t show up anywhere,” says Simo Freese.

Building had to be piled up because it had moved and had cracks in its hull. In addition, there was moisture at the ground level causing microbial growth. According to Freese, in some places the rock was two meters, in others 15 meters below the stone foot.

“Now it’s piled up, and the house is guaranteed to go down.”

Renovation costs were also increased by the construction of a Jewish kindergarten on the ground floor of the house. The city has its own requirements for kindergarten buildings and therefore, among other things, gravity air conditioning had to be replaced by mechanical. An elevator was also built in the house.

The security systems of Finland’s Chabad Lubavitch do not want to talk about their share of the costs.

“Unfortunately, we can’t share more detailed information about the details, but yes, we have had to take safety into account when designing Mariankatu,” says the producer. Shani Arnon.

There have been no acts of violence against Jewish communities in Finland, but the Jewish congregation in Helsinki sometimes receives threats. The church has been investing heavily for years security. The parish’s security costs are about 450,000 euros a year.

Indoors the most visible changes in the renovation of the house took place in the rooms. Over the years, several partitions had been built into the house. Especially many of them were erected when the building served as a police station.

Now much of the walls have been demolished. The roof of the old auction hall will be high again when the later added middle floor is removed. The 90-seat hall is set to host celebrations and events related to the Jewish calendar.

The hall is also rented to outsiders for meeting or event use.

“Last weekend there was just a barn. It is convenient to move here from the premises of a nearby university, ”says Chabad Lubavitch Ariel Nadbornik.

In the future, the house may also flash on television, as Nadbornik has received inquiries from a few production companies. The status has been queried for, among other things, the dating program.

Downstairs the built kindergarten operates in the old cell facilities. The bars on the windows still resemble police station times. One of the former cells is now the kitchen.

The religion of the users of the house is shown in an interesting way in the pink and blue cabinets in the kitchen.

“In Judaism, meat and dairy products are kept separate, not mixed or prepared with each other. The blue side has dairy products and the pink side has meat, ”says Shani Arnon.

The Jewish way of life also influenced the construction itself. The Jewish religion includes the observance of the Sabbath. The Sabbath begins on Friday at sunset and ends on Saturday after dark.

“The work was stopped earlier on Fridays. In the winter, the work was finished at 2.20 pm, ”says Freese.

Finland the Jewish community is small, comprising about 1,500 people. How Chabad Lubavitch has been able to afford such a costly renovation Chairman of the Chabad Lubavitch Association of Finland, Rabbi Benyamin Wolff?

“One-third of the funding came in the form of donations, one-third is on loan and one-third is under construction.”

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