Erottaja

Erottaja(Finnish:[ˈerotːɑjɑ];lit. 'the separator'),Swedish:Skillnaden;Swedish:[ˈʃil.naːden];lit. 'the difference'), is a public square near the centre ofHelsinki,Finland.

Erottaja square has been selected as the official geographic "zero point"of Helsinki. Distances to all other cities in Finland are measured starting from here.^[1]In practice, the square functions as the meeting point of central Helsinki's two famous streets,EsplanadiandMannerheimintie.The square is the western endpoint of Esplanadi, with the eastern endpoint being at themarket square.Mannerheimintie, the longest and most famous street in Helsinki, begins at Erottaja and continues northwest, past the districts ofTöölöandRuskeasuo,until finally merging with a highway leading outside the city. The starting points of bothFinnish national roads,theTampere Highway(E12) and theLahti Highway(E75), are located approximately in Erottaja.

The name 'separator' originates from 19th century, when Erottaja separated actual city centre from Uusimaa (Swedish:Nyland)suburb.

There was also a minorbus stationat Erottaja. Very few lines started or ended there, most of them started or ended at theKamppi Center,atElielinaukioor atRautatientori.Helsinki route 20 (Erottaja -Lauttasaari) buses were a familiar sight for decades at Erottaja. Bus station as well as a well-known 'nakkikioski' (a kiosk selling sausages and other fast food) disappeared when the square was renovated in late 2010's.^[2]

TheSwedish Theatre(Swedish:Svenska teatern,Finnish:Ruotsalainen teatteri) is located at Erottaja, at the western edge of theEsplanadipark. A sculpture namedUsko toivo rakkaus(Swedish:Tro hopp kärlek), meaning "Faith hope love", byEva Lange,was erected in front of it in September 2019.^[2]

Erottaja is also famous for being the most expensive lot in the original Finnish edition ofMonopoly,even more expensive than Mannerheimintie (the second most expensive lot). This has earned the square fame even outside Helsinki.