Sederholm House

The Sederholm House stands as the oldest stone building in central Helsinki. Its heavy, dark walls contrast sharply with the newer architecture of Senate Square. Merchant Johan Sederholm built the house in seventeen fifty-seven, when Helsinki was a small, dusty town under Swedish rule. Sederholm was the wealthiest man in the city, but he spent his final years fighting lawsuits and managing a shrinking fortune. Today, the thick basement walls remain from his original home, surviving the fires that leveled the neighborhood.