
Where Do Camels, Giraffes, and Unicorns Come From in Finland?

When you walk through the center of Helsinki, at one point you might notice strange signs at the street intersections: sometimes camels, sometimes donkeys, sometimes gophers.
After half an hour of leisurely walking and exploring, you logically come to the conclusion that these are used to designate several blocks, as the same animal is repeated on all four corners.

We decided to find out where this idea originated and why these particular animals, which are not typical of the Finnish landscape, were chosen.
It turned out that for a long time, all the neighborhoods in Helsinki were “numbered” in this way. Later, the Finns switched to a standard numbering system for streets and houses, but in some places, they hung signs in memory of this interesting tradition.
Since there are many neighborhoods, it seems the founders had to go beyond the local fauna. You can find neighborhoods of hamsters, marmots, hares, roe deer, camels, giraffes, etc.


It is very interesting to look for new animals while strolling around the city.
And for the residents of these neighborhoods, it must be easy to explain to guests how to find the right house!

In the Giraffe neighborhood, they even had some fun like this:

One of the neighborhoods is even marked with a non-existent animal (at least for now, and as far as we know) — a unicorn!

In general, Helsinki is a very beautiful city, even without the signs)


You can find that very sign again here — a test of attention!


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Read more:
Interesting facts about the Tallin-Helsinki ferries
Cosmic churches in Helsinki
How much does a trip to Tallin and Helsinki cost
Tallin — the city of wooden houses

The article about animal neighborhoods in Helsinki was originally published in Official Russian - Travel on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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