There is a room in the tower of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium that has been closed to the public until now. In fact, it has hardly been used since the war years, when it was used by air surveillance.

The tower was manned 24 hours a day, and at its top, the arrival of enemy planes was mainly watched by the lotas and young pilot boys. They had a room on the 8th floor of the tower as their base.

– We are not aware that the room was used for anything other than official use after the war, says the Marketing and Communications Director of the Stadion Foundation Marju Paju.

Since the space has not been open to the public, it has been preserved in its original state. Now, however, you can get to know it.

The room is part of the guided tour Lott and air traffic controllers in the stadium tower -tour, which explains how the tower was used in the defense of Helsinki.

The tour also includes a photo exhibition presenting the topic, which was realized in cooperation with the Stadium Foundation, the Lotta Museum and the Anti-Aircraft Museum.

Genuine accessories

On the other hand, the room itself has been brought objects and accessories that the lotas of the 40s used: clothes, guidebooks, dishes, telephone. The objects come from the Lottamuseo’s collections.

History comes to the fore especially vividly thanks to the fact that visitors can hear fragments of letters written by Lottana, who worked in the tower Jesus of Ursin wrote to his spouse who served at the front.

– We thought for a long time that we wanted more than the sounds of bombings in the exhibition, says Paju.

The solution can be found in the letters, the touching passages of which directly touch the listener.

– When we trained the guides leading the tours, many of them had tears in their eyes when they heard them, he describes.

– The room does have the feeling that these walls could talk.

80 years of destruction

However, there would certainly be something to tell on the other walls of the stadium, also from the war years.

In February 1944, i.e. 80 years ago, Helsinki experienced three massive bombings. The last of them, which happened on the 26th and 27th, also caused damage to the stadium.

16 bombs fell there, destroying the structures on the east side and the premises where the restaurant now operates. 3,457 window panes alone were broken.

The traces of the destruction can be seen in the photo exhibition of the stadium’s visitor center, which can otherwise be visited without an admission fee. The self-guided tour is for a fee.

In addition to the destruction, the tower also has brighter stories. The stadium staff still remembers an elderly couple who came to the visitor center in the 90s to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

Their love story had started when one served in the tower as Lotta and the other as an aerial observer.

– In my time, weddings have been organized in the tower as well, and I’m sure you get engaged there as well, says Paju, who has worked at the Stadion foundation since 2011.

Constantly something new

The Olympic Stadium is a popular tourist destination, where people come for various events or to admire the scenery from the top of its 72-meter tower. Paju says that the aim is to offer visitors something new every year.

Lottakierros is this year’s novelty. Last year, a tour organized in the summer season was included in the program, where you can climb to the roof of the A stand and get to know the stadium’s new underground facilities. They were completed in 2020 after years of renovation.

The program also includes tours especially for children. According to Paju, however, the most popular is the basic tour, which also includes access to the Sports Museum.

Tickets for guided tours should be purchased in advance. A visit to the tower is included in the price of all tours.

The lottery-themed rounds started at the beginning of February. You can also expect success from them thanks to nostalgic memories.

– Already on the first weekend, there was a woman on the tour with her two daughters, who had been here as a child. He had climbed to the top of the tower, Paju says.