Kaupunki Kaverit Walk in Vallila and Hermanni

A friendly reminder, in 2025 House of Helsinki has launched a new initiative called Kaupunki Kaverit, promoting two-way integration. The goal is to build a community where both people with immigrant backgrounds and native Finns can learn from each other, share everyday life, and explore their city together. Our volunteers across Finland organise urban walks in different neighborhoods, each walk offering a unique perspective — cultural, historical, or architectural. These walks are not guided tours, but opportunities for conversation, learning, and connection.

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Usually, our Kaupunki Kaverit organisers choose locations they either live in or simply love. These places mean something personal to them and that they want others to see through their eyes. That’s exactly what happened on October 11, 2025, when our group explored the charming neighbourhoods of Vallila and Hermanni in Helsinki.

The walk was organised and guided by our volunteer Yuno Tikhomirov, who put together a route full of small stories, details, and unexpected bits of everyday history.

We discovered how these areas looked more than a hundred years ago, how they’ve changed, and how the story of the city keeps going even today. Some of the buildings we passed are still waiting for decisions about their future – a reminder that urban history never really stands still.

One of the nicest touches was Yuno’s idea to bring a tablet and show old photos of the same spots we were walking through. Comparing those images with the view right in front of us made it easy to imagine how life must have looked here long ago.

There were ten of us on this walk, including Lubov from Rovaniemi, who came all the way from Lapland to join the walk. Her presence meant a lot — Lubov has been one of our most active REFUFIN volunteers up north, and we truly appreciated her support and enthusiasm.

The walk was exactly what Kaupunki Kaverit is about — seeing the city through someone else’s eyes, whether you were born in Finland or moved here once, and discovering how many ways there are to belong to the same place.

Comment from Yuno

"I’ve been building an emotional connection with Helsinki over the past six years of living here. Still, I felt like I was missing the understanding that comes from being brought up by the walls of this city. Even though I can’t make up for that, I decided to try to get to know the environment around me on a deeper level, outside of my own recent memories on these streets. 

I pinked up Jussi Iltanen’s book Löytöretkiä Helsingin Seudulle to learn hidden stories of the districts outside the city center. I decided to share what I’ve found with others through House of Helsinki’s Kaupunki Kaverit project. I chose a route not far from my home — through Hermanni and Vallila. In addition to studying the book, I looked up the places online, combining historical facts, photos, facts, and even discussions of the future of some of the old buildings. As a result, I gathered extensive notes on the area from 19th century to today, which I was excited to share!

I never did anything like this historical walk before, but the crowd of House of Helsinki volunteers was the perfect audience — curious, appreciative, and with their own unique stories to share. After our walk, we sat down in my favorite local cafe and finished the day with enriching and supportive conversations which always happen at these volunteer meetings. 

I am very grateful to everyone who came and to the House of Helsinki team who connect people and make these events possible!"

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The walk was supported by the City of Helsinki to strengthen our volunteers’ sense of community and promote well-being.