The internationally known writer and artist, creator of the beloved Moomin trolls Tove Jansson, spent most of her life in her hometown Helsinki. She now has a park named after her in her childhood’s home neighborhood Katajanokka and a memorial plaque on the building where she used to live and work in Ullanlinna, but she still doesn’t have a statue – officially.

But as her father Victor Jansson was a sculptor, he used his family as models, especially young Tove. That means there are actually several statues of Tove all around the city! I think it is a fun little game to search the statues and see Tove as she was as a young sculptor’s daughter (which is the title of her childhood memoir). 

Probably the best known sculpture is Convolvulus in the Kaisaniemi park (see my photo) behind the Finnish national theatre. Other statues are in the Esplanadi park and in the Hietaniemi cemetary, among other places.