The Monument to the Red Guards stands in a small park on the Pispalanharju ridge in the Pispala district of Tampere, at Pispalanharju 33. It commemorates the Red Guard fighters who took part in the 1918 Finnish Civil War and whose fate was closely tied to the battles and surrenders around Tampere. The monument is based on a design by artist Merja Vainio, selected through a competition at the Lahti Art School, and was erected on Vesisäiliönmäki hill in the summer of 1982 before being formally donated to the City of Tampere in early 1983. The nearly three-metre-high dark sculpture, set against the open sky, has an austere and contemplative character that suits its subject and the ridge-top setting.
Today the site functions both as a memorial and as a viewpoint along one of Tampere’s most scenic walks. Pispalanharju is the highest esker in Finland, and from the paths near the monument you can look out over the wooden neighbourhoods of Pispala and towards Lakes Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi on either side of the ridge. The monument is surrounded by Pyykkimettä / Pyykkipuisto park, with trees, benches and footpaths, and many visitors reach it as part of a longer walk along the ridge or when exploring Pispala’s unique urban landscape. Access is free and the area is open around the clock, which makes it easy to combine a stop here with visits to the Finlayson Area, other Civil War memorials, museums and cafés in Tampere. Travellers often describe the monument as a quiet place for reflection on Finland’s difficult 1918 history and the long process of reconciliation that followed.
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