Carl Ludvig Engel (1778-1840), who had received his diploma in architecture from the Berlin Bauakademie in 1804, found no work in Prussia during the Napoleonic Wars. He applied for and received an appointment as city architect in Tallinn (Estonia). Soon he visited Finland and was asked to design an observatory for the Academy in Turku. Ehrenström first met the talented young architect in 1814 and was immediately convinced that he had found the right man. After spending a couple of years in St. Petersburg Engel considered moving back to Berlin, but he was appointed architect of the reconstruction committee for Helsinki in 1816 and remained in Finland for the rest of his life. Engel was thrilled by his new task: "Few architects have the good fortune to plan an entire city", he explained in a letter to a friend. And Engel had every right to express himself in this way; within a quarter of a century he had designed and completed about 30 public buildings in Helsinki, all in his chosen Neo-Classical (Empire) style. Some of the buildings have been demolished, but his most important creations around the Senate Square are preserved.

C. L. ENGEL

Though born in Berlin, architect Johan Carl Ludvig Engel's (1778-1840) life's mission was to give shape to the new Helsinki. Since 1809 Engel had been working as the town architect of Tallinn. He had also spent a year in St. Petersburg studying Russian classical architecture.He was nominated as the chief architect of the committee to rebuild Helsinki in 1816. The job was tremendous. In the next 25 years nearly 30 public buildings designed by Engel were built in Helsinki. In addition to this, he designed several private homes as well as buildings outside of Helsinki.Engel's monumental neoclassical style is called Empire. Engel's most important work, the Senate Square represents Empire style at its best.Engel started working on the Senate Square in 1816-19 by turning the Old Town Hall to an official residence for the Governor General (Aleksanterinkatu 20). The second work to be completed was the first part of the Senate Building on the east side of the square in 1822. As a symmetrical pair for the Senate Building, Engel designed the University. It was completed in 1832.

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