Senate Square is dominated by the Cathedral (1852), the Council of State (1822) to the east, and the University of Helsinki's Main Building (1832) to the west. They were all designed by C. L. Engel and they have all played an important role in the history of Helsinki as well as Finland. The Council of State, for example, was established in the 19th century as the seat of the Imperial Senate (see Russia). On the stairs of this building Eugen Schauman, a future national hero, shot Nicholas Bobrikov, the hated Governor General on June 16, 1904.

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