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Keisarinnankivi (Finnish language for "the stone of the empress") is a monument located at the Market Square in Kaartinkaupunki in central Helsinki, Finland. The monument, designed by Carl Ludvig Engel, is the oldest public monument in Helsinki.Nenonen, Kaisu-Maija; Teerijoki, Ilkka: Historian suursanakirja, p. 222. WSOY, 1998. . It was revealed with celebrations on the name day of Nikolai on 18 December 1835 to commemorate the first visit to Helsinki by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Emperor of Russia Nicholas I. The monument was erected at the spot where the imperial couple stepped ashore from the steamship Ischora on arrival in Helsinki on 10 June (Julian calendar: 29 May) 1833. The monument was funded by a national collection of funds and by a grant given by the Imperial Senate of Finland.
The monument is an obelisk made of red granite, topped with a gilded bronze sphere. On top of the sphere is the symbol of Imperial Russia, a double-headed eagle. The eagle sports the lion coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Finland on its chest. The gilded eagle was designed by the avian painter Magnus von Wright.
The southern side of the monument bears a Latin inscription and the northern side bears a Finnish language one, both explaining the purpose of the monument. At the time of the erection of the monument, it was unusual to use Finnish in such an official connection, as the official and main language of Finland at the time was Swedish language. Finnish was only made an official language in Finland in 1883. The inscriptions read:
After the February Revolution on 17 April 1917 Russian seamen tore down the bronze sphere and double-headed eagle on top of the monument and removed the on the base of the monument. The double-headed eagle was broken when torn down, but both the eagle and the sphere acting as its base still remained. They were reinstated after repairs in 1971 after first consulting the Soviet Union to verify it did not oppose this. Suomi on venäläinen, YLE TV1, 8 February 2015. The bronze sphere was gilded again in 2000 to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the city of Helsinki and its role as the European Capital of Culture at the time.
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