The building in which Café Engel is located is one of the oldest houses in Helsinki. The ground floor was built was built in 1765, in the place of an old pipe factory. The architect is unknown. In 1830's two floors were added and Carl Ludvig Engel (1778-1840) designed the facade.
Engel studied in Berlin, left his home Germany, and continued his studies in St. Petersburg and moved to Helsinki to design Empire-style buildings in the new capital of Finland. Many buildings surrounding the Senat Square are Engel's masterpieces: The Dome of Helsinki, The University Hall and The University Library and The Senate (now the Palace of the Council of State).
Engel studied in Berlin, left his home Germany, and continued his studies in St. Petersburg and moved to Helsinki to design Empire-style buildings in the new capital of Finland. Many buildings surrounding the Senat Square are Engel's masterpieces: The Dome of Helsinki, The University Hall and The University Library and The Senate (now the Palace of the Council of State).
