| Sirkkalankatu | |
| Alternate Name: | Sirkkalagatan (Swedish) |
| Former Names: | Arseninkatu, Arsenin poikkikatu |
| Length Km: | 1.5 |
| Location: | Turku, Finland |
Sirkkalankatu (Swedish: Sirkkalagatan; lit. Sirkkala Street) is a street in Turku. It runs for approximately 1.5 km in the city's I, II and III District beginning at and ending at Kivenhakkaajankatu near the .[1]
Sirkkalankatu got its current name during the 1920s. Before that the street was known as Arseninkatu.[2]
The street is located in a hilly area, and only run between and Joukahaisenkatu. Buildings along the street include the former, Luostarinmäki Handicrafts Museum, the and the former maternity hospital .
Located in the City Centre of Turku, Sirkkalankatu is approximately 1.5 kilometers long. Sirkkalankatu begins at by the old Kupittaa railway station. It runs westwards through the city's I, II and III District ending at Kivenhakkaajankatu by the . The street first climbs up the descending then towards . Towards the end, the street begins to slightly climb up again when it nears the Sports Park hill.
Sirkkalankatu intersects with the following streets form east to west: Joukahaisenkatu,, Kaivokatu,, Kellonsoittajankatu,, Kotikatu, Tähtitorninkatu, Vartiovuorenkatu,, Vuorikatu, Sepänkatu, Neitsytpolku and Kivenhakkaajankatu.
The street now known as Sirkkalankatu was called Arsenin poikkikatu (; lit. Arseny Cross Street) from 1830 onwards. The name of the street was a reference to another street, Arseninkatu (current), which ran from a bridge of the Aura River to Uudenmaan tulli (lit. Uusimaa customs). Both streets were named after the Russian Arseny Zakrevsky, who served as the Governor-General of Finland from 1824 to 1831. As the governor general, Zakrevsky led the reparations of the city after the Great Fire of Turku in 1827. The name of Arsenin poikkikatu was changed to Arseninkatu (Swedish: Arseniigatan) in 1890, when the original Arseninkatu was renamed as Uudenmaankatu.[3]
The Russian based street names of Turku were replaced during the 1920s, and also Arseninkatu was renamed as Sirkkalankatu (Swedish: Sirkkalagatan; lit. Sirkkala Street) in 1924. The new name was based on a fact that there had long existed a hill called Sirkkalanmäki on the route of Arseninkatu. Historical records also mention an 18th-century merchant called Henrik Sirkkala, whose house may have been the namesake of the hill. In 1905, there still existed a well called the Sirkkala spring on the grounds of the .