Palaces, manors and town halls in Finland
Parliament House
Since 1907 the Parliament of Finland was convened in House of the Estates and Finnish House of Nobility. Both buildings became however too small for the 200 members of the independent Finland Parliament. In 1923 a competition was held to choose a site for a new Parliament House. Arkadianmäki, a hill beside what is now Mannerheimintie, was chosen as the best site.The architectural competition which was held in 1924 wa ...
Founded: 1926-1931 |
Location:
Helsinki, Finland
Tampere City Hall
Tampere neo-renaissance city hall was built in 1890 and was designed by Georg Schreck. At first all city bureaus were located to the city hall. During the Great Strike in 1905, the so-called "Red Manifest" was read from the balcony of the Tampere City Hall. The manifest was drawn up on behalf of the strike committee by several leaders of the Finnish Social Democrats. Among the demands made in the manifest were the resigna ...
Founded: 1890 |
Location:
Tampere, Finland
Oulu City Hall
The Oulu City Hall was completed in 1886 as a restaurant (“Seurahuone”). The neo-Renaissance building was designed by J. E. Stenberg. The city council moved to the house in 1921.
Founded: 1886 |
Location:
Oulu, Finland
Vaasa City Hall
Vaasa City Hall was designed by Swedish architect Magnus Isæus and it was completed in 1883. The Senate of Finland moved to the city hall during the Civil War on 16.3.1918. The Senate worked there until 3.5.1918 when the war ended and Senate moved back to Helsinki.Today the City Hall is used for events of local communities, companies and the city of Vaasa.
Founded: 1883 |
Location:
Vaasa, Finland
Espoo Manor
Espoo estate was established as a 'King's manor' (Kungsgård) by Gustav Vasa, King of Sweden, in 1556. The first bailiff was Peder Mandel in 1557-1558. Later the manor was a residence of famous field marshals and statemen Jacob de la Gardie and Gustav Horn. Espoo manor has been owned by the Ramsay family since 1756. The current manor house was built in 1797. Today Espoo manor provides wedding and event services.
Founded: 1797 |
Location:
Espoo, Finland
Presidential Palace
To the north of Kauppatori Square stands the Presidential Palace, one of C. L. Engel’s grand neo-classical buildings. Originally at the beginning of 19th century, a salt storehouse stood on the site. The entire lot was bought by merchant Johan Henrik Heidenstrauch who built the first palace in 1820. He had to sell it to the senate of Finland in 1837 and the building was moved to the official residence of the Tsar or Rus ...
Founded: 1816-1845 |
Location:
Helsinki, Finland
Kultaranta
Kultaranta (Golden beach) is the summer residence of the President of Finland. The granite manor house was built by Alfred Kordelin in 1913-16. Kordelin was an industrialist, businessman and one of the richest Finnish entrepreneurs of his time. He was kidnapped by a group of Red Guards and murdered by a Russian sailor on 7 November 1917. Kordelin was childless and the manor's ownership shifted to the University of Tur ...
Founded: 1913-1916 |
Location:
Naantali, Finland
Kuopio City Hall
The massive City Hall of Kuopio was built between 1882-1885. The Neo-renaissance building was designed by F. A. Sjöström and J. Stenbäck.
Founded: 1882-1885 |
Location:
Kuopio, Finland
Herttoniemi Manor Museum
The history of Herttoniemi Manor dates back to the 16th century. The Herttoniemi area is probably named after Laurens Hertoghe who might have been the first owner of the manor. The heyday was in the late 1700’s, when the manor was owned by Augustin Ehrensvärd. He led the construction of Suomenlinna fortress. The present main building originates from the beginning of 19th century, when the manor was owned by ad ...
Founded: 19th century |
Location:
Helsinki, Finland
Haikko Manor
The history of the Haikko manor dates back to 1362 when a Dominican monastery owned the site. Jöns Olafsson Stenbock bought the manor and Haikko was a residence of Stenbock family for next 400 years. In 1871 it was bought by general Sebastian von Etter. Several members of the Russian Imperial family visited Haikko because von Etter was a close friend to czar Nicholas II. During the revolution in 1917 Grand Duke Kiril ...
Founded: 1913 |
Location:
Porvoo, Finland
Tamminiemi
Tamminiemi villa was one of the official residences of the President of Finland from 1940 until 1981. From that date, until his death, it served as the residence of President Urho Kekkonen. Designed by architects Sigurd Frosterus and Gustaf Strengell, the jugendstil villa was built in 1903 for the Danish-born businessman Jörgen Nissen. The villa was later owned or rented by a number of individuals, before being acqui ...
Founded: 1903 |
Location:
Helsinki, Finland
Mustio Manor
Mustio manor ("Mustio Castle", "Svartå Slott") was built in 1783-1792 by Magnus Linder, the owner of the local ironworks. There had been an older manor from the 17th century, but it was dismantled when the present one was built. The manor represents the neoclassical ("kustavilainen") architecture.Today Mustio is a countryside hotel. There are also the old ironworks and one of the biggest private historical parks of Finla ...
Founded: 1783-1792 |
Location:
Mustio, Finland
Söderkulla Manor
Söderkulla manor, a historically and architecturally notable estate, is situated in the scenic Sipoonjoki river valley between Helsinki and Porvoo. The royal estate was established in 1557 by Gustav Vasa, the King of Sweden, but Söderkulla was already mentioned in 1494. The manor was owned by Ekelöf family from 1563 to 1700, when it was acquired by Lorentz Creutz. The main building was completed in 1908 an ...
Founded: 1908 |
Location:
Sipoo, Finland
Villa Mairea
Villa Mairea is a villa and guest house built in 1938-1939 as the residence of patronages Harry and Maire Gullichsen. It was designed by their friend, the most famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. The house is one of the most successful examples of the modernist style in architecture and one of Aalto's most widely known designs. The interior of the Villa mainly consists of modern art and Artek furniture, which form a ...
Founded: 1938-1939 |
Location:
Pori, Finland
Hvitträsk
Hvitträsk atelier was built between 1901-1903 by architects Herman Gesellius, Armas Lindgren and Eliel Saarinen. The main building, designed in National Romantic style, built of logs and natural stone, was both a common studio and a home for Eliel Saarinen and Armas Lindgren for some years after it was completed.Seveval famous artists, including Jean Sibelius, Axeli Gallen-Kallela and Maksim Gorki, visited in Hvitträsk. ...
Founded: 1902-1903 |
Location:
Kirkkonummi, Finland
Town Hall
The Town Hall is literally the center of Hamina city. It’s located at the center of eight radial streets. The original hall was built in 1798, but it has been destroyed by two separate town fires. The current empire-style building was built in the 1840s according the design of famous architect C. L. Engel.Today, the Town Hall serves as offices for the town’s central administration.
Founded: 1840s |
Location:
Hamina, Finland
Valtionhotelli
The Imatrankoski Rapids has been a famous tourist sight since the 18th century. For example Catherine the Great, the Empress of All the Russias, visited Imatra in July 1772. In 1892 the railway came to Imatra, which immediately shortened the journey from St. Petersburg and increased the influx of tourists. There were originally two wooden hotels used by Russian aristocracy, but but they had been destroyed in fires in the ...
Founded: 1903 |
Location:
Imatra, Finland
Jokioinen Manor
Jokioinen manor was established in 1562 when Erik XIV, the king of Sweden, donated the area as fiefdom to Klas Kristersson Horn. The heyday of Jokioinen manor was in the 18th century at the time of R.H. Jägerholm (he bought the manor in 1752), when the manor owned 32000 hectares land around the Jokioinen. After him several famous families have owned Jokioinen including Flemings, Jägerhorn af Spurilas, Reuterholms, von W ...
Founded: 1794 |
Location:
Jokioinen, Finland
Mail & Custom's House
The Mail & Custom’s House is rare and historically significant building in Eckerö. It was designed by famous Finnish architects C.L. Engel and C. Bassi and completed in 1828. The purpose of the building was to indicate the power of Russian Empire to seafarers coming from Sweden and it was built intentionally too large for the custom and post office need.The Mail & Custom's House is well preserved. T ...
Founded: 1828 |
Location:
Eckerö, Finland
Vanajanlinna
The history of the original estate of Vanajanlinna, Äikäälä, goes back to the Middle Ages. Historical records mention Olle af Aeykaelum (Olli of Äikäälä) as the owner of the Äikäälä estate in 1374. After him the farm has had many owners and a colourful history as a freehold and holding farm used for agriculture.The actual history of Vanajalinna begins from the year 1918, when the industrialist Carl Wilhelm Ros ...
Founded: 1924 |
Location:
Hämeenlinna, Finland