Laukko Manor

Vesilahti, Finland

The written history of Laukko manor dates back to year 1416, but according the folklore the local chieftain Matti Kurki received it as a manor from the king of Sweden in the 13th century. The most famous of the medieval lords of Laukko was Klaus Kurki, the tragic hero of a ballad called The Death of Elina. In real life Klaus’s son Arvid became the last Bishop of Catholic Finland. At around the beginning of the 16th century the Kurcks had a stone castle built at Laukko as a symbol of their might and prosperity. The Kurki family owned Laukko until 1817. After that it has been owned by several families, for example famous industrialists Adolf Törngren and Rafael Haarla. Nowadays Laukko is a residence of the Lagerstam family.

The present neo-classic manor house was built in the 1930s. The estate reopened to the public in the summer of 2016, as the estate celebrates its 600th anniversary. For the first time, visitors can see the estate in its entire splendor. The visitors can now admire the main building’s unique collections of arts and antiquities and stroll in the estate’s vast gardens and grounds.

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Address

Laukontie 31, Vesilahti, Finland
See all sites in Vesilahti

Details

Founded: 1416
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Finland
Historical period: Middle Ages (Finland)

More Information

www.laukonkartano.fi

Rating

4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Tampere Old Church (22,7 km)
Tampere City Hall (22,6 km)
Hatanpää Manor (21,1 km)
The Finnish Labour Museum Werstas (23 km)
Finlayson (23 km)
Vapriikki (23,1 km)
Lenin Museum (22,3 km)
Tampere Orthodox Church (22,8 km)
Tampere Art Museum (22,2 km)

User Reviews

Josefina Jokiniemi (6 months ago)
Great natural surroundings. Delicious meals.
Petri Juurinen (2 years ago)
Elias Lönnrot wrote Kalevala here. Amazing landscape and lovely food. No reason to avoid.
Aaron Martin (2 years ago)
Really nice quality buffet lunch and great service, very nice scenery too.
Tapani Pietilä (2 years ago)
Historical manor that has very important role in Finland's history throughout centuries. Now IT IS open to public and offers very versatile programme to visitors: differenf exhibitions, many concerts during the summer and cafe and restaurant serving delicious meals and snacks.
Riina Pulkkinen (3 years ago)
Service is polite but not heartfelt. Food is really good. The place is scenic so make sure you take your camera with you. Check out daily program as well or grab your best picnic gear with you.
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Palazzo Colonna

The Palazzo Colonna is a palatial block of buildings built in part over ruins of an old Roman Serapeum, and has belonged to the prestigious Colonna family for over twenty generations.

The first part of the palace dates from the 13th century, and tradition holds that the building hosted Dante in his visit to Rome. The first documentary mention notes that the property hosted Cardinal Giovanni and Giacomo Colonna in the 13th century. It was also home to Cardinal Oddone Colonna before he ascended to the papacy as Martin V (1417–1431).

With his passing, the palace was sacked during feuds, and the main property passed into the hands of the Della Rovere family. It returned to the Colonna family when Marcantonio I Colonna married Lucrezia Gara Franciotti Della Rovere, the niece of pope Julius II. The Colonna"s alliance to the Habsburg power, likely protected the palace from looting during the Sack of Rome (1527).

Starting with Filippo Colonna (1578–1639) many changes have refurbished and create a unitary complex around a central garden. Architects including Girolamo Rainaldi and Paolo Marucelli labored on specific projects. Only in the 17th and 18th centuries were the main facades completed. Much of this design was completed by Antonio del Grande (including the grand gallery), and Girolamo Fontana (decoration of gallery). In the 18th century, the long low facade designed by Nicola Michetti with later additions by Paolo Posi with taller corner blocks (facing Piazza Apostoli) was constructed recalls earlier structures resembling a fortification.

The main gallery (completed 1703) and the masterful Colonna art collection was acquired after 1650 by both the cardinal Girolamo I Colonna and his nephew the Connestabile Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna and includes works by Lorenzo Monaco, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Palma the Elder, Salviati, Bronzino, Tintoretto, Pietro da Cortona, Annibale Carracci (painting of The Beaneater), Guercino, Francesco Albani, Muziano and Guido Reni. Ceiling frescoes by Filippo Gherardi, Giovanni Coli, Sebastiano Ricci, and Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari celebrate the role of Marcantonio II Colonna in the battle of Lepanto (1571). The gallery is open to the public on Saturday mornings.

The older wing of the complex known as the Princess Isabelle"s apartments, but once housing Martin V"s library and palace, contains frescoes by Pinturicchio, Antonio Tempesta, Crescenzio Onofri, Giacinto Gimignani, and Carlo Cesi. It contains a collection of landscapes and genre scenes by painters like Gaspard Dughet, Caspar Van Wittel (Vanvitelli), and Jan Brueghel the Elder.

Along with the possessions of the Doria-Pamphilij and Pallavacini-Rospigliosi families, this is one of the largest private art collections in Rome.

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