Hakasalmi Villa, Helsinki, Finland

Hakasalmi Villa was built in 1843 by the procurator and privy counsellor Carl Johan Walleen as a combined city and country residence. The architect was E.B. Lohrmann from Berlin. Two wings were added to the front of the main building in 1847, the north one served as a bakery and the south one as a greenhouse. The villa was surrounded by a large English garden.

The municipality of Helsinki bought Hakasalmi from Aurora Karamzin in 1896. After her death the historical museum of state was moved to the villa. Since 1911 it has been owned by Helsinki city museum. Today there are changing exhibitions. The villa itself is one of the rare empire-style buldingins still existing in Helsinki.

User Reviews

Fran Leo (2 years ago)
Not a big space but has some interesting exhibitions once in a while. Free entry on the last Friday of the month!

Jenny Malmiola (2 years ago)
Great atmosphere, very nice staff and awesome exhibition.

Jonathan Puddle (3 years ago)
Visited for the Kallio Film Exhibit "Streets of Crime and Love" and thoroughly enjoyed it. Beautiful facility and surroundings.

Ashlen Naiko (4 years ago)
Worth a visit due to central location - opposite the National museum... Helsinki 1960's was exhibited when i was there in Oct 2021. There was a small live concert on the 2nd floor, woman with accordion and a man playing the sample beat pad + keyboard (both very skillful). That was just awesome, could have stayed there for hours to listen to them.

Pasi Virtanen (4 years ago)
Worth a visit if you want a breather, an unexpected oasis of calm in a central location. Currently also a venue for the intimate jaZZanti -concert series of improvised music.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Ninara

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The Church of the Holy Cross

The church of the former Franciscan monastery was built probably between 1515 and 1520. It is located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Old Rauma. The church stands by the small stream of Raumanjoki (Rauma river).

The exact age of the Church of the Holy Cross is unknown, but it was built to serve as the monastery church of the Rauma Franciscan Friary. The monastery had been established in the early 15th century and a wooden church was built on this location around the year 1420.

The Church of the Holy Cross served the monastery until 1538, when it was abandoned for a hundred years as the Franciscan friary was disbanded in the Swedish Reformation. The church was re-established as a Lutheran church in 1640, when the nearby Church of the Holy Trinity was destroyed by fire.

The choir of the two-aisle grey granite church features medieval murals and frescoes. The white steeple of the church was built in 1816 and has served as a landmark for seafarers.

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