Louhisaari Manor was the destination of our road trip today. It is in the municipality of Masku some tens of kilometers north of Turku in the southwest corner of Finland. The manor has been owned by two very important families in Finland's history: the Flemings and the Mannerheims. Finland's general governor Hermann Klasson Fleming had it built in 1655. The family had acquired the lands in 1450.
Carl Erik Mannerheim bought the estate in 1795. Marshall Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim who served as the supreme commander of the Finnish armed forces during the Winter War (1939-1940) and the Continuation War (1941-1944) was born in here in 1867.
Louhisaari is a French style baroque manor.
The first floor was free of charge to enter. Entrance to the second and the third floors was paid and it included a guided tour.
This is on the third floor. The style of the furniture is baroque. This floor is used to showcase the life of the Fleming family who were the original owners of the estate and who had the main building built.
This hall was for formal reception of guests.
They hired a German painter to paint the roof. The images depict the German countryside.
This is from the second floor. There was no formal reception area any longer. The style of the furniture is rococo. It is much lighter in color and mass compared to baroque. The second floor showcases the Mannerheim era.
Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim, Finland's Marshall was born in this very room.
The length of beds like that are adjustable. That property is a great space saver. Couldn't be done with modern mattresses.
Emperor of Russia, Alexander I
Interestingly, the first of the Mannerheims who owned the manor was Carl Erik Mannerheim. He was one of the officers who rebelled against the king of Sweden, Gustav III during Gustav's ill-advised war on Russia (1788-1790), the sole motive for which was the king's desire to gain military victories against Russia and thus boost his own standing. Gustav III had made himself dictator, which is why he needed an external enemy. Carl Erik Mannerheim was sentenced to death but pardoned a year later. He resigned from the Swedish army.
But when Sweden lost Finland to Russia in the War of Finland (1808-1809), Carl Erik Mannerheim ended his early retirement and became a politician. Since the annexation by Russia the monarch's portrait, in this case the Russian czar's, was hung on the wall as was customary among the nobility.
One of the buildings on the side had a man cave.
A ladies' sowing room
Next some images from the kitchen garden:
A tree onion
The same architect designed the Askainen church.