Hvitträsk is a

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

complex in

Kirkkonummi Kirkkonummi (; sv, Kyrkslätt, , Sweden ) is a Municipalities of Finland, municipality of inhabitants () in southern Finland. The literal meaning of the words "''Kirkkonummi''" and "''Kyrkslätt''" in English language, English is "church heath". ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, about west of

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. It was designed as a studio home for the members of the Finnish architecture firm

Gesellius, Lindgren, Saarinen Gesellius, Lindgren, Saarinen was a Finnish architecture firm, founded in Helsinki in 1896 by architects Herman Gesellius, Armas Lindgren and Eliel Saarinen. They achieved international recognition with their design for the Finnish pavilion at ...

, later becoming the private residence of

Eliel Saarinen Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1873 – July 1, 1950) was a Finnish-American Architecture, architect known for his work with art nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century. He was also the father of famed architect Eero ...

. It currently operates as a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

Description

The development it began when the plot was purchased by the company in 1901. The construction was mostly completed by 1903. The house was named after Lake , by which it was built. itträsk literally means ''White Lake.'' Today Hvitträsk is a museum open to the public. The red-roofed manor structure facing the lake is the main museum building, and the brownish structure separated on the other side by a yard is the cafeteria. There is also a smaller sauna down by the lake. In 1922 Lindgren's home in the north side partially burned down. Eliel Saarinen's son

Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his wide-ranging array of designs for buildings and monuments. Saarinen is best known for designing the General Motors ...

designed a new building in its place in 1929–33.

Gallery

Featured in publications

*''Moderne Bauformen'' 6, no. 4 (1907): 159–62;8, no. 8 (1909): 350, 353. *''Hemma och Ute'' 3, (August 1913): 210–14; 3 (September 1913): 234–5. *''American Architect and Architectural Review'' 124 (September 26, 1923): 19 pls. *''Arkkitehti'' nos. 11–12 (1943): 24. *''Architectural Review'' 139 (February 1966): 152–54. *''Space Design'' no. 133 (September 1975): 91–94 *''Connaissance des Arts'' no. 238 (December 1971): 108–13, 192. *''New York Times'' 13 February 1966, VI, p. 64.

References

External links

Hvitträsk
- official site * Houses in Finland Kirkkonummi Museums in Uusimaa Historic house museums in Finland National Romantic architecture in Finland {{Finland-struct-stub