Hertonäs Manor's Blog

In this blog the curator and other employees of Hertonäs Manor Museum publish texts about the history of the museum, the history of Herttoniemi and other things we do. Welcome to follow us and read more in our blog!

Blog

On the attic of Herttoniemi manor: ”Bobrikov’s coffin”

Up on the attic of Herttoniemi manor, there is something that visitors to the manor usually do not get to see during their visits. That is a large coffin in light blue color with a somewhat unusual historical background.Read more »
Mathias Kotilainen
26.09.2026 hrs 15:27

Three classical sculptures belonging to Helene Bergbom

The red salon on the first floor of the Hertonäs Manor Museum is a wonderful example of upper class interior design from the late 19th century. The space is decorated after the Bergbom family, who lived on the estate from 1859 to 1917, and its interior design is strongly inspired by the classical style. For this blog post, the three small white sculptures in the room are particularly interesting. What can they tell us about the interior design trends of the time and what can they communicate to those visiting the home, or those visiting the museum today? Read more »
Viivi Heinonen
26.09.2026 hrs 15:22

Hertonäs Manor’s Park – threats posed by a growing city

In the summer of 2025, an interview was conducted with Mikael Westerback, the recently retired chairman of Svenska Odlingens Vänner i Helsinge rf. (SOV). During the interview, information emerged about the threats of change that Hertonäs manor’s park and its fields have been exposed to, which we would now like to share with you. Read more »
Casper Widd
30.09.2025 hrs 15:17

A New Era for a Historic Grave Chapel

One of the most famous names associated with Hertonäs manor is Carl Olof Cronstedt, who lived in the manor in two periods, and who was, after his death, buried at the Church of St. Lawrence in Vantaa. The former chairman of the association running the museum, Svenska Odlingens Vänner i Helsinge r.f., Mikael Westerback, talks about the grave chapel, amongst other things, during an interview.Read more »
Viivi Heinonen
30.09.2025 hrs 15:13

Hertonäs Manor's part in the history of ceramic production

Did you know that Finland's first ceramics factory was founded at Hertonäs Manor, and that the factory was also Finland's first limited company? Read more in this blog post!Read more »
Daniela Fougstedt
08.11.2024 hrs 12:29

Everyday objects of the peasantry

In the summer of 2024, cataloguing work began on Knusbacka farmstead's peasant objects. During the work, some interesting objects came to light that we are now sharing with you. Read more »
Casper Widd
14.10.2024 hrs 15:15

Interesting receipts that have emerged during this summer's archive project

In this blog post, some interesting verifications emerge that have emerged when going through the association's archives. Read more here! Read more »
Casper Widd
14.10.2024 hrs 15:08

A contract for one of Hertonäs manor's crofter

A contract from the first of December 1858 is preserved at Hertonäs manor, which Stjernschantz drew up for a crofter named Gustaf Eklund. A crofter is a farmer who works on a small area of land leased to him, usually by a burgher. Through this contract, one can get a better picture of what a crofter's life was like in the mid-1800s, especially what was required of him. Read more about this in this blogpost.Read more »
Mikael Lindholm
03.10.2023 hrs 13:42

Cronstedt in the American Revolutionary War 1776–1779

The young officer Cronstedt had a successful start to his career, when he had already at the age of 19 been promoted to lieutenant of the artillery. However, he wanted to continue advancing, so he decided to go into service abroad. Read more about this in this blogpost!Read more »
Mikael Lindholm
03.10.2023 hrs 13:31

Stuffed turnips from a manor-house kitchen

Our board member Janica Hindle has adapted a food recipe from Hedvig Charlotta Cronstedt’s food recipe book. Read more in this blogpost!Read more »
Janica Hindle
16.09.2023 hrs 12:26

Julle – the Stallion of Hertonäs Manor

In the 18th and 19th centuries, there were many active crofts on Hertonäs manor. Landowners usually also cultivated their own land and specially during the Bergboms time at Hertonäs the agriculture was greatly developed at the manor. When John Bergbom took over the responsibilities of running the farm from his mother Helena Bergbom in the 1880s, he started modernizing the agriculture by acquiring newly developed machinery for farming. The machines were mostly pulled by horses, so it was important to increase the number of working horses on the farm. In the late 18th hundreds John Bergbom bought a stallion for working on the farm and more importantly to produce foals.Read more »
Sten Selin
03.04.2023 hrs 10:32

Bengt Gabriel von Spången – one of the less Well-known Owners of Hertonäs Manor

Before Bergbom and Cronstedt Hertonäs estate had many ambitious and influential owners who left their mark on its history, some way or another. Mayor Abraham Wetter, merchant Johan Sederholm and field marshal Augustin Ehrensvärd are some of the most well-known owners of the estate during the 18th century but for the development of the estate, Bengt Gabriel von Spången was probably the most significant owner. He owned Hertonäs manor from 1761 until 1777 but in that short time he brought about many improvements on the estate and even founded the first joint stock company in Finland.Read more »
Sten Selin
03.04.2023 hrs 10:02

Royal Visit in Helsinki 1952

There are a lot of different objects and pictures in the archives of Hertonäs Manor Museum that have interesting stories behind them. Most of the objects and pictures relate to Hertonäs Manor in some way, but there are a few that have nothing to do with the Manor. When I was going through the picture archives, I stumbled upon a few photos that showed the king of Sweden visiting Finland during the 1950s. The photos lacked closer descriptions and when I catalogued the photos, I had no idea of exactly when the king of Sweden was in Helsinki during the 1950s. I did some detective work and discovered that the photos were taken in 1952 during the visit of the king of Sweden Gustaf VI Adolf and his wife in Helsinki. The king was not visiting because of the Olympics the same year. Read more down below!Read more »
Karl Heikkilä
26.08.2022 hrs 15:14

Signe Brander at Hertonäs Manor

Signe Brander was a famous Finnish photographer. In 1911 she took several pictures of Hertonäs manor. Read more about it in this blog post!Read more »
Sten Selin
13.08.2022 hrs 18:16

The old Uniform of Karl Zachris Bergbom

There are many items at Hertonäs Manor Museum that have belonged to the Bergbom family, who was the former owner of the manor. As a trainee I and fellow trainee Sten Selin have worked with taking photographs and conserving these old items. Most of the items are old clothes and among these clothes we found a uniform that is not from Hertonäs. According to the item catalogue of the museum the uniform belonged to John Bergbom’s brother Karl Zachris Bergbom, who used it when he worked as deputy governor for the Bank of Finland. Read more down below!Read more »
Karl Heikkilä
30.07.2022 hrs 18:21

Preservation and Digitisation at the Hertonäs Manor Museum

During the summer Helsinki city museum visited Hertonäs manor museum. You can read more about the visits here and more about the everyday work of the trainees at Hertonäs manor museum!Read more »
Sten Selin
03.07.2022 hrs 11:01

Internship at Hertonäs Manor

The last week in April the museum was visited by an intern. Read more below!Read more »
Ebba Randelius
29.04.2022 hrs 13:10

Our New Curator Presents himself

In April 2022 a new curator started at Hertonäs Manor Museum, MA Ted Hellsten. Read more about him belowe!Read more »
Ted Hellsten
21.04.2022 hrs 14:42

Young Interns for a Day at Hertonäs Manor Museum

Two pupils from Hoplaxskolan’s junior high in Munkkiniemi spent a day as interns at Hertonäs Manor Museum to get a glimpse of work at a museum. During a few hours they tried various light tasks under the watching eye of the curator. Read more about their day below! Read more »
Eva Ahl-Waris
16.03.2022 hrs 14:27

The Lady and her Maids - not Always in a good Relation

Many servants of Hertonäs Manor have been working here during the centuries, but the cooperation was not always so smooth between the lords and the labourers. In one case the lady of the house gav her maid bad grades and in another case the maid disappeared without a trace. Read more below! Read more »
Eva Ahl-Waris
08.03.2022 hrs 14:28