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!
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Retirement Contracts – On Aging as a Farmer and a Burgher I
Through the ages many homesteads have switched hands via something called sytning/syytinki, amongst others Hertonäs manor. But what is sytning? It’s a phenomenon that has had many other names, depending on what Nordic country and region you’re from, but no matter what it is called few know it’s meaning and importance nowadays. Originally, the meaning of the word is to take care of something or someone, but it came to mean much more - as a form of retirement contract, sytning was the main form of pension for most property-owning farmers for centuries. Read more down below!Read more »
13.12.2021 hrs 14:51
Antique Style at Hertonäs Manor
Earlier this autumn we heard the news about many volcanic eruptions on the island La Palma in the northern Canary islands of Spain. There has been many big volcanic eruptions around the world through history. In many cases these have had a vast impact on history. One of these volcanic eruptions occurred in 79 AD. At this time the volcano Vesuvius 10 kilometers southeast of Naples erupted. This influenced among other things the style that now is represented at Hertonäs Manor for all to be seen. How is the volcanic eruption reflected in the present exhibitions? How does the Antique period still affect what is displayed at Hertonäs Manor? In this blogtext I will focus on this theme. Read more below for more information about Vesuvius and Antique influences on Hertonäs Manor. Read more »
29.11.2021 hrs 14:53
Thorvaldsen Museum
Of all the collections that I have catalogued, none of them has been as unique as a
collection of pictures taken across Europe. In a photo album with a lock, which belonged to Helene Bergbom (née Gripenberg), there are many photos taken from different places in Norway, Denmark, Germany, France (the Louvre) and Sweden at the end of the 19th century. Most of the photos are taken in Norway and the photos depicts different buildings in Oslo (back then known as Christiania), a stave church and beautiful landscape shots. But the most interesting photos of the album was from Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. Read more down below!Read more »
19.11.2021 hrs 15:07
Some Thoughts on a Sustainable Future
During the last few years there has been discussions about how to support the environmental movement and a sustainable future in museums. Hertonäs Manor Museum has worked with this for a few years now and we strive to develop so called green values. This was recently discussed at an international congress arranged by ICOM and at a local seminar arranged by Helsinki City Museum. A small museum like ours still has many aims to support the development. Read more below! Read more »
15.10.2021 hrs 15:09
The Outhouse at Knusbacka Farmstead
Knusbacka is an old farmstead from the era of Swedish rule in the 18th century. The farmstead has been moved from Box in Sipoo to Hertonäs manor and its surroundings in eastern Helsinki during the 1920s. An old outhouse is also remaining on Knusbacka’s yard. The guides at Hertonäs Manor Museum usually present it to the public during the guided tours at Hertonäs manor and Knusbacka farmstead. Guided tours are arranged on Sundays at 2 to 3 PM from May to September. The guides also present the farmstead and the outdoor toilet for booked groups. What makes an old outdoor toilet interesting? How did people relate to excrement in the old peasant society? Did the outdoor toilets have other functions during an era when most people lived on rural farms? Read more below.Read more »
19.09.2021 hrs 15:13
Photography in Hertonäs Manor
Photographic history is filled with many inventors and inventions, which all together have contributed to photography as we know it today. Most breakthroughs were made during the first half of the 1800s, when different chemical components, materials and mixtures were developed. Photography quickly gained popularity among all socioeconomic classes. Read more below! Read more »
08.09.2021 hrs 15:15
A Nobel Prize Winner was Here!
My internship at Herttoniemi Manor summer 2021 has been an informative experience
to me. Thus far in my job I have catalogued over 2000 photographs to the website Desky
and they have showed me much about the history of Herttoniemi Manor. One
particularly interesting photograph I bumped into earlier in my internship was a photo
of an old man standing in front of the main building of Herttoniemi in 1934. The man on
the photo is none other than the Nobel prize winner in literature Verner von
Heidenstam (1859–1940)! Read more down below!Read more »
29.08.2021 hrs 15:20
Svenska Odlingens Vänner i Helsinge r.f. - the Association that Runs Hertonäs Manor Museum
Hertonäs Manor Museum is owned and run by an association, Svenska Odlingens Vänner i Helsinge r.f. (SOV) that was formed on 21st January 1906. During this period many large social changes underwent in Finland and people took active part in modernaizing the country. This was the fact with those who also formed SOV. Read more below!Read more »
28.08.2021 hrs 15:24
A Day in the Life of a Guide at the Hertonäs Manor
During the last five years I have worked with museum pedagogy at the Hertonäs Manor Museum, mostly as a museum guide. During this time I have had a lot of interesting experiences - the job is never boring! Read more about my experiences below! Read more »
07.08.2021 hrs 15:26
The First Finnish Horror Movie was Filmed at Hertonäs Manor
I started my internship at Hertonäs Manor Museum on the seventh of June 2021. Up to now I have catalogued over 1000 photos (more than 60 collections) from the picture archive of Hertonäsi Manor to the Desky website. There are still more photos to catalogue and later this summer the physical collection needs to be photographed and catalogued. When I catalogued the collections, I bumped into a collection of photos of a movie that has been filmed at Herttonäs Manor. The name of the movie is The Old Baron of Rautakylä (Swe. Gamla baron på Rautakylä, Fin. Rautakylän vanha parooni) from 1923. Read more down below!Read more »
25.07.2021 hrs 15:27
On Conservation
We started our internship at Hertonäs Manor Museum June 7th. As I write this a few weeks later, I’ve scanned about 300 photographs and documents from the picture archives of the museum and uploaded them to the Desky website. The work is far from done – at least 300 more photos and pictures are waiting for their turn in the scanner. Moreover, they’re all to be tagged with keywords, sorted, put into new, light blue paper enclosures, and finally stored in the fireproof archive drawers. All of this strives to make the collections available for present and future generations. Read more about my thoughts on the subject below!Read more »
11.07.2021 hrs 15:32
A New Piece to our Collections
Hertonäs Manor Museum can, like other museums, get a small amount of new objects to its collections. But the object ought to be very special, since the space is limited. This year we have bought a drawing by Carl Gabriel von Spången, whose father Bengt Gabriel owned the manor in the 18th century. Read more below!Read more »
25.06.2021 hrs 15:34
Many Thanks for Extra Hands on a Small Museum - Trainees in 2021
Hertonäs Manor Museum is a small museum with only one curator working a few hours a week and a caretaker that also works part time. Thanks to our networks and scholarships we have had small contributions to our workforce this year, among other things to digitalize our collections. Read more below!Read more »
19.06.2021 hrs 15:43
Creating the Exhibition “Summer and Games” 2021
The 21st of January 2021 a course on professional work in the cultural sector was started at the University of Helsinki. The idea was to give students a taste of how much work goes into building an exhibition with a historical theme - the students worked on an exhibition of their own at the Herttoniemi manor museum to achieve this goal. The course was led by university lecturer Derek Fewster and the curator of Herttoniemi manor museum, Eva Ahl-Waris, and eight bachelor’s degree students from the historical programme as well as one master’s degree student from the programme of Culture and Communications took part in the course. Over the course of four months they produced “Summer and Games”, an exhibition about 19th century childhood which consists of a physical toy exhibition as well as a virtual one, hosted on the platform bookcreator.com. The physical part of the exhibition is available to the public every Sunday from May until September at 12-14 o’clock. Continue reading below to find out more!Read more »
30.05.2021 hrs 08:56
Topelius & Tarinalyhty (Storylantern) - Classical Tales in a New Setting
#Tarinalyhty (Storylantern) produced a public artwork and mobile game in the park of Hertonäs Manor Museum in 2019-20. This year we continued the co-operation and produced a storytelling project presenting famous stories written by Zachris Topelius. In April and May we worked with students in drama at Snellman-korkeakoulu that created tours in Swedish and Finnish in the park for pupils from the local schools. Read more below!Read more »
13.05.2021 hrs 15:46
A Monument in Helsinki Commemorating Alexander II
After the assembly of the land in Porvoo in 1809 the estates of Finland had not been called for to meet in 54 years. The Supreme Emperor Alexander II of Russia was also Grand Duke of Finland. He summoned the estates to a new assembly in Helsinki in 1863. The emperor himself opened the meeting solemnly with a speech 18th September 1863. The speech and the year 1863 are visible on the monument commemorating Alexander II in the Senate Square. At the assembly, the Finnish estates decided that new laws and decrees should be legislated in Finland. The land assembly began to meet regularly. The emperor kept the right of veto for himself regarding the Finnish constitution. Privy councillor Gabriel Anton Cronstedt and his brother, the senator of the economic department Carl Olof Cronstedt, attended the land assembly. More information about this period can be found at Hertonäs manor. Read more below!Read more »
27.04.2021 hrs 15:49
The windmill from Täktom - One of the Symbols for our Museum
The wooden windmill at Hertonäs Manor Museum’s area is impressively visible next to the lively road Linnanrakentajantie in Herttoniemi. The windmill was moved here from Täktom in 1922, at the same time when it was decided to start moving the buildings from Knusbacka in Box in Sipoo here too. Read more below! Read more »
09.04.2021 hrs 15:53
A Bowl of Punch - Cheers!
Officers and vice admirals, burgers and landowners - as well as the employees in modern museums - all have something in common since the 18th century: we all love the liquor punch. In the collections of Hertonäs manor museum many objects relate to this golden alcohol that reach our country via the global trade. For example several things owned by vice admiral Cronstedt tells about the popularity of this beverage in the late 18th century and early 19th century. Read more below! Read more »
28.03.2021 hrs 15:57
A Medieval Female Fate in Finland: “Margareta in Härtonäs”
In the late Middle Ages Helsinge (that was called Helsinga back then) parish held a few noble estates, in Herttoniemi among others. Helsinge parish has later been divided between the cities Helsinki and Vantaa. Beside many men that have come from Herttoniemi there also occur a few women. Read more about “Margareta in Härtonäs” below! Read more »
08.03.2021 hrs 16:00
The Street Abraham Wetterin tie is found in Herttoniemi - who was this Man?
Abraham Wetter (appr. 1690-1737) was born in about 1690 in Stockholm, but grew up and worked in Helsinki. He was the owner of Hertonäs Manor in the 1730s and advanced to mayor of Helsinki during the period of the difficult age of rebuilding after the Great Nordic War (1700-21). Read more about Abraham below! Read more »
27.02.2021 hrs 16:02