Hvittrask

Hvittrask was built between 1901 and 1903 above a lake west of Helsinki as a combined studio and home for Herman Gesellius, Armas Lindgren and Eliel Saarinen, the partnership behind the National Museum, with Saarinen going on to design the Helsinki railway station, and it is the fullest surviving statement of what they were doing: log and stone construction, steep roofs, carved detail, and interiors in which furniture, textiles, light fittings, stoves and even door handles were designed as part of the whole. Saarinen's wing is furnished and open, with Akseli Gallen-Kallela's Flame rug among the furnishings. The gardens run down to the lake through terraces, and a café occupies part of the house.

The main sights

• Interiors designed as a whole - furniture, textiles and fittings by the architects.
• Log and stone national romantic building - the house on its ridge.
• Saarinen's furnished wing - the rooms kept as a museum.
• Terraced gardens to the lake - the grounds below the house.

When to go

May to September for the gardens and the fullest opening; winter hours are reduced. Half a day including travel. Closed on some weekdays out of season.

Things to know

Only part of the house is open, as sections remain in other use. Opening hours are limited outside the summer. Public transport requires a walk or taxi at the end. The café is the busiest part on summer weekends.

Nearby

Kirkkonummi is south; Helsinki lies east.