Hvitträsk

National-romantic house and studio of architects Saarinen, Lindgren, and Gesellius

The architects' studio and house at Hvitträsk, on a wooded ridge above a lake in Kirkkonummi, 30 km west of Helsinki. Designed and built between 1901 and 1903 by Eliel Saarinen, Herman Gesellius, and Armas Lindgren as both a working studio and a home for their families, it is the masterpiece of Finnish national-romantic domestic architecture.

The interiors — furniture, ryijy rugs, ceramics, light fittings — are mostly original and were largely designed by the architects themselves. The site is now a museum with a good restaurant and easy lake walks. Most visitors come for half a day; in summer combine with a swim in the lake. Train from Helsinki to Luoma, then a 2 km walk; or rent a car.

things to do day trip museum
A story
When Eliel Saarinen built Hvitträsk in 1903 it was a working studio for the three young architects who later designed the National Museum and the railway station. Today it survives almost untouched — fabrics, ceramics, even most of the furniture is original — making it one of the most coherent national-romantic ensembles anywhere.