To the manor borne ...

Over the last couple of weeks, I have had the chance to stay in two Finnish manor houses, now converted to training centres and hotels.

The first was Sannäs Manor, about 10km east of Porvoo, a town I had already visited with the family when they were over. Sannäs dates back to the 15th century and became a manor in the 16th century. The present main building (where we had my team building days) was built in 1836-1837. It was designed by Carl Engel in the Empire style. The appearance has been changed in the 1880s and 1890s. Some of outbuildings including the gate and the granary were also designed by Engel.

The second was Hirvihaara. The history of Hirvihaara Manor dates back to the 16th century, though the present main building was built in 1918. It served as a war hospital during the Second World War, and the tower was used for air surveillance. The manor house is used as a hotel and restaurant at present. This one had the added benefit of a traditional smoke sauna, which was a great way to chill out after playing my worst ever game of pool. We were playing on a quarter size snooker table, with rather narrow pockets. At least, that is my excuse for a game of doubles that lasted nearly an hour and a half.

Finland has a number of these manor houses and I hope to explore more during my time here. This useful web site will be a handy reference and also has a number of other buildings of note.