The History of Hirvihaaran Kartano

The story of Hirvihaaran Kartano begins in the 18th century, with the Lassila estate. Hirvihaara was later formed from part of the estate's land.

At the end of the 19th century, the Holmberg family arrived from Helsinki when Frans Holmberg founded a match factory in the village of Hirvihaara. His son Herman grew up surrounded by the life of the factory.

Herman Holmberg (1874–1926) was an engineer who studied in Sweden and England. When his father died in 1901, Herman took over the management of the match factory at just 26 years old.

When Herman began building the manor, he wanted to create a home that reflected the confidence people of the time had in the future.

Architect Jarl Eklund designed the elegant main building, while landscape architect Paul Olsson created the surrounding park. The main building was completed in 1918.

Just four years later, in 1922, construction began on a new, more impressive and fire-safe match factory.

The new factory was completed in 1925, and modern machinery was brought in from abroad. But that same year, tragedy struck.

In November, a 7,000-kilogram match-drying drum ordered from Germany fell at Järvenpää railway station while Herman was supervising its unloading. Herman was badly injured and fought for his life for another seven months at Helsinki's Surgical Hospital.

He died in 1926.

A new chapter

In 1939, Hirvihaaran Kartano entered a new and more refined chapter when it was bought by Baroness Dagmar Ruin Ramsay (1894–1977) and Baron Johan Ramsay.

Earlier that same year, the couple had sold their small manor in Espoo, now known as Rinnekoti, to the Helsinki Deaconess Institute.

Dagmar had already lived an extraordinary life. Before marrying Johan in 1928, she had worked as a nurse during the First World War and the Finnish Civil War. In 1924, she returned from a work and study trip to the United States. At the end of the trip, her friends Henry and Clara Ford had given her a brand-new Ford car.

Her husband Johan Ramsay (1903–1974) was an agronomist and the third youngest of the six children of Baron Axel Ramsay, owner of Tali Manor.

He began competing in motor racing in the late 1920s. His best result came in 1935, when he finished third in the Eläintarhanajo race. In 1939, he joined the Finnish Air Force and began training as a pilot.

Then came the war.

During the war years, a Red Cross field hospital operated in the basement of the manor, while young air-raid observers kept watch from the tower.

Once again, the manor became part of everyday life in the local community, just as it had been during the years of the match factory. Dagmar Ruin Ramsay was also one of the leading figures of the Finnish Red Cross. After the war, she wrote four memoirs in Swedish about her experiences.

A different kind of home

In the 1950s, the manor was transferred to the City of Helsinki and became a home for the elderly.

It also became home to people who had been made homeless and moved from Helsinki ahead of the Olympic Games. Many of them struggled with alcohol.

The manor's halls were now filled with a very different kind of life. They were home to people who had seen a great deal and carried heavy stories with them.

The care staff worked to bring calm and stability to everyday life. The old walls of the manor welcomed these new residents as gently as they had welcomed the generations before them.

A new beginning

In January 1992, Mäntsälä Municipality sold the now dilapidated Hirvihaaran Kartano to Arto Hakala.

A team of builders began the restoration work, guided by a simple principle: everything had to be done carefully, while respecting the original spirit and character of the manor.

After the major renovation, Hirvihaaran Kartano opened its doors as a hotel in July 1992, as Mäntsälä hosted the local Housing Fair.

The manor's smoke sauna was completed in 1997, close to the banks of the Mustijoki River.

In 2000, the Rose House was completed. Designed by architect Fred Wegelius, it added ten guest rooms while following the spirit of the historic manor.

The tennis court and tennis club followed in 2002.

In 2011, the manor's kitchen garden was established. Still today produce is grown there for the manor's own kitchen and distillery, as well as to delight guests.

Then, in 2013, the Glass Pavilion opened its doors.

Since then, the Glass Pavilion has hosted meetings, events and celebrations of all sizes in every season. The more than 200-square-metre pavilion and its rooms were designed by architect Samppa Lappalainen together with the owners, Monika Hakala and Arto Hakala.

In 2019, another chapter was added to the story with the opening of Hotel Kartanon Meijeri, the sister hotel of Hotel Hirvihaaran Kartano, in the centre of Mäntsälä.

The hotel occupies the second floor of a former dairy building built in 1860. The building was thoroughly renovated to meet the needs of modern guests.

And in 2026, another old building found a new purpose.

The manor's more than 100-year-old garage was given a new life as the atmospheric distillery (Hirvihaaran Kartanon Tislaamo), where Kartanon Gin is made. The chocolate mint used in the gin is picked from the kitchen garden at Hotel Hirvihaaran Kartano when the herbs are at their best.

Today, Hotel Hirvihaaran Kartano is enjoying a new era of prosperity.

The manor celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2018. More than a century after Herman Holmberg set out to build a home that looked towards the future, the story of Hirvihaaran Kartano continues.

A remarkable history deserves an equally remarkable future.