Florin Summer House, Helsinki

Florin Summer House, Helsinki

The Florin Summer House comes from the private residence of Medical Professor Pehr-Ulrik Florin in Helsinki, located on the corner of Yrjönkatu and Bulevardi Street. The doctor built it in the 1850s. His daughter Jenny inherited the property and lived there until 1911. She then sold the house and donated the gazebo to the Seurasaari Museum.

While the architectural style of the building is not certain, its furnishings, complete with the La Dame du Lac wallpaper, form a lovely Neo-Gothic ensemble. As of 2016, the unique 19th-century French wallpaper covering the walls has been preserved by the National Board of Antiquities' Collection and Conservation Center in Vantaa.

Traditionally, the subject themes of panoramic wallpapers were explorations or antiques. However, in 1825, the Lady of the Lake poem by Sir Walter Scott was so popular in France that the Alsatian wallpaper maker Zuber & Cie decided to create a landscape wallpaper on its theme.

In the early 2010s, it became apparent that the garden pavilion was in a bad shape and had to undergo extensive structural repairs. Eventually restored, it has reopened to the public in its original form. The Florin Summer House can be visited daily during the working hours of the Seurasaari Museum. It is also part of the guided tours running throughout August at 1pm.

Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Helsinki. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "GPSmyCity: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.

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Florin Summer House on Map

Sight Name: Florin Summer House
Sight Location: Helsinki, Finland (See walking tours in Helsinki)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Walking Tours in Helsinki, Finland

Create Your Own Walk in Helsinki

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Helsinki's Architectural Jewels

Helsinki's Architectural Jewels

Typified by Nordic minimalism and refinement, the architecture of Helsinki is shaped primarily by the early neoclassical style and a regional form of Art Nouveau called Jugendstil. Still, it is the later work by modernist architect, Alvar Aalto, as well as the thriving contemporary designs deeply rooted in nature and local craft that give Helsinki, as well as Finland in general, their current...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.9 Km or 1.2 Miles
Helsinki's Historical Churches

Helsinki's Historical Churches

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Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.0 Km or 1.9 Miles
Seurasaari Island Walking Tour

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Seurasaari Island in Helsinki is best known as the home to the popular open-air museum. This venue offers a glimpse into the life of Finland's countryside in various epochs, showcasing old, mainly wooden houses, some of which – once lived in by famous people in Finnish history – were transplanted to the island and thus became part of the museum.

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Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.6 Km or 1 Miles
Helsinki Introduction Walking Tour

Helsinki Introduction Walking Tour

Helsinki was created as a trading town by Swedish King Gustav I in 1550, but it is believed that Swedish settlers had arrived here in the 1300s. Sometimes called the “Daughter of the Baltic,” Helsinki is a port town through and through. Its close connection to its Baltic neighbors, Sweden and Russia, has shaped its history for better and worse over the last 400 years. Both Finnish and Swedish...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.1 Km or 1.9 Miles
Finnish Souvenir Shopping Tour

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When in Helsinki, souvenir shopping can be an exciting adventure allowing you to bring home a memorable piece of Finland worth having in your household. Depending on your inclinations, these could include sauna bucket and ladle, traditional Finnish music instruments, hand-woven long-tufted rugs (ryija), Finnish vodka made from Arctic-grown berries, or something else.

Those in the know can give...  view more

Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.9 Km or 1.2 Miles

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