Hvitträsk

Hvitträsk is a lakeside studio home at Hvitträskintie 166 in Luoma, in the municipality of Kirkkonummi, Uusimaa, about 30 minutes by road from central Helsinki. The architects Eliel Saarinen, Herman Gesellius and Armas Lindgren built it between 1901 and 1903 as a shared home and studio in the forest above Lake Hvitträsk. It is a prime example of Finnish National Romanticism, combining log and stone with steep roofs and details drawn from Finnish nature and tradition. The museum is run by the National Museum of Finland. Visitors see the interiors of the main house, where the architects lived and worked, including the studio rooms and furnishings that show the aesthetic of the time, and the grounds with paths to the lake. A cafe operates on the premises. Guided tours in English at 15:00 are included in admission. A visit takes 1.5 to 2.5 hours, including a walk to the lake shore. The museum is open Wednesday-Sunday 11:00-17:00 from 1 May to 30 September and is closed in October. Adult tickets cost about €15, or €14 online, reduced tickets are €10, a family ticket is €32, and children aged 7-17 pay €4. Summer weekdays are quietest, while weekends and the tour time attract more visitors. Hvitträsk is hard to reach by public transport: the nearest train stations are Kauklahti or Jorvas, followed by a taxi or a cycle of about 6 km, and a taxi from central Helsinki takes about 30 minutes. The phone number is +358 295 33 6951. The forest setting and lake views make it well suited to photography on dry days.