Naapurin suusta: Manors at war, 3- day International Conference organized by KAMU Espoo City Museum as the 8th ENCOUNTER conference.

The Espoo Manor project was launched in the year 2021 with the aim of conducting research and producing new information on the manor and its history. Established in the 16th century, this manor is the most significant manor in Espoo and was once among the largest estates in Finland. The history of the manor is also linked to the highest level of national politics and the spread of manorial culture.

Besides an exhibition named ‘The Manor on the King’s Road’ in KAMU (in Finnish, Swedish and English), there was also a book publication in Finnish and Swedish entitled. This conference was also a part of the project. It was organized in collaboration with the European Network for Country House and Estate Research (ENCOUNTER). The aim of this network is to form European partnerships between scholars and cultural institutions who share a professional interest in research and interpretation of manor and country house history. This conference was organized as its 8th international conference where researchers and professionals came together to share their experience and knowledge.

Keeping in mind the beautiful Finnish summer, the dates selected were 13th - 15th June to hold the conference. The venue was researched, and the Hanaholmen Swedish -Finnish Cultural Centre (Hanasaari, Espoo) was found to be the best fit where international participants could stay and the lecture room be used to hold the presentations. 

On 13th June Thursday, over 40 participants and speakers started arriving in the morning for registration and a light breakfast. The program was promptly started at 09:30 with the welcoming words from Tiina Kasvi (Cultural Manager, City of Espoo), Victor Andersson (Program Director of Hanaholmen) and Signe Boeskov (Head of Research Centre, The Danish Research Centre for Manorial Studies, Denmark) (Photo 1). Acting as the chair of the first session, Signe continued into the presentation schedule where keynote speaker Professor Mattias Legnér (Uppsala University) presented his paper on uses and abuses of heritage in Scandinavia: The Second World War (Photo 2). After a thought-provoking discussion, Dr. Alex Snellman provided a preface to the Espoo Manor before the visit to the manor itself and introduced the noble owners, the Myrberg family and their history. 

After this session, all the participants boarded the bus and moved to the Espoo Manor to enjoy a delicious lunch buffet served in the beautiful manor hall (Photo 3). This was followed by an informative guided tour by Tryggve Gestrin (Senior Curator, KAMU) about the manor and its surrounding park. After exploring the manor, everybody boarded the bus ad headed towards KAMU Espoo City Museum where Tryggve gave a presentation on the Espoo Manor project (Photo 4). The participants had some time to explore the museum and its exhibition before heading back towards the Hanaholmen. The end program of the day was an official dinner hosted by KAMU where participants chatted and discussed well into late evening.

The second day 14th June was a day of presentations at Hanaholmen Cultural Centre and started with morning coffee to energize. The first session was chaired by Professor Jonathan Finch and had Architect Philipp Hesse, Landscape Architect Rodrigo Dias, Morten Baarvig Thomsen (MA), Maiju Hautamäki (MA, Vantaa City Museum), Susanna Eskola (Phil.Lic., Helsinki City Museum) and Anna Finnilä (MA, Helsinki City Museum) as speakers. Each presentation was followed by a question and discussion round (Photo 5).

After a sumptuous lunch, the second session was chaired by Professor Hanneke Ronnes. It saw a presentation by keynote speaker Professor Paul Zalewski (European University Viadrina, Frankfurt/Oder) on the end of manorial Prussia (Photo 6). This was followed by thought provoking presentations by Dr. Elyze Storms-Smeets and Professor Georg Haggrén.

After a coffee break, the third session moderated by Associate Professor Göran Ulväng focused on the Espoo Manor as an economic and logistical center during Sweden’s era and the war-linked land reforms. These papers were presented by Dr. Kasper Kepsu and Dr. Aapo Roselius.

With the closing remarks provided by Prof. Jonathan Finch, the list of presentations for the conference program came to end and participants had the opportunity for group discussions and one-to-one interactions to deepen their knowledge and interest.
 

The 3rd day, 15th June was planned as an excursion day to familiarize the participants with the history of manorial estate developments in and around Espoo. After gathering at the Hanaholmen Cultural Centre, the participants were taken in a bus to the first destination of the Middle Ages Manor called Svidja Manor. The owner of the manor Gustav Rehnberg guided the way to the manor with continuous tales of historical events connected to the manorial life (Photo 7). The participants enjoyed a guided tour of the manor and admired the intricate woodworks and beautiful fireplaces with a steaming cup of coffee in hand (Photo 8).

The next destination was a typical Espoo manor house from the 17th century, now in private ownership and partly a restaurant. The Backby Manorial life presentation by given by Dr. Katja Weiland-Särmälä and provided a detailed insight to the chronology of owners and upheavals in the life of manor residents during war times. Everyone enjoyed a hearty lunch either in the beautifully decorated rooms of the manor or in the backyard in the sprawling garden.

The excursion continued to the almost 500 year old Hovgård Manor where a representative of the owner family Magnus Selenius (himself a famous agriculturist specialized in organic farming) provided some very interesting facts about the manor and the vast agricultural fields. Tea/coffee was arranged in the Rödskog School which was founded in 1892 and is one of the oldest preserved village schools in Espoo (Photo 9). The food was catered by Martha Organization which is a citizens' organization providing advice in home economics since 1899.

The last destination for the day was Träskända estate which can be dated back to the 15th century but reached its highest glory in the 19th Century. Tryggve gave a guided tour inside the manor and in the surrounding park estate (Photo 10). The park is filled with pavilions, follies and outbuildings and is marked as a nature reserve.
 

All the participants and speakers bid goodbye to each other at the end of the day and exchanged contacts to continue further discussions. The 3-day conference had shed light on the sad yet current topic of effects of war on manors and how manors play a crucial role during wartime. Research from all over Europe pointed out to the devastating effects the war has had on manors and how manors buildings were used for different purposes during and after wartime. For sure, conference has achieved its goal in acting as a platform for sharing research and knowledge and helping to link people interested in this field of topic and forging some meaningful connections.

Sohini Nandi and Susanna Aaltonen

Tryggve Gestrin, Senior Curator
Susanna Aaltonen, Senior Curator
Tanja Ekholm, Museum Lecturer
Sara Riento, Co-Ordinator
Sohini Nandi, Co-Ordinator, Manors at War conference

“Thank you! Nicely organized conference and great picture.”  Dr. Aapo Roselius, Speaker
“Thank you for your great hospitability and assistance before, during and after the conference. I rarely experienced such a great and professional level of organization. The conference was clearly a success and I learned a lot.” Prof. Paul Zalewski, Keynote speaker

“Thank you very much, for your guidance and support, and for the warm welcome during my first visit to Finland and Espoo. All your work of support and organisation of the conference, was so well, and very professional, that we feel at home among friends. I get to the airport very easy and with no problems. Hope that the visit to the other Mansions went well. The weather was wonderful and the landscape magnificent. I already miss your wonderful country , the people and your so relax way of life.” Rodrigo Dias, Speaker

“Thank you so much! Please pass on my thanks to the team - it was a really interesting conference and such a wonderful palace. I really enjoyed the stay and the trip - which I know takes a lot of organising.” Prof. Jonathan Finch, Moderator, Steering committee member ENCOUNTER

“Most of all of course thanks for a wonderful conference. I am looking forward to hearing more from you and I send you all best wishes and hope you will all have a nice summer – with, hopefully, still lovely weather.” Signe Boeskov, Moderator, Steering committee member ENCOUNTER

The conference has received support from: