Aulanko

The Aulanko Nature Reserve was developed into its current form at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries by Colonel Hugo Standertskjöld.

[1] The transaction represented such a significant change in the area's ownership that local newspapers reported it prominently.

The background to the purchase of Karlberg was that its previous owner, a friend of Standertskjöld, moved to Russia and wanted to dispose of his estate in Häme.

All this landscaping required as many as 250 workers at one time, along with numerous cart paths, walking trails, and the necessary plantings.

[1] Agriculture also played a role in the activities of the summer residence, although the colonel engaged in actual farming elsewhere.

However, the largest stonework occurred at Aulangonvuori Hill, where old, primitive protective structures were cleared away.

These park structures captivated a young schoolboy from Hämeenlinna Lyceum, Eino Leino, who wrote his poem "Kell onni on, se onnen kätkeköön" inspired by the Temple of Happiness in Aulanko.

A hundred years ago, there were two zoos in the area that housed, among other animals, deer, pheasants, and peacocks.

[1] Colonel Standertskjöld was known for his love of extravagant celebrations, and Aulanko became a renowned venue for high-society events.

At the Midsummer celebrations, a gramophone played songs by Italian tenor Enrico Caruso and Australian soprano Nellie Melba.

Guests were transported by horse-drawn carriages from the Hämeenlinna railway station, with the drivers dressed in uniforms.

The granite castle featured a small cannon that fired salutes for the honored guests.

The colonel had a remarkably extensive collection of recordings for his time, which included works by Caruso, Melba, Mattia Battistini, Adelina Patti, Luisa Tetrazzini, and other singers.

[1] The reputation of the Aulanko hotel had grown both domestically and internationally, and its accommodation capacity eventually became too small.

Thus, in 1938, the current functionalist-style main building was completed, designed by Märta Blomstedt and Matti Lampén.

[1] President of the Republic of Finland Risto Ryti and Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim visited Aulanko.

[1] After the war, during the 1952 Summer Olympics, pentathletes from fourteen countries were accommodated in the Aulanko hotel and the buildings of Katajisto Manor.

[1] The Aulanko park forest was declared a nature reserve by the decision of the governor of Häme in 1930, and the area was completely transferred from the city of Hämeenlinna to state ownership in the 1960s.