Mannerheim’s elegant manor museum threatens to close due to cuts – Director of the Heritage Foundation: “Quiet”

When Due to cost savings, the Finnish Museum Agency is closing four of its museum properties, at least for the time being the Louhisaari manor castle in Askais will also be closed to the public.

Louhisaari manor castle is best known as the marshal CGE Mannerheim home of birth. CEO of Marshalkka Mannerheim’s Tradition Foundation Janne Kosonen considers the news sad.

“Shut up. Yes, this is sad news all in all and makes the seriousness of the situation concrete,” he says.

“However, this is an important part of Finnish cultural heritage. That we are really in a situation where by closing places that are important to the nation’s memory, we can get to a better time?”

Mannerheimen Louhisaari came into the ownership of the family in 1795. The castle was passed on in the family for a few generations, until Marshal Mannerheim’s father Carl Robert Mannerheim ran into difficulties in his business and the family home was sold.

In the 1960s, the manor castle was redeemed with the funds left over from the equestrian statue collection.

“After the collection of statues had been completed and the statue was erected along Mannerheimintie, the foundation still had some wealth left. Half of this wealth was donated, among other things, to those disabled in the war. The other half, FIM 21 million, was used to buy Louhisaari Castle,” says Kosonen.

After this, the building was donated to the Antiquities Committee, i.e. the current Museum Agency.

The Museum Office the general manager Tiina Merisalon according to Louhisaari Castle’s gross expenses per year have been around 245,000 euros and the loss of income due to its closure is around 185,000 euros. The savings obtained by closing is estimated at around 86,000 euros.

In addition to the four museums to be closed, the Museum Agency has other sites such as Olavinlinna and Hämee Castle, but the income from them is clearly greater than the operating expenses. According to Merisalo, the list of sites to be closed ended up with museums whose expenditure-to-income ratio has not been good enough.

“The savings for an individual object may sound small, but the combined effects are already greater,” states Merisalo.

Kosonen also considers the amount small in terms of the national economy. However, he understands the cumulative significance of small savings, and welcomes the fact that layoffs will likely be saved in this way.

According to the Museum Agency’s opinion, neither The National Museum cannot be opened after the renovation is completed in 2027.

Mannerheim in addition to the birthplace and Seurasaari, the Finnish Museum Agency has estimated that they will have to close at least the Langinkoski imperial fishing lodge and the nationally romantic site of Hvitträski.

In some comments, it has been estimated that the closure of these sites is the Museum Agency’s “middle finger” to the governing party’s basic Finns, who appreciate national romantic imagery.

Kosonen does not want to comment on possible political motives.

“Then we go to the side of party politics, which I don’t want to join. However, I believe that when making the decision, the Museum Agency wanted to do it in such a visible way, which enables a wider discussion. And I personally consider it a very positive thing. In this way, the importance of museums becomes more visible to the public.”

“For example, Louhisaari and Langinkoski have a significant local significance, even though they are not along the large public flows like Seurasaari,” he says.

Kosonen says that with his education in economics, he understands that you can’t constantly eat more than you earn, but considers closing museums unreasonable compared to the benefit achieved.

However, he sends the Minister of Culture Sari for Multala (cook) greetings.

“We hope that methods will still be considered to prevent the temporary closure of these sites that are important to Finnish identity.”

And is it possible that the foundation you lead would pay the missing person more than 80,000 out of its own pocket?

“Well, that amount is more than what the foundation is able to use annually for grants and running its own operations. And there is also a principled side to this. When Adolf Ehrnrooth once negotiated the handover of the castle, so the condition was that the state would take care of the maintenance of the castle. And the idea at the time was also that it would be open to the public,” says Kosonen.