Wohls
History
Wohls history begins almost 400 years ago, when the area where the manor is located was given to Ludvig Hintelmann from Riga in 1624. After that, history has many twists and turns and exciting stages.
17th century – Wohls Gård is formed
Wohls Gård is located in a lush environment on the west bank of Humaljärvi in Kirkkonummi. Wohls Gård was formed in the early 17th century and was included in the so-called “Överby donation”, a donation which was given to Ludvig Hintelman from Riga in 1624. Around 1670, chief forester Erik Bure bought a large part of the land and formed an estate complex with Wohls as his main farm.
1700s – 1800s – the main building in Gustavian style is built and the formal garden is created
The current main building in Gustavian style dates from the time regimental clerk Christian Borgström owned the farm (1790-1824). A map of Wohls shows that as early as 1847 there was a formal garden with a straight garden path between the main building and the lakeside. Possibly it was Borgström who had the garden laid out. After regimental clerk Borgström, Wohls was owned by his daughter Anna Charlotta and her husband assessor Johan Logren. Kirkkonummi municipality bought the farm from Logren’s heirs in 1892 and used it as a municipal home.
20th century – Wohls in many roles
Wohls Gård functioned as a municipal home until 1929 when the business moved to the new building was completed on the other side of Volsintie. In February 1918, when fighting between reds and whites was going on at Sigurd’s nearby, a war hospital was established in the old main building at Wohls. The hospital was run by Teddy Biaudet, later known as the municipal doctor in Kirkkonummi. After the Second World War, a primary school for the children in the local area was established on the farm. When the school moved to new premises, the farm was leased out, but from 1977 the main building stood empty and abandoned for about 30 years.
Wohls Gård today
The Savings Bank Foundation in Kirkkonummi (Kirkkonummen Säästöpankkisäätiö) bought manor house building in 2008 and leased 5.6 ha of the surrounding land – in 2016 an additional agreement was made and the lease area now amounts to 7.3 ha. The foundation founded Wohls Gård Ab to take care of the renovation and the running of Wohls Gård.
In 2011-2013, the Manor House and the Stone Warehouse were renovated and modern technology was installed. Since then, the surrounding park has been inventoried and renovated, also taking into account the design that the farm had during the first half of the 19th century.
In November 2020, Wohls Gård grew when the new party and conference venue Wohls Stall was opened. The completely renovated stone barn from the 1930s now also enables larger corporate events and family parties.
Sustainability
Natural values and sustainable development create the basis for Wohls’, where the fundament is the preservation of the culturally historically valuable manor milieu for future generations. The apartments located on our grounds (which we rent with long-term contracts) also help to preserve Wohls as a living environment.
Our business is based on renting out our facilities for corporate events and family parties, and we also organize cultural activities open to the public. Through these, a wider public can also get to know our premises. There is also a small nature trail in our area, where you can get to know the grove-like vegetation of the oak area of the southern coast of Finland – our oldest oaks are almost 300 years old
Renovation
Our buildings have been renovated since 2009 as part of the goal of preserving our cultural environment. The basic principle has been restoration, where we use and preserve the old whenever possible, while on the other hand also renewing the building technology to meet modern requirements.
Sustainable technology
We aim to act as repsonsible as possible; an example of this is geothermal-based floor heating in both Wohls Gård and Wohls Stall.
We encourage the renters of our premises to use the most sustainable solutions when it comes to decorations, and we also remind our customers to recycle e.g. beverage containers after parties.
During the summer season, we also aim to offer summer work to local students in our garden.
Restoration
Established in the 1840s, our formal garden bordering Humaljärvi has been restored to its original shape and supplemented with two rose gardens. Part of the garden is also separated into a kitchen garden, where our garden association, which meets regularly, cultivates old, Nordic plant species organically. The garden management plan is constantly being developed with expert gardeners and arborists.
As part of the restoration of the Wohls traditional biotope two enclosures were built in 2022, where sheep graze during the summer.
Wohls Garden Association
Wohls Garden Association was founded in 2013 so that those interested would have the opportunity to get to know cultural gardens and their plants both through practice and lectures and study visits.
Read more about the activities on the FB-pages of Wohls Garden Association (pages in Swedish)
Would you like to join the Wohls Garden Association?
Contact the board of the association »