Villa Wuorio, a prestigious villa built in Eastern Helsinki in 1901, is now in good shape and open to the townspeople. For an entrepreneur, running a restaurant business on a manor island is a way of life.
Laajasalo, located in Eastern Helsinki, was originally known as the island of mansions.
There are still several manor buildings and summer villas of Helsinki residents in the area, many of which are now popular summer restaurants.
The log villa Villa Wuorio, completed in 1901, is located right next to the Hevossalmi bridge leading to the garrison island of Santahamina.
The wind goes through the house
Despite the fire lit in the large stone fireplace and the additional heater, it is cool inside the villa. The villa built for summer use only has simple windows.
The villa has three floors. Downstairs there are some original pieces of furniture left.
The stairs lead through a staircase lined with solid log walls to the second floor, where there are three spacious rooms and great views.
The top, third floor was once used by the servants. And then there’s the tower.
Kati Stenman, from Laajasalo, has been running Villa Wuorio’s summer cafe and the restaurant in the main building for the whole year. The cafe building is a 19th-century farmhouse older than the main building.
– We wanted to keep this as a common area for the townspeople, despite the private events.
The villa was familiar to Stenman from dog runs. When he found out that the city was renting the site, he saw no other option than to take the opportunity.
– Villa Wuorio and its surroundings have been a place of strength for me. It was an easy decision to embark on such a project.
Childhood on a neighboring island
Villa Wuorio has a direct view of Santahamina and even Suomenlinna. Kati Stenman lived her childhood in Santahamina when the island still had comprehensive services: bank, post office, shop and bar.
Life threw Stenman to live elsewhere for a while, for example in Espoo. Finally, she and her husband at the time started looking for a new home near the sea. The man was also from Eastern Helsinki, Kontula.
No seaside place felt like home like Laajasalo.
For Stenman, running Villa Wuorio is a way of life.
– Yes, there must be a certain kind of recklessness and madness here. Our strength is that we have thought out quite extensively what can be done in such a villa.
Stenman previously had a health food store in Laajasalo’s now-demolished shop.
As a resident of Laajasalo, he remembers the old Ostari with a bit of nostalgia and is suspicious of the Crown Bridges being built on the island from the inner city. A ferry connection would have been enough.
*You can discuss the topic until Sunday, November 27 at 11 p.m.*