Finland has its fair share of architectural wonders, but Rauhalinna carries a presence that needs no announcement. This fabulous estate has reopened its gates after an impressive $17.5 million restoration, stepping forward with the grace of a grande dame reclaiming familiar territory.
The villa proudly stands above Lake Saimaa in Savonlinna once again, surrounded by more than 100 hectares of private land and a shoreline that runs for 3.4 kilometres. A sweep of property with its own rhythm, calm on the surface, quietly extravagant underneath.
Rauhalinna was completed back in 1900 and you feel the century just by looking at its superb wooden lacework. Inside, the main villa has only four bedrooms, each of them framed by original wood craftsmanship that looks entirely unbothered by time.
A Grand Dining Hall that seems prepared for long tables and long evenings. A Salon with a softer pulse. A billiards lounge, a Turkish Room that feels rich, moody, unmistakably theatrical. The whole house moves with a sense of continuity.
The whole estate is open now for private stays only, of up to twenty guests. Everything tailored, everything contained. Of course, the estate offers far more than those four rooms for the rest of the party.
Near the villa stands the Pavilion House, a two-bedroom recreation of the original structure that once lived there. A sauna included, as it should be in Finland. The Guest House adds four contemporary bedrooms, wide, polished, and modern in the way guests secretly hope for on historic estates.
At the shoreline sits the Lakehouse, designed by OOPEAA with a firm, confident line. A lounge that opens straight toward the water. A full kitchen meant for long meals. A summer room that collects the light. A firepit outside, a swimming pier stretching forward, a Jacuzzi that seems perfectly placed.
Two saunas complete the scene: one traditional, one smoke, both entirely faithful to the Finnish way of life.
The restoration of the entire property focused on protecting the villa’s soul, while making the whole estate truly functional throughout the year. Guests may arrive here by yacht, by steamboat gliding toward the private pier, or even by helicopter landing discreetly on the estate’s helipad. Each option feels appropriate in its own manner.
Rauhalinna could also host events as well, fifty guests inside and eighty outside when summer reaches its long evenings. Weddings, family gatherings, corporate retreats, you name it. The estate handles every sort of celebration with a calm, polished ease.
Savonlinna sits 333 kilometres northeast of Helsinki, yet the estate feels entirely self-contained.
Activities gather around the seasons: hiking in the forests, boating along the beautiful Lake Saimaa, mushroom foraging, biking, winter ice fishing, even stargazing on those crisp nights when the sky behaves beautifully.
Occasionally the Northern Lights appear with just enough drama. And if you’re really lucky, the rare Saimaa ringed seal also makes its home along the shoreline, an unexpected presence in a place that values quiet grandeur.
Across all its buildings, Rauhalinna offers ten bedrooms. Three lavish suites and one twin room in the Lace Villa. Two double rooms in the Saloonhouse. Four suites in the Guest House.
Every room holds its own bathroom except the twin room, which has a private bath in the corridor. The villa’s tower rises sixty-five feet above the estate and grants the sort of view that encourages lingering.
Nightly estate buyouts begin at US$9,930 in low season and could reach US$13,430 in high. The scale feels perfectly aligned with the experience.
