Winter's dacha

Eight kilometers away. Sortavala is a picturesque corner of the Northern Ladoga region - a botanical reserve (100 hectares) with a unique arboretum. Here, on Cape Taruniemi (Fairytale Cape) is a monument to the history and culture of Karelia "Dr. Winter's Dacha". It was visited more than once by the Roerichs, when they lived nearby in the estate of the Relanders on Juhinlahti (Winter was a relative of the Relanders).

This is a unique building of the famous Finnish architect, the first owner of the house - one of the most outstanding people in the city. Sortavala of the late XIX - early XX centuries, its guests are famous all over the world. Nearby, across the strait, there is the village of Tarulinna (the Legendary or Fairy Fortress, though there is nothing left of the fortress there) and Cape Taruniemi (taru-legend), here on it is a house called "Dr. Gustav Winter's Dacha". With the name of the architect Eliel Saarinen (Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen), experts associate such a direction in architecture as the Northern (Finnish, Baltic) Art Nouveau, harmoniously combining the classical style of the XIX century and national romanticism. In 1909, Eliel created one of his most beautiful creations - the country dacha of Dr. Winter.

The multi-facade and asymmetrical composition of the building, the combination of stone and wood, the unique interior reveal the capabilities and talent of the architect. The steps of the external staircases are made of Serdobolsk granite, a mudstone polished by the Ladoga wave is mounted in the lining of the basement and massive columns of the first floor. The first floor is stone, plastered. The second floor of the cottage is sheathed with a red shingle. The core of the building is a double-light hall with a fireplace. This is a single complex: a central flowerbed with a sundial, and paths diverging in different directions, calling each to its own special world: to a “green” theater, an Italian arbor near a pond with a hanging bridge, to a spruce “alley of desires”.

Dr. Gustav Winter had an unusual hobby - collecting rare plants from around the world. Hobby and marked the beginning of the creation of arboretum on the territory of the complex. Rare bushes, flowers and trees were brought or sent to Winter by his friends and patients from different parts of the globe – America, Japan, China, Sakhalin, the Caucasus. So there were plantations of introducents (fir, larch, pine, lilac, spirea, roses, etc.) at the district hospital in Sortavala and on the territory of Winter Dachi.

Winter took his passion very seriously: he studied landscape architecture in Italy, attracted professional specialists in landscaping to work. He created on the territory of his dacha a unique collection of plants, including those living in warm countries, which is not like in the northern latitudes. Many of them passed a serious age-old test of endurance and survival. The plants were planted in an unfamiliar habitat.

More than a hundred rare and valuable species of trees and shrubs were planted in the park. Only 22 species of conifers, perfectly grow cedars, fir, tui. There are several representatives of honeysuckle, acacia, barberry. In 2002, the restoration of Winter’s cottage and restoration work in the park were carried out.

Now the complex is actively visited by tourists from all over Europe, the Finns consider it one of the important architectural monuments created by their compatriot. This is a great place to relax, relieve fatigue. Gustav Winter adored his dacha and whenever possible rushed here. (from open Internet sources)