Ivars House, Helsinki

The Ivars House came to the Seurasaari Open Air Museum from Narpio, Finland. It was constructed in the year 1764. The home was believed to have been built by Dean Carlborg. Interestingly enough, though, the property was purchased in the name of his son Jacob the year before the house was built.

It is a two story home that was typical of the type of house built by well to do people in the day. The floor plan of the location was typical of the type used for the dwellings of upper ranking officers in the military, such as a colonel.

Later into the 1800s, the it was purchased and used as an inn. Tsar Alexander I even stayed in the location in 1819 and that is how the building got the so-called Imperial chamber upstairs. The room was even decorated in one of the Tsar’s favorite colors: green.

The home was surrounded by many outlying buildings. Some of those, but not all, have been brought to the museum. The gatehouse is an example of one such original building that was moved.