Architecture
House with Owls
- Hours
- Visitor hours are not listed; the facade is viewed from the street.
- How to visit
- This is a residential architectural monument. The facade can be viewed from the street; the sources do not indicate that the interior is open to visitors.
- Hours
- Free entry
- Hours
- About 15 min
Why it is worth the detour
Crowned owls, lyres and stylized plants decorate this 1909 national-romantic apartment house. Nicholas Roerich and his family lived here from October 1918 to May 1919, and the artist produced numerous works during this politically uncertain pause between Russia and his later life abroad.
This 1909 national-romantic apartment house is a hidden gem, once home to artist Nicholas Roerich. It features distinctive decorations and holds historical significance due to Roerich's residency during a politically uncertain period.
The people behind this address
Documented connections, not celebrity trivia.
Nicholas Roerich
He occupied an apartment here with his family in 1918–1919 and painted works associated with his Vyborg period.
Otto Väinö Vartiovaara
He designed the owl-covered apartment building in the Finnish national-romantic style.
What else is close by
The nearest places we have written up, with straight-line distance from here.
400 m
Sculpture garden in Vyborg
A hidden gem featuring unique granite sculptures in a garden setting.
450 m
Vyborg Telephone Station
Ullberg's 1922 telephone exchange on Mira Street. The lost wing is part of this building's story.
450 m
Former Viipuri Music Institute and Otso House
Behind this commercial facade, Boris Sirpo's music school grew into one of Finland's most important conservatories and made 1920s–1930s Viipuri a serious rival to Helsinki's concert life. During the Winter War, caretaker Hulda Puustell helped pack more than 10,000 scores into crates; the rescued library eventually followed the evacuated institute to Lahti.
550 m
Battery Hill Water Tower
Built in 1930 as the largest water tower in Finland, this severe brick landmark represented the technical ambition of modern Finnish Viipuri. It survived the battles of 1939, 1941 and 1944 while many neighborhoods below were destroyed, yet the reconstructed Soviet water system made it obsolete almost immediately after the war.
Walk it with the stories
This address is one stop among many. Our routes and quests link them into a walk that makes sense on the ground.