Pyhäniemi Manor, Hollola, Finland

Pyhäniemi is one of the most culturally significant manor milieus in Finland. The history of Pyhäniemi manor dates back to the year 1467. During the 16th and 17th centuries it became a very remarkable horse farm. In 1780 Gustav III, the king of Sweden, ordered to construct a new main building and donated Pyhäniemi to his general Carl Johan Schmiedefelt. The end of the 19th century was the heyday of Pyhäniemi Manor. The householder Oscar Collin owned 10000 hectacres farm and 250 cows. The manor had also a sawmill and a wheelworks. In 1912 Collin lost the Pyhäniemi Manor in a gamble to Dutchman Hendrik Max Gilse van der Pals in Monte Carlo Casino. The manor of was the residence of Van der Pals until 1919.

In 1930s Pyhäniemi was a site for filming for the Suomi-Filmi studios and it was called as the "Hollywood in Hollola". During the Winter War (1939-1940) Pyhäniemi manor was used as the base of Finland Air Force operating from the lake nearby.

The two-storey main building is from the 1820s and its present appearance dates from renovation carried out in 1907. The large auxiliary building flanking the yard was built in the 1880s. The manor is surrounded by a park and a tree-lined lane leads to the main building. Today the manor offers art exhibitions, high-class concerts and conference services.

Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.

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Church of St Donatus