"The Friends of Träskända Manor" hosted an inspired series of events in celebration of the "Name Day" of Aurore Demidova Karamzine on the evening of Tuesday, 10 March 2026, in Espoo, Finland. The event was entitled, "Träskända of Memories: Aurora", and organised by Terhi Mäkinen, the director of "The Friends of Träskända Manor".
The evening's events took place at the Chapel of Träskända manor park that was filled to capacity with all available fifty places booked well in advance by members, friends, and special guests. Those in attendance were first treated to a performance by a newly created choral group who performed two charming songs that will feature in a forthcoming summer theatre production entitled, "Aurore's Nineteenth Birthday". The theatre production premiers on 1 August 2026 at Träskända manor park and is based on Aurore's nineteenth birthday party, which was a lavish garden party extravaganza organised by her stepfather, Carl Johan Walleen in 1827.
Following the musical performance, the audience was given a presentation by the historian and archeologist, Tryggve Gestrin, who has written extensively on Aurore. Mr. Gestrin presented on the history of the park of Träskända manor in Espoo that Aurore acquired from her stepfather in 1840. It was under Aurore's management that the park was transformed from a baroque-styled garden to an English-styled garden based on the principles of the English landscape architect, Lancelot "Capability" Brown (1716 -1783). The work was carried out by Carl Johan Helm (1810-1875), who had come to Finland from Germany. He imported a number of non-native tree and shrub species, sourced from as far as the Urals, as well as transforming marshlands into appealing ponds that were filled with carp and swans. According to Gestrin, the park was at its most impressive in the 1860's, under Helm's successor, the Frenchman, Charles Orion, and his deputy gardeners, the brothers Gauffin. Due to their contribution, the 'art of gardening', as perfected at Träskända manor park, became the established model for sophisticated garden landscapes that spread throughout the entire country of Finland.
The direct descendant of Aurore Demidova Karamzine, Alexandre Tissot Demidoff, then presented on "Aurore and her Grandchildren". The audience was presented with a number of images from the presenter's private collection, that showed each of the grandchildren, both as children and adult, together with images of the children with their grandmother at Villa Demidoff in Pratolino, Italy.
The stories shared with the audience showed the close and long-standing bonds of love that existed between Aurore and especially her older granchildren. The closest bond was with her eldest grandson, Elim Pavlovitch (1868-1943). This was due to the painful and tragic passing of Elim's mother, Princess Maria Elimovna Mescherskaya (1844 -1868), who died the day after giving him birth. The loss of Maria Elimovna plunged her husband, Paul Pavlovitch Demidoff (1839-1885), into a deep and prolonged depression. It was Aurore who assumed responsibility for the care and upbringing of Elim during his first tender months given the tortured state of mind of the father. Aurore further assumed control of Elim's education as well as that of his siblings, so directly selecting each governess, together with the curriculum, given that the children were largely educated at home at Villa Demidoff during their early years.
These bonds of love between the children and their grandmother continued into their adult lives. It was especially during the times of great difficulty and stress that the grandchildren, now grown into adults, would journey to Finland to find solace and comfort in the company of their grandmother. For example, Aurora Pavlovna (1873-1904), the eldest daughter of Paul Pavlovitch Demidoff and his second wife, Elena Petrovna Demidoff (1853-1917), unfortunately entered into two short-lived and unhappy marriages. Her first marriage to Prince Arsene Karageorgevitch on 1 May 1892 ended in divorce due to an extramarital affair on the part of Aurora that resulted in the birth of twins on 7 March 1895. It was during the time of her pregnancy with the twins, amidst the clamour and relentless gossip in St. Petersburg, that Aurora escaped to find peace and comfort in the company of her grandmother in Finland.
Aurora's younger sister, Maria Pavlovna (1877-1955), also needed to find solace in the company of her grandmother, but for altogether different reasons. After breaking off her engagement in early 1897 to Count Vasily Alekseevič Olsufiev (1872–1924), Maria Pavlovna joined her grandmother on the trip to Finland from St. Petersburg where Maria found tranquility in her grandmother's presence. It was during this stay that Prince Semyon Semyonovich Abamelek-Lazarev (1857-1915) took the uncharacteristic brash decision to take the over-night train from St. Petersburg to Helsinki for the purpose of seeing Maria. Each morning, over the course of the first week of April, 1897, the Prince would knock on the door to pay his respects to Aurore Demidova Karamzine and to then ask to spend time with Maria Pavlovna. By the end of the week, he proposed marriage to Maria that she accepted. By the end of that same month, Aurore Demidova Karamzine sorted the many complicated arrangements for the couple to marry at Uspenski Cathedral in Helsinki, the largest orthodox church in Western Europe, that was followed, that evening, with a champagne reception that Aurore hosted at Hakasalmi Villa for the many guests in attendance. These are only some of the stories shared with the audience that make clear the solid bonds of love that existed between Aurore and her grandchildren and that lasted their entire lifetimes.
As mentioned, the venue was fully booked for the evening and included a number of special guests. These included, amongst others, Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm, one of the world's leading experts on the House of Fabergé and Russian Imperial jewellery; Märtha Norrback, the Director of the Mannerheim Museum; Maarit Lalli, an award winning Finnish film director, producer and screenwriter; and Michael Franck, an international award-winning documentary filmmaker. Also in attendance was Kristiina Demidova accompanied by family members who are direct descendants of HSH Prince Alexander Nikolaievich Lopukhin-Demidov (1870-1937). It was the 2nd Prince Lopukhin-Demidov who purchased the Anttolanhovi Manor near Mikkeli in Finland in 1917 in connection to the arduous journey from the Korsun Estate to Finland to escape the Bolshevik Revolution. We were also delighted to have Suzanne Louvel in attendance who traveled from Paris. In the end, this was a most moving and memorable event organised by "The Friends of Träskända Manor".
