The Sinebrychoffs’ palatial town house at Bulevardi 40 was completed in 1842. The building was immediately considered to be one of the most significant private homes in Helsinki.
The last occupants of the house bearing the name Sinebrychoff, Paul and Fanny Sinebrychoff, were passionate art enthusiasts. They collected the most beautiful European art and objects for their home. When their collections were donated to the Finnish state in 1921, they comprised more than 900 items.
Paul and Fanny’s wish to open the doors of their home to the public to see the art treasures they had collected was recorded in a will almost one hundred years ago. The same spirit still lives on in the museum.
