Hjalmar Linder, the groom of the chamber, who was responsible for the Aurora Karamzin estate, notified the Helsinki City Exchequer that the Hakasalmi Villa would be placed at the disposal of the City of Helsinki from January 1, 1903 onwards. No time was lost considering what to do with the property, and a broad variety of suggestions were put forward: a vocational school for boys, an elementary school, a hospital for the treatment of consumptive diseases, and a biological museum were all suggested. It was proposed that an outdoor museum be established in the Hakasalmi Park (this project was later realised in Seurasaari). The driver's widow, Maria Kobiseff, who had

served Lady Colonel Karamzin for half a century, was allowed to stay on, free of charge, in the gatekeeper's hut. The beautiful and sheltered Hakasalmi Park was opened to the public.
     In the period 1906-1911 the villa was let to the National Museum of History as exhibition space. When the Helsinki City Museum opened its first exhibition in the villa on December 15, 1912, part of the first floor was still used by the National Museum and the top floor was an exhibition space for the Art and Design Association. It was not until 1928 that the whole villa was placed solely at the disposal of the City Museum.