Once a year, on the Defence Forces flag day of 4 June, the doors of the saloon carriage standing at Mikkeli station are opened. Members of the public can visit the carriage in which Marsal Mannheim travelled 78,000 kilometres during the Winter War and the Continuation War.
The Marshal was required to attend negotiations with the government in Helsinki, and he also made several trips to various places along the front line.
The most infamous meeting known to have taken place in the saloon carriage was arranged on Mannerheim’s 75th birthday in Immola, and the guest was Adolf Hitler. The conversation recorded during the dinner is the only surviving recording of Hitler’s normal speaking voice.
