So this was my destination, the Tulliniemi Nature Trail. It’s located on a small cape and leads to the southernmost tip of mainland Finland.
This was what I expected. A good trail, some forest and the sea just invisible behind the last trees straight ahead.
What I didn’t expect were warnings about grenades and instructions on how to recognize them. The cape was a part of the area, which the Soviet Union force hired between the wars. There was a rich war history there.
I soon forgot about the grenades, as my expectations were soon again fulfilled.
Although an ancient shipwreck somewhat disturbed my vision of being in nature.
The trail then left the beach and headed to a forest. And again there was something, which really didn’t fit my description of nature. This one was, however, much more interesting than shipwrecks and potential grenades.
And it soon turned out, it wasn’t just one house. It was a small village of old barracks partly collapsed.
The information signs tell the history of the buildings. The barracks were built by the Soviets during the time they hired the cape. They were later used by the Germans to interrogate Soviet war prisoners. After the wars the area became a correctional facility for women mainly arrested for drunk driving or homelessness. It was abandoned in the 1960’s.
I would have loved to explore the buildings better, but the city wanted to keep visitors away.
The buildings were in a very bad shape. Some of them had entirely collapsed.
Some of them couldn’t be recognized as buildings anymore.
It wasn’t just one fence. There were several fences keeping the areas apart.
More warnings. This time it’s about pollution and a recommendation not to pick mushrooms or berries.
Whatever it had been, it hadn’t survived.
Allright, allright, I believe you.
This building won’t stand for many more years either.
Looks like collapse will happen here soon too.
I would really long to get in there.
To be continued.