So, what do we have here? Another abandoned villa?
Well, yes and no. This is just the villa’s caretaker’s little cottage.
Built in 1948 it has stood abandoned since around 2015.
Like with all the villas in this area, its doors and windows are well shut.
But this isn’t what I was looking for. I was looking for the main villa. It was built back in 1938 by a shipowner and yachtsman and sold to the city in 1966. Oh yes, the city is involved again.
Between the 1960’s and 2014 it was used as a day camp center for local kids. Every morning a bus would collect them from around town, they would spend the day resting and recreating in the nature by the sea, and they would go back home in the evening.
All of this was written in a newspaper article the previous October. The main point of the article was, that a day camp center, popular in the 1980’s, was now abandoned and vandalized in a unique location.
Two days later there was another article. The paper had interviewed the tenant and caretaker of the center, who lived there for 25 years. In the 1990’s he started inviting musicians to train and record on the premises, and for years and years top Finnish bands and artists did this. The tenant told them not to reveal the location in interviews, so that unauthorized visitors wouldn’t be attracted. That’s why the place wasn’t common knowledge.
During the summers it was all day camps again. Even commercials and films were shot in the area, but in 2014 the city evicted the tenant. Everything has remained shut ever since 2015. But a few weeks later there was yet another article. A group of punkers had occupied the place. They were thrown out and the buildings sealed with plywood.
The only problem now was to find the buildings.
And there were actually several of them on the lot. This one looks like an old garage. As there are trees growing on the driveway, I think it hasn’t been used in a while.
Closer to the sea was this strange building. Definitely not a villa.
A closer look a the doors. The paintings are beautiful, but I don’t think this is a horse stable either.
The insides were mostly empty.
Apart from a broom without a stick.
On the other side of the room were some remains of shelves.
By the shore were the remains of an old building. As there is a pier behind it, the original sauna has probably stood here.
The basketball court had also been located right by the sea. Wonder, how often they had to get the ball from the water.
That looks like stairs. Maybe the villa is that way?
You find the coolest abandoned stuff! Most of the things that look abandoned here are still actually occupied, sadly enough…
Thank you! I always think, that the ordinary Finnish buildings can never compare to the massive industrial or hospital complexes, churches, movie theatres or castles found abandoned in Central Europe and in America. But I guess what is ordinary to me is exotic to you and vice versa!
I’m so glad to see another post on your blog! Reading about this camp brought back a flood of memories from the many years I spent at summer camp. It was such a pivotal part of my life. I remember starting my first job there at 16, working in the kitchen, then moving up to camp counselor, and eventually joining the medical staff. As soon as I turned 18, I was juggling roles as a firefighter and paramedic while working at summer camp during the summer. Phew, I kept really busy!
But, oh, how things change. My old summer camp was recently taken over, and Amelia and I made a day trip to revisit those old haunts. It was honestly heartbreaking. The place looked abandoned, yet it’s still in active use. The most surprising part? The person who took it over was actually my camp counselor when I was a little girl. It’s so disheartening to see how they’ve neglected it.
Despite the bittersweet trip down memory lane, your post has me excited and looking forward to reading about your next adventures. Amelia and I think that you find some incredible abandoned places that are arguably more interesting than the places that I used to find. 🙂
Thank you! I decided to have a small Christmas holiday. I’ve been on leave from my regular job for three months now working intensively on a book project. After working harder than ever for weeks, I just needed a small break from all of my projects including this one. I still have three weeks of leave from work, but now I’m back here.
What you described, happens in Finland all the time, too. People with close ties to buildings take them over with good intentions. Then the harsh reality of the trouble and cost of maintaining the premises hits them, and they start falling down.
I already said this to Amelia in my earlier reply, but I always think, that the ordinary Finnish buildings can never compare to the massive industrial or hospital complexes, churches, movie theatres or castles found abandoned in Central Europe and in America. But I guess what is ordinary to me is exotic and interesting to you and vice versa!