When preparing for the tour of 2022, I researched old maps of Finland thoroughly. I looked for specific types of old buildings, and tried to find out, what their status today was.
I managed to locate an old municipal home, a place for the elderly, disabled and poor, which existed before social apartment production, mental asylums and nursing homes. It was pretty close to locations, which I had already visited. I just hadn’t found it earlier.
The reason to that was simple. According to maps it was in the center of a small town, but a forest had grown around it. When I drove to the location and found the forest, I was certain, that there couldn’t be anything there. I was wrong.
There, behind the forest was indeed an old municipal home. This is the back side. On the other side is a newer brick building, which was the new part. It seems to be occupied by some sort of a business. But this one is definitely abandoned.
And it indeed is behind a forest.
The building was in a very bad shape. In fact this wing of it burned back in 2008. A 10-year-old boy lit the fire.
There was a big courtyard. Or had been. Now it was all just a forest.
The building was protected. It had also been abandoned for years. Good luck with finding new use for it.
It wasn’t exactly difficult to find a way inside.
And the traces of fire were immidiately visible.
This has been the common room of the building. The last renovations seem to be from the 1960’s or 1970’s.
These look like old encyclopaedia pages. There are municipal coats of arms there. I think I can recognize Suomussalmi or Posio from the blurred image.
And this looks like the former kitchen.
The common room seen to the other direction.
A small corridor. But I’m just wondering: Where did the patients live?
Hopefully at least not here. This one looks like a storage room.
Now it starts looking more like patient rooms.
This photo does describe this location better than many others.
Another very worn out room, which serves as our gate to the following post.