I hadn’t even finished my tour around the Vilnius Palace of Concerts and Sports, when I already had spotted something in the woods. A majestic gate surrounded by an old fence. The place seemed a little strange. It looked like another monument, but it also looked like being demolished at the same time. And monumentalContinue reading “The Game’s Over, Boys”
Author Archives: desertedfinland
Another Bad Quality Soviet Masterpiece
My Lithuanian vacation continued in the capital Vilnius. The place was lovely and lively, the weather was as good as I could get. I spent the days roaming around town visiting restaurants, bars and terraces, I did all the sightseeing I could do. I had very little time left of my stay when I decidedContinue reading “Another Bad Quality Soviet Masterpiece”
An Unwanted Monument
I finished school and decided to reward myself with a holiday. Lithuania was cheap, unexplored territory and I had some friends there, so I booked tickets without any bigger plans. I contacted my friends, who lived in Kaunas, and agreed to meet them on the second day of my holiday. I wrote to social mediaContinue reading “An Unwanted Monument”
An Elementary Location
In Vaasa there was a place, which had intrigued me since my childhood for several reasons. First of all the place was located by the old highway to Tampere. A motorway had been built in the 1960’s, and the section of the old road became a ramp to the road for slow traffic. When theContinue reading “An Elementary Location”
White House Comes Crumbling Down
A new year, but sadly nothing new in terms of adventures. The massive rebuilding of the city of Oulu continued. Almost every single meeting of the city council included several new plans, where old parts of the city was demolished to make way for new buildings, mainly apartments. And this included places abandoned at anContinue reading “White House Comes Crumbling Down”
Saying Goodbye at the end of the Summer
The last few posts have been more about demolition than exploring abandoned buildings. I believe these two things go hand in hand, after all they are successive phases in the life cycle of a building. First it’s planned, then constructed, abandoned and eventually demolished. Sometimes demolition comes quickly, sometimes the place sits abandoned for decades.Continue reading “Saying Goodbye at the end of the Summer”
From Coaches to Couches and Fading Away
I had been looking at this place for a long time seeking a way in. It was a massive, U-shaped complex on the outskirts of the town, and its latest inhabitant had been a furniture store. The chain was declared bankrupt in 2011, and since then the place had been empty. It stood there peacefullyContinue reading “From Coaches to Couches and Fading Away”
Evolving Tampere
This is the city of Tampere, nicknamed Mansesteri after Manchester because it used to be the industrial capital of Finland. The capital of the second largest region after Helsinki, it’s a thriving city, which had just received its new landmark: a huge tower hotel built next to the old railroad roundhouses by the station. BackContinue reading “Evolving Tampere”
Just Another Day at the Office
It was a Thursday afternoon, shortly before 4 pm. I had had another tight day at work, but had started early, so I was also allowed to escape early. When leaving work, I noticed something was different, so I decided to take a detour. This building was a part of the headquarters of newspaper Kaleva.Continue reading “Just Another Day at the Office”
Anticipating Changes
Just another hardworking excavator performing its daily duty? Yes and no. This petrol station had opened in 1959, and for 57 years it had served cars and drivers. The building was original despite small facelifts being done, and it was probably one of the oldest petrol stations still in operation in Oulu and the wholeContinue reading “Anticipating Changes”