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Historic log houses dismantled for decoration in Finland sparks outrage

Sunday 14th 2024 on 18:55 in  
Finland

Restoration blogger Ville Sorsa was shocked to discover that two old log houses in Pelkosenniemi, Finland, had been dismantled. Parts of the houses had been removed as if they were gingerbread houses, with walls torn down to the point where the interiors were exposed. One of the houses is even part of a nationally significant built cultural environment (RKY).

Sorsa expressed his outrage in a blog post on Instagram, which quickly gathered shocked reactions. A tourism company in Rovaniemi had used the log frames from the buildings for decoration and construction.

“We wanted old logs for decoration, interior design and construction,” says Markus Kolari, entrepreneur of Apukka Resort.

According to Kolari, they only learned that the building was part of the RKY area after they had started dismantling it. Miina Tolonen, a specialist in restoration construction at the Lapland Provincial Museum, stated that consultation should always take place before any demolition in the RKY area.

“Every demolition loses a bit of future architectural heritage. It’s a shame these weren’t repaired and reused,” says Tolonen. According to the Provincial Museum, the other building also had cultural historical value, even though it was not part of the designated RKY area.

Kolari believes this is about utilizing an old, unused building. The Provincial Museum, however, states that recycling should be the last option.

“The potential use of local architectural heritage in tourism seems to have been wasted,” Tolonen says.

The house was sold by a local bank, which also applied to the municipality for permission to demolish it. According to the permission, the building was partially collapsed and potentially dangerous.

The tourism entrepreneur states that the buildings will be demolished down to their foundations and the areas will be cleaned up. There are still old furnishings inside the house, some of which may even predate the war.

Lapland does not have many old buildings, as many were destroyed during World War II. The now demolished culturally valuable log house may have been built during the reconstruction period. There are also references to older building traditions.

“There is a sheet metal on top, this would have lasted the next 50 years, even if no one did anything,” Sorsa says.