Historic Finnish hospital left to decay faces demolition after protection removal

Lappeenranta is preparing to lift heritage protections on the abandoned Tiuru hospital, a striking example of 1930s functionalist architecture now reduced to a derelict state resembling Chernobyl, Yle reports.

The city-owned building, vacant since 2012, has deteriorated due to neglect and vandalism, with parts now at risk of collapse. Authorities argue its protected status should be revoked, citing irreparable damage and estimated renovation costs in the tens of millions. Critics, including the South Karelia Museum, question whether the building’s heritage value has been properly assessed before proposing demolition.

A second historic medical building nearby—Setälä, once part of a psychiatric hospital—has also fallen into disrepair after closing in 2012. Both structures, now deemed unsafe, were left without maintenance after their healthcare functions ended over a decade ago.

Lappeenranta’s city manager has called the Tiuru site a “perpetual problem,” while former staff like Sari Venäläinen, who worked there in the 1980s, lament its decline. “It was beautiful—you could admire Lake Saimaa from the long balconies during night shifts,” she recalled. The balconies, once used for tuberculosis patients’ air therapy, now face structural failure.

The property is owned by a real estate company co-held by the city and Holiday Club Resorts. The South Karelia Museum’s building researcher, Anna-Maija Tapani, emphasized the need to verify whether the heritage assessment justifying protection removal is up to date. “Have the values truly been examined sufficiently?” she asked.

Both Tiuru and Setälä, the latter repurposed as an elderly care home before closure, stand as relics of Finland’s medical history—now fading without intervention. The city’s zoning amendment, if approved, would clear the way for full or partial demolition.