Savonlinna loses state grant bid to buy Retretti art caves

Savonlinna will not receive the state grant it sought to buy and renovate the Retretti art cave complex in Punkaharju, Yle reports.

The city applied for 1 million euros from the funding programme for Eastern and Northern Finland, distributed by the Regional Council of South Karelia.

Heli Gynther, head of regional development at the council, said the steering group decided on 18 August which applications would proceed to formal decisions. Savonlinna’s application was rejected because it did not perform well in the assessment and therefore did not meet the funding conditions, she said in an email.

The funding package was initially worth about 16 million euros and was due to be allocated through three application rounds. The first round attracted 10 applications seeking a combined 52 million euros.

Gynther said the steering group decided to allocate all the funding to applications from the first round and close the application process. Not all funding decisions have yet been made, and the council plans to announce the projects selected for funding during September.

Savonlinna had planned to buy the Retretti art caves and renovate them. The city’s own contribution would have been just under 500,000 euros.

If the funding had been awarded and the process to select an operator had proceeded as expected, the city would have been ready to make the purchase decision in October. The experience cave was due to be renovated next spring and reopened to the public in an updated form next summer.

Retretti was also open to the public this summer.