Villa Järvelä winter swimming center in Turku to reopen after devastating fire

The highly popular winter swimming center Villa Järvelä, located on the shores of Lake Littoinen near Turku, remains undeterred despite a devastating fire that occurred a few days ago. Of the center’s five saunas, two were completely destroyed, while a third suffered damage from heat and smoke. The firefighting efforts lasted several hours.

In a Facebook post published by the entrepreneurs on Wednesday evening, it was announced that Järvelä will reopen its doors on Friday. In addition to the surviving saunas, a mobile sauna has been acquired for use. Many individuals have expressed their willingness to provide volunteer assistance to the Järvelä team in the comments section of the post.

On Thursday morning, restoration work began at Järvelä, focusing on a smaller sauna that had sustained minor damage. The aim is to have this sauna operational again within a few days. Entrepreneur Samuli Taskila revealed that he has received permission from both the police and the insurance company to clear the rubble of the destroyed saunas. The police have completed their investigation into the cause of the fire, though an official assessment of what sparked it has yet to be made.

Taskila stated that efforts to clean the site would soon commence with the arrival of a crane and several dumpsters for debris removal. For about a century, the site housed a log sauna, which was renovated last year. According to Taskila, a new log sauna will be built at the site, and the charred logs from the destroyed sauna will be preserved to create a memorial reading “Turku Fire 1827 and Järvelä Fire 2024.”