Years ago we found out about a place that sounded interesting, but that was way too far in North-East. Additionally, the building had been condemned as terminally molded and it was very unsure whether it existed at the time. But things change and in 2005, during a 3-day train & hiking trip this very place was a perfect location to check out and overnight at.

Like you may have figured out, the place is an elderly home, closed in the year 2000 because of toxic mold growing there. It was about to be demolished, but apparently owner, the city, doesn't have the required funds for the operation. So the building still stands in a very beautiful countryside environment, only about 4 kilometers off the railway station and central city. It has a yard growing nice trees limited by a river flowing some 50 meters North of the building. All this is today only used by airsofters and random visitors.

As an interesting detail, there's the first home for the elderly of Lieksa a rock's throw from the emptied home. It was finished in 1911, and it's still in good condition - although in different use. Then this nearby concrete equivalent, it has grown so much mold that it had to be closed before 50 years of use.

Adventuring is supposed to be fun, because otherwise it would not make sense. It is, however, a bit hard to define the visit to this place 'fun'. For some unexplainable reason the place was quite depressing, and it was almost reliefing to exit the building and return to the moving HQ (tent). Maybe that's something that could be experienced in heavier doses in abandoned mental institutes, if such places existed in Finland. If that is the case I'm personally not too vexed that we don't have them. Still, an interesting visit and a long known target finally checked.