Abandoned

Yesterday I visited a magical place with Mats and Viiru. It was something unique, something I have not seen before. The area is called Kruunuvuori and it's located in Helsinki. Years ago it used to be a glorious place where wealthy people spent their summers in beautiful villas. Today it feels like time has stopped, the people abandoned their villas and left everything behind. Some of the houses have been burnt and most of them have collapsed. A few of them are still standing proudly, waiting for someone to come and rescue them. The forest around the villas is very old and amazing.  The area is surrounded by the sea. In the middle of the forest there's a pond, like straight from a fairy tale.

There are no good words for the atmosphere in Kruunuvuori. It's something you can only experience yourself. I've always felt that there's something very sad, almost heartbreaking, about abandoned houses.

Why were all these once so beautiful villas abandoned? There's no mystery around that, the reason is a well-known fact in the history of Helsinki. In the 50's a businessman called Aarne Aarnio bought the place in mind to build a new residential area for 2300 people. The city never approved this plan and as a result Aarne let all the villas to stand there without anyone taking care of them. Little by little the houses started to lose their glory. You can't help but wonder what the place would look like if businessman Aarne Aarnio hadn't bought the place? Or how it would look like if the city had approved his plan and all the villas had been destroyed? So many questions. I definitely want to visit this amazing place again! Maybe after the first snow it will look even more magical.

In a place like this it's good to remember a few things. Try to use the paths whenever it's possible, that way the surrounding nature can stay untouched. Don't take anything with you so that people coming after you can also see all the interesting details. Enjoy the nature, the villas and the sea! Maybe take some snacks and hot chocolate with you and have a picnic on the rocks by the sea!

I got the inspiration to visit Kruunuvuori from Krista Keltanen's blog. Visit her blog to see the beautiful pictures she has taken!