DistantNews
Support us
🇫🇮 Finland /Culture & Society

Businessman and artist buy Punkaharju’s long-abandoned Retretti art centre

From Helsingin Sanomat · () Finnish

Translated from Finnish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Thomas Zilliacus and Marko Häkkinen have bought the Retretti art centre in Punkaharju, but the purchase price was not disclosed.
  • Retretti’s underground exhibition spaces reopened this summer for Häkkinen’s installation “Pulse of the Earth,” helping prompt negotiations over the site’s future.
  • The new owners plan to explore exhibitions, concerts, immersive works and private and corporate events as part of a year-round cultural and tourism centre.

Retretti, the distinctive Punkaharju art centre that has stood closed to the public for five years, has new owners. Businessman Thomas Zilliacus and light and sound artist Marko Häkkinen announced the purchase on Thursday. They did not disclose the price.

The centre’s underground exhibition spaces reopened this summer for Häkkinen’s installation “Pulse of the Earth.” Savonlinna had sought an operator for a pilot exhibition designed to test whether the cave complex could return to public use. The exhibition’s popularity helped lead to discussions about buying Retretti, and those talks moved quickly after Zilliacus visited about a month ago.

Zilliacus also bought Hotel Punkaharju earlier this year. He said he wants to create a year-round cultural and tourism complex in the region, linking Retretti with the hotel, Keisarinna’s Villa and the steamship Paul Wahl. The company formed for the purchase is called Itä-Suomi Nousee.

Retretti fits seamlessly into my plans to build a year-round cultural and tourism centre in the Punkaharju region that is internationally appealing and rooted in the area’s history and nature.

· Thomas ZilliacusZilliacus described how Retretti fits into his plans for Punkaharju.

Häkkinen will oversee Retretti’s artistic planning and management. The underground complex includes exhibition spaces and a concert hall for more than 1,200 people, although the hall remained unfinished after earlier renovations. The owners plan to assess how the different spaces can reopen in stages, potentially for exhibitions, concerts, immersive works and corporate or private events.

Retretti was built in the 1980s and became known for its extensive underground cave complex. The once-popular attraction ran into trouble after a major renovation stalled. Its owner, Tuunaansaaren Luola, spent about 8 million euros on the work before entering bankruptcy in spring 2023. Retretti was put up for auction in 2024 with a starting price of 100,000 euros, but received no bids.

The strength of this place lies in how many different possibilities it offers.

· Marko HäkkinenHäkkinen explained why the new owners do not intend to focus on only one type of activity.
About this summary

Originally published by Helsingin Sanomat in Finnish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog