H I S T O R Y
MYSTERIOUS ISLAND OF SEILI
In the middle of the Finnish Archipelago you find the mysterious Island of Seili with a terrifying history lasting over 400 years. In 1619 the Swedish King Gustaf II Adolf issued an order to build leper hospital on the Island of Seili. – Seili was chosen because of its remote location. As the leprosy began to disappear from Finland in the 1700s a mental asylum was built on the main island where mentally ill persons were treated until 1962. After the closing in 1962, the buildings were taken over by the University of Turku. The Archipelago Research Institute began operating in 1964 focusing on studies of the ecosystems of the Archipelago Sea and the entire Baltic Sea area. The former Seili hospital area is one of the nation’s most important built cultural environments. The Island opened for tourists in 2017 and have nowadays good connections from the mainland during the summer season.
