The Ylläskartano building, which was destroyed in a fire, was an important part of Lapland's tourism history.
When Tuomo Jantunen read the news on Tuesday morning, he was shocked. In the story about the fire at the hostel in Äkäslompolo, a familiar building appeared: Ylläskartano, which Jantunen had been buying for Suomen Ladu in the early 1980s.
“Here, when you're also interviewing, I just cry because there's nothing else you can do,” Jantunen said on the phone in the afternoon. At the time of the interview, it was not yet known that one person had died in the fire.
Jantunen served as executive director of Suomen Ladu for about 30 years and witnessed how Ylläskartano became a significant part of the tourism history of Lapland and Ylläs.
“With the building, an awfully large part of the history of Ylläs and fell hiking was burned. This was the first building that was built specifically for tourism in the 1960s,” says Jantunen.
Ylläskartano was built by the Tornio tourism association. The mansion, which was used as an accommodation and restaurant, was rented by, among others, Suomen Latu, which acquired the mansion in the 1980s.
Ylläskartano in 1981.
According to Jantunen, it was Ylläskartano that started modern Lapland tourism in Ylläki.
“It became the number one place in that region,” he says.
Tourism in Ylläs developed rapidly in the 1970s, when Äkähotelli, among others, was completed.
Jantunen especially remembers the evenings in the Ylläskartano hall.
“The hall was wooden, a bit rough, but the atmosphere of Lapland was at its peak, when the fire was lit in the fireplace and the group fried latkes and sausages and arranged dances for each other. You probably won't find anything like this anywhere else.”
Tuomo Jantunen remembers how in the 1980s spontaneous dances were organized in the Ylläskartano hall.
Finland Latu still owns the property. It has been rented out to outside entrepreneurs for about a decade. The last building was the Silver Fox hostel.
A fire broke out in the building on the night between Monday and Tuesday, and the building was completely destroyed in the fire. One person died in the fire. The deceased was Finnish.
The Ylläskartano building was destroyed in a fire down to the foundation stone.
The police said on Tuesday afternoon that they know all the people staying at the hostel, o
f which two people have not been reached.
The investigation to find out the whereabouts of these persons continues, the police said in a press release. According to the police, mainly tourists from Central Europe stayed in the hostel.
The Accident Investigation Center will launch an investigation into the matter.
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