Auctions | In Jämsä, there is a castle for sale, which buzzes with confusing details

In Jämsa an almost 90-year-old building with a place in Finnish history is now being auctioned. It is about Ilveslinna, completed in 1937, where a military hospital has functioned in its time, among other things. Now 99,900 euros have been offered for the building by Friday evening.

Ilveslinna is being traded Matti Ylitalowho bought the property in June last year for 151,000 euros.

“I wanted to buy Ilveslinna because I fell in love with this place and its history. I immediately thought that there are many things I like here,” says Ylitalo.

However, according to Ylitalo, maintaining Ilveslinna turned out to be more challenging than he had originally thought. The building was originally for sale earlier this year, but at that time Ylitalo eventually pulled the building from sale.

“In the end, I wanted to get the place up and running first. Ilveslinna opened to the public in June of this year. Now, however, it’s time to give this to the next owner, because I want to get rid of the extra stress,” says Ylitalo.

Ilveslinna was once built by a Finnish industrial leader, a general Rudolph Walden. It was designed by an architect WG Palmqvist. The lynx-themed relief on the building’s facade was made by writer Tove Jansson’s father, a visual artist Viktor Jansson.

Ilveslinna initially functioned, for example, as a club house. In addition, Ilveslinna has been used over the years, for example, as a protection municipality and as a municipal office. The building was also used as a military hospital during World War II.

Metsähtiö UPM sold Ilveslinna to a private company in 2015. Since then, Ilveslinna has had several different owners.

Today According to Ylitalo, Ilveslinna has a restaurant and various rental spaces for events. The property also includes a renovated apartment and suite.

Three different museums are also currently operating in the premises.

“There is a hockey museum here, where the hockey guardian of a deceased Finn is on display, for example Torsti “Tomi” Mäkipään belongings. In addition, there is a war museum and a museum about the local history of the Jämsä region.”

The museums display objects previously owned by Ylitalo as well as goods and photographs found in Ilveslinna itself.

Artifacts from museums are not part of the sale. Ylitalo does not yet know what will happen to the museums after Ilveslinna gets a new owner.

“That has to be agreed upon separately. Of course, I hope that these objects remain for people to see,” says Ylitalo.

Auction the attached photos reveal surprising details about the building. Its common areas include, for example, a cage with a stuffed lynx.

“The cage was once made for a live lynx, but luckily none of them ever got there,” says Ylitalo.

There is a stuffed lynx in the common areas of the building. The cage is surrounded by swastika-shaped decorations. Picture: Matti Ylitalo

The cage is surrounded by swastika-shaped decorations. Similar decorations can be seen in different parts of the interior of the building in the photos taken, for example on the railings of the stairs.

Ylitalo says that these swastika-like designs were common in the late 1930s, when Ilveslinna was also completed. He estimates that the decorations might be related to, for example, the insignia used by the Finnish Air Force.

“Those swastikas are a designer SpongeBob Tynellin designed by They are part of history, just like this entire building is,” says Ylitalo.

Ilveslinna’s auction ends on Sunday, October 13 at 19:30 at the latest.