Helsinki Diakonissalaitos has sold Karjalohja’s Heponiemi camp center to venture capital investor Mikael Hedi. The operation of the area continues almost unchanged, but without religious boundaries.
*I finally arrived here on the shores of Lake Puujärvi, after looking at many places. I liked the area, I had to get a residential plot on its shores, a piece of land of my own on the shore of a clear lake.*
The praise of the beauty of Lake Puujärvi, located in Karjalohja, roughly halfway between Helsinki and Turku, and especially Heponiemi, which protrudes into it, continues for several pages.
Hed is a venture capitalist who previously served as the CEO of the Rovio game company, among other things.
He fell in love with Heponiemi more than a hundred years after Inha, just as passionately. He had already read Inha’s description earlier and when he heard that the place was for sale, he ran to see it.
– After climbing this rock, I realized that this is not here. I was completely sold. Such a landscape represents to me exactly the most beautiful Finland, Finland’s most beautiful national landscapes, Hed lingers on the southernmost rock of Heponiemi that descends to Puujärvi.
On the opposite bank, the cross of the Karjalohja stone church is visible. Helsinki is about an hour’s drive from here.
Inhalta for Ennoli, from Deaconship Institute for Hedi
The area managed to be owned by the Deaconess Institute for over a hundred years and served during that time as a summer retreat for deaconesses and in recent years as a retreat center.
However, Heponiemi’s business ended unprofitable in 2018.
Mikael Hed bought Heponiemi from Diakonissalaittos last winter. The deal includes 12.5 hectares of land, 14 buildings and a kilometer of shoreline.
The purchase price has not been disclosed to the public, and even when asked separately, Hed will not reveal it.
The parish of Lohja has rented the area in the summer for the use of Rippileirim residents, and this rental relationship continues unchanged.
In other respects, there is no longer any religious limitation in the operation.
\”I don’t want to go anywhere else anymore\”
Originally from Vaasa, Mikael Hed, 46, has lived abroad on two separate occasions for a total of 15 years.
Now he has returned to Finland to stay.
– I have seen that the world is a wonderful place, but the most wonderful places are here in Finland. I don’t want to go anywhere else anymore.
Other old, culturally historically valuable sites have also changed hands in recent years in Uusimaa, known as buyers.
But what makes a venture capitalist invest in a place like Heponiemi?
– I hope that as many people as possible can visit here and experience the beauty of the place. You can’t do this if you expect as much and quick return on your money as possible, so this is a very long-term activity.
As his first work, Hed has connected the buildings in the area to municipal technology, and these days a sauna ferry is sailing to Heponiemi’s shore to supplement the small washing facilities.
In other respects, the plan is to keep the area largely in its current form without major new construction or clearing.
*What thoughts did the story evoke? You can discuss the topic until Tuesday, November 1 at 11 p.m.*