Location: Paimio, Finland
Duration: 1 day
Sites: Paimio Sanatorium
Persons: 1-50
Available: All year, except on Mondays
Accommodation: Not included
Transportation: Not included
Themes: Hospitals, Modernism
From 65 € per person
During the day trip to Paimio, you will have the chance to learn about the period of transition that characterized the community in the early 1960s, a period that saw the industry in the area, mainly composed of electrical engineering companies, grow fast.
Tour highlights:
During the day trip to Paimio, you will have the chance to learn about the period of transition that characterized the community in the early 1960s, a period that saw the industry in the area, mainly composed of electrical engineering companies, grow fast. The transformation is still visible around the village nowadays – in its landscape, building culture and social life.
In the case of Alvar Aalto’s Paimio Sanatorium, the transition period especially concerned the operations of the building, transforming from a sanatorium into a hospital of wider scope.
During the tour, we will visit the Paimio Sanatorium, Paimio Electrical Museum and the Miila Handicraft Museum. A visit to the Paimio nature trail is also available upon request.
The suggested itinerary starts from Helsinki, but it is possible to start the trip from elsewhere according to the group’s request.
Paimio Sanatorium was completed in 1933. Photo: Jarmo Fredriksson
Aino and Alvar Aalto also designed the Paimio Sanatorium’s furniture. Photo: Jarmo Fredriksson
The tour includes a visits to the Paimio Sanatorium, the Paimio Electrical Museum and the Miila Handicraft Museum.
Departure from Helsinki with the group’s own bus at 8:00 am. Arriving to Paimio at 10:00 am, where a cup of coffee will be enjoyed at a local café to start the day.
The guided one-hour walking tour starts either from the Isku House or from the nearby river valley. The walking tour will describe the transition in the landscape, building culture and social life that took place in the early 1960s, and point out examples where it can still be witnessed today. This will include a description of the strong growth of the electrical industry (e.g. the Southwest Finland Electricity office building, the current Paimio high school from 1960s), but also other industries and small businesses. The appearance of new services in rural Finland of the 1960s will also come to light: banking facilities, a new municipal building and school facilities.
Around 12.00pm, the walking tour of the village ends in front of the neighboring “Paimio Electricity Museum” and “Miila Handicraft Museum”. Here the themes described during the earlier walking tour can be further discussed with reference to the displays and the help of the museum guides. After the guided tours at the museums, we will continue by bus to the Kaimalan Karhulampi restaurant, where we will have our lunch around 13:30 pm.
After lunch, the day trip culminates with a guided tour of the Paimio Sanatorium, starting at 15:00 p.m. We will have a 1,5-hour themed tour, highlighting the functional and structural changes that were made to the sanatorium in the early 1960s. The postwar period saw the appearance of new, more effective drugs and treatments for tuberculosis, which allowed for the development of different functions within the sanatorium. Gradually, the sanatorium transformed into a hospital, where other lung diseases were treated.
Tour destination addresses:
– The Paimio river valley: Sahurintie 5
– Paimio Electrical Museum: Vistantie 24a
– Miila Handicrafts Museum: Kirjakuja 2
– Kaimalan Karhulampi: Kaimalantie 140
– Paimio Sanatorium: Alvar Aallontie 275
Paimio / 1933
The building completed in 1933 as Paimio Sanatorium was of key importance to the international career of architects Alvar and Aino Aalto. Together with Vyborg (Viipuri) Library, completed two years later, it gave the Aaltos an international profile. Finnish architecture was no longer merely the receiver of influences from outside.
Price is estimated for a group of 50 people.
The programme can be adjusted according to the needs of the group. The tour is also available for individuals. Please contact the agency for detailed information!
The tour is available all year (except on Mondays), however the opening times of sights and museums can affect the availability.
All rights reserved. We follow the general terms and conditions for package tours.
Price is estimated for a group of 50 people.
The programme can be adjusted according to the needs of the group. The tour is also available for individuals. Please contact the agency for detailed information!
The tour is available all year (except on Mondays), however the opening times of sights and museums can affect the availability.
All rights reserved. We follow the general terms and conditions for package tours.
PL 41
20101, Turku