Lecture: Lapinlahti Mental Hospital
Come and listen to a free lecture about Lapinlahti Mental Hospital. The lecture will be given by architect Mikko Lindqvist from Helsinki City Museum’s cultural environment team. The lecture will be in Finnish.
Designed by architect C. L. Engel in 1835–1843, Lapinlahti Mental Hospital is one of its designer’s most notable works. The hospital was the first mental hospital building in Finland, and it is also an early example of this type of building at the international level. The hospital’s architecture reflects the change in the notions of mental health treatment that took place during the building’s construction. The building has continued to be used for mental health services without interruption to this day, but now the building’s future is being reconsidered.
This lecture held by architect Mikko Lindqvist from Helsinki City Museum will introduce the listeners to the history of the Lapinlahti Mental Hospital building as well as the underlying values and ideals that impacted its construction. The City Museum will be publishing a book about the architecture of Empire-style Helsinki in autumn 2025, and the construction of Lapinlahti Hospital is also examined in the book as part of Helsinki’s history.
The lecture will be streamed live on the City Museum’s YouTube channel.
Photo: Lapinlahti Mental Hospital. R. Roos, 1930–1939 / Helsinki City Museum.
