Själö’s long history is marked by decades as a place of treatment for lepers and the mentally ill. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the sick who were brought to the island lived in isolation from the rest of the world, with no hope of leaving once they entered the island. Wooden crosses in the graveyard surrounding the church still serve as reminders of the fates of the sick. In the 20th century, the asylum was closed, and the premises were taken over by the Archipelago Research Institute of the University of Turku. Active, multidisciplinary research of the archipelago and the Baltic Sea region is still carried out on the island, with a focus on long-term monitoring of the state of the marine environment. Read more.
Själö’s long history is marked by decades as a place of treatment for lepers and the mentally ill. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the sick who were brought to the island lived in isolation from the rest of the world, with no hope of leaving once they entered the island. Wooden crosses in the graveyard surrounding the church still serve as reminders of the fates of the sick. In the 20th century, the asylum was closed, and the premises were taken over by the Archipelago Research Institute of the University of Turku. Active, multidisciplinary research of the archipelago and the Baltic Sea region is still carried out on the island, with a focus on long-term monitoring of the state of the marine environment. Read more.
