- The idea of photographing old and abandoned places and buildings first came into my mind late July 2002, when I came across a web site with this same interest. The pictures itself were so beautiful in their own way that they got my attention. General feeling in these pictures and the thought of going inside of some abandoned building were also a great motivation to start photographing these kind of places myself. Actually just the idea of seeing the beauty with your own eyes, that these kind of places holds inside, is a much more fascinating than taking pictures, but while there, why not to take some pictures also?

- That is how it all started, but now after a few years into this, my main interest and motivation has started to shift more and more to the preservation and documentation of these places, while they still are around. Most likely this change is because I've seen what people do to even locations that are protected or looked after. Also, I've never felt part of the urban exploration community as it is currently, I'm just too old for that kind of stuff, that goes on there. Also the fact, that urban exploration defines the places to explore quite tight mindedly, has caused me to reconsider my position in the world of abandonment's. If we take a look at the Finnish law of archeological relics, it defines abandoned place in a following way: "Abandonment means that the place is not in it's original use anymore, or that there is no contract between the landowner and officials, to use the place anymore"

- So what that means is, that on Silent Wall, you can just as easily see pictures from places that are long forgotten and no one even remembers the original use anymore, but then again, there's also places that are open for general public and are called tourist attractions. Both of these kind of locations, are considered abandonment's, at least according to the Finnish law. But I know for sure, that most urban explorers would not consider visiting tourist attractions at all and that's the difference between me and people who call themselves urban explorers. So call me what you want, history enthusiast, explorer, be it urban or rural or just a freak, but I like to photograph and visit old and historical locations, that's all.

- This country is very bureaucratic and officials are very careful that they close and seal everything tightly and properly. That means, that it's really hard to actually get inside of buildings. Usually getting into a building, involves of crawling through a broken window, that still has some glass hanging from it. So the risk of injuring yourself is real and comes in many forms, from the broken window to the risk of asbestos in old buildings. If you feel like exploring yourself, I would advise you to look for another person who is also interested about these kind of locations and start exploring together, as then there is always another person to call for help if something happens. For my part, I'm a bit of a loner, so I prefer going alone and besides, the adrenaline rush is greater when you're alone and I can concentrate better to photographing and looking around, when there isn't somebody constantly babbling.

- Visiting these locations, is not about destroying or otherwise vandalizing them. Every small detail you see in my pictures, are still there if you happen to visit the same locations. I don't take anything with me and I try to leave the place as it was before I was there. If I open a door, I will surely close it when I leave. Also, if the door happens to be locked, then I don't make my way into the building, it deserves to be left in a good condition and hopefully someday, the value of it will be noticed. The old phrase, "I only take pictures with me and leave foot prints" apply to me as well as to any other person who explores these kind of locations. Also, this is not all fun and exciting as you would think immediately. Most of the time you keep on reading newspapers and internet, trying to find a hint of these locations. Another thing to consider is, that you don't always find something and the whole journey was useless. A lot of people seem to think, that I find something every time. That couldn't be further from the truth. If there's twenty locations that I've visited, then there's at least another twenty locations, that I visited, but couldn't find anything.

- I am aware, that this kind of hobby involves a bit of a trespassing, as no place in this planet, is completely abandoned, no matter what the Finnish law says. However, I'm ready to carry the risk and the possible liability for my actions, just to see few more abandoned places. I'm photographing and maintaining this web site, with my own name to show, that I have nothing to hide or reasons to be ashamed after uploading another gallery to Silent Wall.

- Location I have given to these places, means usually the area inside of the city or district. For example: Vartiokylä In Helsinki, means a residential area called Vartiokylä, inside of Helsinki. If there is only one name, like Järvenpää, then it means that the town or a village is so small that there is no point of giving the exact name of that residential area. Inside the closures, with capital letters, is the name of the country where the place in question is located. I haven't given too specific instructions how to find these places, as I don't want that vandals will find these places. Some of them are still in a good condition, without any graffiti and I surely don't want to find out, that graffiti makers have found the place, because of me. So if you feel like of going to tag the place, you will need to do a bit of a research or own a GPS system. The numbers below the name of the residential area and city, are co-ordinates. They are measured with a GPS system, using an international standard: WGS84

- Echoes Of Forgotten Places "Is a unique journey into locations rarely seen by the public. Visit decaying factories, decomissioned power stations, storm drains and many other mysterious places" This is an absolutely amazing DVD, worth of every penny. 43 minutes of excellent camera work in abandoned locations plus an image gallery with 125 pictures from around the world. And even that's not all, the classic 1936 industrial film: Steel: A Symphony of Industry has been also included to the DVD.

1973 - 2005

- Helsinki & the surroundings contains only one tenth of the land area of Finland, but still almost half of the people in this country. High population density and new people constantly moving to the area, means that a lot of old and abandoned buildings get demolished really quickly. - Exploring and photographing here means that you need to be fast... - Click the map, to proceed to the galleries. (Contains 45 Galleries)
- The area of Southern Finland contains most of the population in the country. The area also is the oldest one when it comes to settlements. All of the old industrial buildings, castle, fortifications and other old structures can be found from this area. - Click the map, to proceed to the galleries. (Contains 12 Galleries)
HARPARSKOG-LINE - The complete presentation has been moved to the address: www.hangonrintama.fi   HARPARSKOG-LINJA - Valmis esitys on siirretty osoitteeseen: www.hangonrintama.fi
- Krepost Sveaborg was build during the First World War around Helsinki, by the imperial Russia, to protect St. Petersburg from the possible attack from imperial Germany. - The fortification never saw actual combat... - Click the map, to proceed to the galleries. (Contains 28 Galleries)
- Belgium gaining it's independency in 1830, has seen armies marching back and forth, through it's soil, before and after it's independency. First the threat came from France, later from Germany. The memory from this dangerous position in Europe, are the numerous Fort's that are spread all over the country, to help to defend against the aggressions. The monuments of war, now stand abandoned and forgotten, as their glorious moments were often a very brief. - Click the map, to proceed to the galleries. (Contains 4 Galleries)
- Estonia, located on the other side of the Gulf of Finland, gained again it's independency in 1991. Nearly fifty years under the Soviet rule, the East-European atmosphere is strongly present here. Traces of the Red Army are strongly present, in the numerous, now abandoned military bases. Three hour ferry trip, is the only thing that separates you from some of the greatest buildings in these latitudes... - Click the map, to proceed to the galleries. (Contains 14 Galleries)
- On our way to Krakow, we spent few days hanging around in Vilnius, capital of the once great power of Lithuania. The city still holds buildings and places, from the time when the country was one of the major players in the region. - During the more modern times, Lithuania once again gained it's independence when the Soviet Union collapsed. The East-European atmosphere, like in the other two Baltic States, is still present here, although traces from the negligence towards buildings is being effectively removed. - Click the map, to proceed to the galleries. (Contains 4 Galleries)
- The history of Polish nation, can be traced to the 10th century, when a Polish prince adopted Christianity. After that, the nation has seen many wars and has been divided three times by the surrounding great powers. - During the second summer trip, we decided to head for Krakow, the nation's "heart" so to speak, with it's university established in 1364. During the more modern times, the city is well know from the movie Schindler's List and from the concentration camps of KL Auschwitz I & KL Auschwitz II - Birkenau, that are located close to Krakow. - Click the map, to proceed to the galleries. (Contains 17 Galleries + Travel Journal)
- The Eastern border of Poland is today much closer to the West, than it was before the Second World War. The Ribbentrop - Molotov pact was valid even after the war was over. Tragedy of the nation perhaps, as the country fought alongside with the Allies, but still lost huge areas in the East. - The large forests in the Eastern Poland also contains another tragedy. The memorials erected on the place of the extermination camps, serve as a grim remainder, not to repeat the history, but to listen this time. - Click the map, to proceed to the galleries. (Contains 8 Galleries + Travel Journal)
- The borders in the present day Northern Poland has seen many changes in the past hundred years. The traces of the German history is strongly present here, in the numerous timber-framed houses. Going out from the bigger cities, will take you to the country side, which once was part of the West Prussia. The magnificent farmhouses still stand there, some empty and abandoned. Even the bigger cities still hold memories from the total destruction witnessed sixty years ago. - For travel journal, see Eastern Poland. - Click the map, to proceed to the galleries. (Contains 6 Galleries)

The Urban Exploration Ring [ Join Now | Ring Hub | Random | <<Prev | Next>> ]

"Abandoned places...that would be a nice hobby, but I don't think that this country has any abandoned places..."

©kimmo.nummela@kolumbus.fi