Pitkäniemi is a mental hospital area built by the government in the end of the 19th century. It was then one of the largest building projects in Finland and purposed to provide mental health services to entire Western Finland. Pitkäniemi buildings were designed by architects S. Gripenberg, M. Schjerfbeck and E.A. Kranck.
The common supposition in the 19th century was that dwelling in nature and working outdoors is the best way to cure mental illnesses. The beautiful park were also added soon after buildings to Pitkäniemi.
Pitkäniemi area is a well-preserved and solid sample of public architecture in the later 19th century. It’s still in hospital use, but the park and Pyhäjärvi beach is open to the public.
The Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries.