No bids received for Taideluola Retretti in Punkaharju during online auction

No bids were received for Taideluola Retretti, located in Punkaharju, Savonlinna, during its online auction, which lasted over a month. The timing of the auction coincided with the Savonlinna Opera Festival, an annual event that attracts thousands of tourists to the area. Along with the cave complex, the prospective buyer would have acquired the buildings along with a 5.8-hectare plot of land. The starting price was set at €100,000. However, additional necessary renovation costs, as estimated by the real estate agent, could vary from hundreds of thousands to millions of euros depending on the buyer’s intended use.

Antti Naukkarinen, the real estate agent managing the sale, mentioned that the future of Retretti remains uncertain. He plans to discuss next steps with the estate administrator next week. The cave system is owned by the bankruptcy estate of Tuunaansaaren Luola oy, which filed for bankruptcy in spring 2023.

Retretti’s 5,700 square meter cave complex was constructed between 1983 and 1985, and a major renovation was initiated in 2019 but remains unfinished. The fate of Retretti is a topic of conversation in Savonlinna, with Mayor Janne Laine expressing that revitalizing Retretti would be crucial for boosting tourism in Eastern Finland.