Hi everyone,

I’m trying to track down the location of a hotel that was used as a rest stop for German Nazis during WWII. My grandmother was a spy during that time—she would host Nazi officers at the hotel, gather intelligence, and secretly relay it back to Helsinki at night.

Unfortunately, I only have a photo of the hotel, and I’m not sure if it still exists or if it was destroyed after the war. I’d love to visit the exact location and learn more about its history.

If anyone has any insight into how to track down buildings like this, knows of hotels in the region that fit the description, or can suggest resources for historical research, I’d really appreciate it!

Thanks in advance!

by Mountain-Object7894

6 comments

  2. (Hotel) Pallas at Pallastunturi. Germans blew it up when they left the place in 1944.

    Edit: I think this might be the place of the original hotel. The new one was built in a different location. https://maps.app.goo.gl/ntY3dbM5oGAZXZTh9?g_st=ac

    Edit2: a bit of google fu later that is indeed the place. Kalevin historiasivut has some more wartime info in Finnish: https://kalevimikkonen27.blogspot.com/2018/05/pallastunturin-matkailumajan.html?m=1

  4. There is a new hotel close to the one pictured. While retreating, the Germans blew up the original hotel. The ruins are still there. I’ve visited the site several times, as it along a popular hiking trail.

  6. [Hotel Pallas](https://museovirasto.finna.fi/Record/museovirasto.C097AFD3075D607DDC2A64196E93FFDF?sid=4984302016), like the original [Hotel Pohjanhovi](https://museovirasto.finna.fi/Record/museovirasto.969D1D84D71CA74E65E7C7F0D6C5CF6A?sid=4984301209&lng=en-gb) in Rovaniemi (which was also destroyed by the Nazis) [represented functional architecture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functionalism_(architecture)). which was then in fashion. Unfortunately,[ the new hotel Pallas](https://museovirasto.finna.fi/Record/museovirasto.3d092b53-e3a4-4e41-8fb4-57b4eff2a759) is not as beautiful as original (in my opinion). Original Hotel Pallas was designed by architects Väinö Vähäkallio and Aulis Hämäläinen.

    Väinö Vähäkallio also designed among many other buildings, famous Yrjönkatu swimming hall, Helsinki:

    [https://finnisharchitecture.fi/yrjonkatu-swimming-hall/](https://finnisharchitecture.fi/yrjonkatu-swimming-hall/)

    He was the owner of the Kytäjä manor, which became infamous for the triple murder of campers in the 1970s committed by his grandson. The manor was subsequently abandoned and finally dismantled a couple of years ago:

    [https://urbanex.ninja/kohde/kytajan-kartanon-kirous/](https://urbanex.ninja/kohde/kytajan-kartanon-kirous/)

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