History & stories
The history of Knipnäs Gård is a story of change, buildings and people by the sea in Ekenäs.
The history of Ekenäs reaches back to the 16th century, when King Gustav Vasa of Sweden granted town privileges to the small fishing village in 1546, around the same time as Helsinki. In 2009, Ekenäs merged with the town of Karis and the municipality of Pojo to form the city of Raseborg. Today, Ekenäs is Raseborg’s largest urban area and administrative centre, with around 15,000 inhabitants.
Ekenäs is now an idyllic small town, and Knipnäs, just outside the town centre, provides opportunities for local businesses as well as visitors from Finland and abroad.
Ekenäs in the 1890s
Photo: Finnish Heritage Agency (HK19780429:44)
The buildings at Knipnäs were completed in 1935 as a sanatorium, beginning a varied history of almost a century in healthcare. Knipnäs later served as a military hospital and as a psychiatric hospital operated by the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa until 1996. In the early 2000s, the City of Ekenäs acquired the building and its grounds and converted the premises for use by the vocational school Axxell. One of Finland’s largest providers of Swedish-language vocational education operated at Knipnäs until 2024, when the site still housed Axxell’s administrative offices and student accommodation.
The story of Knipnäs began nearly a century ago as a sanatorium – a place where body and mind could rest and recover. For decades, its walls bore witness to care, quiet and human compassion, providing shelter for those who needed time to pause and heal. During its years as a psychiatric hospital, countless personal journeys towards recovery and understanding took place within these rooms. In time, Knipnäs took on a new role as a place of learning and growth when it became home to Axxell. New generations gained knowledge, professional skills and new beginnings here as they found their direction in life.
Today, Knipnäs is once again living through a new chapter as a centre for wellbeing. Its history gives the place depth and meaning. Wellbeing is still at its heart, now through a warm sense of community, human connection and the restorative power of nature. Walls that once witnessed mental suffering are now filled with life, balance and a renewed sense of purpose. Visitors can find peace, space to breathe and an opportunity to reconnect with themselves.
Knipnäs offers a safe, unhurried and welcoming atmosphere. It brings together course participants, guests, residents, entrepreneurs, trainees, international volunteers and the wider community. It is a place that supports personal development, creativity and recovery – somewhere to work, learn, create, pause, reflect and find a new direction.
Knipnäs offers opportunities to take part in events or organise them, establish a business here, live on site, join a residency programme, volunteer or rent workspace.
Knipnäs invites you to experience wellbeing in many different ways. It is a place to slow down, regain your strength and give yourself what you need most in the moment.
Welcome – Knipnäs is a place to feel at home and at ease.