TIP OF THE DAY: Watch a short documentary by photo artist Sanna Kannisto about the creation of bird photos at the Hanko bird station.

Ljungbon Sanatorium

Anna Wichmann


Ljungbo Sanatorium was built by Viva Lagerborg, one of Finland's first gynecologists. The building was designed by his cousin Signe Lagerborg-Stenius. Anna Wichmann bought and saved the building in 2020. The villa is now in private use.

Listen to the story of Villa Ljungbo as told by the owner of the villa, Anna Wichmann.


Viva Sofia Lagerborg (1871-1941), one of the first female doctors in Finland, built the Ljungbo sanatorium with 19 patient beds for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis in the years 1910-1913 on a plot rented by the city of Hanko. The building was designed by Lagerborg's cousin, Signe Lagerborg-Stenius (1870-1968), who was one of Finland's first female architects, and master builder KW Nyqvist carried out the construction work as a contractor.

The sanatorium was opened in January 1914 and Viva Lagerborg was its doctor in 1914-1916. As a result of the First World War, the sanatorium was closed in 1916. In 1918, the sanatorium was a convalescent home where some wounded German soldiers were cared for at the initiative of the Deaconess Institute. In 1920, the sanatorium building was sold to a Methodist association, which ran a children's home there. Later, the tuberculosis sanatorium operated by the city of Hanko operated in the building between 1927 and 1936, after which it was a municipal home (nursing home). Later, the sanatorium operated e.g. youth home, workshops and associations. There were still apartments in the building in the 1990s.

The sanatorium fell into disrepair due to lack of use, and the city moved it to the list of buildings to be demolished in 2009. Anna Wichmann (1982-), one of Finland's first female naval officers, told about her interest in buying and renovating the sanatorium. In 2020, the sanatorium changed owners and a major renovation began. Wichmann applied for protection for the sanatorium under the Building Heritage Act. Nowadays, the villa functions as a private residence. You can follow the life of the villa on the Instagram account @villalifefinland.

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