Själö orNagu Själö (inSwedish) orSeili (inFinnish) is a small island (about 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) from north to south), off the main islands ofNagu, in theArchipelago Sea, off the south west coast ofFinland. Själö is part of the municipality ofPargas. The island is known for its church and nature, a research institute and a former hospital.
There is another Själö inVäståboland, on the border between the former municipalities ofHoutskär andIniö.
Asteroid2292 Seili has been named after the island.
The Finnish name of the island,Seili, is a corruption of the SwedishSjälö ('seal island' inEnglish,själ being the old form ofsäl, orseal). The name indicates that the island has been a retreat forseals and an attraction for seal hunters in early times. Actually Själö, then and at least until the 18th century, comprised two islands separated by a shallow strait, which has disappeared because of theland rising from the sea, an after-effect ofglacial compression during the lastice age.
The firsthospital on Själö was established in the 1620s. Before that there were two farms on the islands belonging to the Crown and thus available when the authorities looked for a suitable island to which theleper hospital at the outskirts ofTurku could be moved.
According to a RoyalDecree in 1619 by KingGustavus Adolphus of Sweden, the buildings of the hospital in Turku, with the exception of the chapel, were burned down and the inmates transported to Själö. The Själö hospital for lepers was dedicated toSt George. The last leper patient died in 1785, and the establishment on Själö became a hospital or a place of confinement for mentally afflicted people until 1962. The hospital was self-sufficient with agriculture, and fishing. The present-day buildings on the island, with the exception of the chapel (built 1733) and the rectory (built 1791), date from the 19th and the 20th centuries, and most of them have been built for themental hospital. (source: E-M Vilho).
Currently the island hosts the Archipelago Research Institute that is a part of theUniversity of Turku. The research is focused on the surrounding Archipelago Sea as well as the wholeBaltic Sea.
There is one smallharbour, on the east side for the visitors (60°14′36″N021°57′54″E / 60.24333°N 21.96500°E /60.24333; 21.96500) and on the west side for the ferry (60°14′07″N021°57′13″E / 60.23528°N 21.95361°E /60.23528; 21.95361).
Seili, a Finnish-language pop album byJenni Vartiainen, is named after the island's Finnish name.[1]
Johanna Holmström's 2017 novelSjälarnas ö (Island of Souls) is set on the island.
60°14.4′N021°57.7′E / 60.2400°N 21.9617°E /60.2400; 21.9617