Harastølen (Luster Sanatorium)

Vestland · Norway · Sanatorium

The tubercular were isolated five hundred metres above the fjord to die — and rumour holds they never found rest in the corridors now collapsing.

Lyster sanatorium opened in 1902 on the Harastølen shelf, five hundred metres straight above the Lustrafjord, deliberately far from everything: tuberculosis patients were to be isolated in clean, dry mountain air, and for many the shelf was the end of the line. The building is vast, some five thousand square metres, had its own power supply and was long reachable only by cable lift. Later it became a psychiatric hospital and then an asylum reception centre, and in 1994 everything was abandoned: the lights went out, the doors stood open, and damp, moss and vandals had free rein. The rumour that the dead never found rest has drawn ghost hunters here for decades, and for some years organised night walks were held through the collapsing corridors. New owners bought the site in 2018 with plans for a hotel, but so far Harastølen is exactly what Norway calls it: eit spøkelseshus.

FAQ

Where is Harastølen (Luster Sanatorium) located?

Harastølen (Luster Sanatorium) is in Vestland, Norway.