Pielisjoki Castle
Pielisjoki Castle (Finnish: "Pielisjoen linna") is a 19th-century public building in the city of Joensuu, in eastern Finland. It is located in the city centre, situated on a small island in River Pielisjoki. Built in 1852 originally as a Crown granary, the building was designed by a leading architect of public buildings of the time, Ernst Lohrmann, in the neoclassical style. The building has never served as a castle as such; after it ceased to operate as a granary, it was given over to the "Suojeluskunta" civil guard and converted in 1919 to office and residential use , according to the designs by the architect . The ground floor housed staff quarters, arsenal and a drive-through carriageway for loading and offloading vehicles. The first floor comprised offices, with the commander's residence on the top floor. After the "Suojeluskunta" organisation was dismantled, the building was occupied by the military. Following a renovation in the late 1960s, the building housed for over three decades various research units and activities of the University of Eastern Finland. Its current tenant is the North Karelian regional association "Pohjois-Karjalan Maakuntaliitto".