Museums in Finland

Ateneum Art Museum

Ateneum is the national gallery of Finland presenting the most important art collection in Finland. Ateneum's collections includes several classics from most well-known Finnish artists like Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Helene Schjerfbeck and Albert Edefelt. There is also a fine collection of international art, among its gems the works of Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin.The museum building itself was designed by Theodor H& ...

Founded: 1887 | Location: Helsinki, Finland

Hakasalmi Villa

Hakasalmi Villa was built in 1843 by the procurator and privy counsellor Carl Johan Walleen as a combined city and country residence. The architect was E.B. Lohrmann from Berlin. Two wings were added to the front of the main building in 1847, the north one served as a bakery and the south one as a greenhouse. The villa was surrounded by a large English garden.The municipality of Helsinki bought Hakasalmi from Aurora Karam ...

Founded: 1843 | Location: Helsinki, Finland

The National Museum of Finland

The National Museum of Finland presents Finnish history from the Stone Age to the present day, through objects and cultural history. The permanent exhibitions of the National Museum are divided into six parts. The Treasure Troves presents the collections of coins, medals, orders and decorations, silver, jewellery and weapons. Prehistory of Finland is the largest permanent archeological exhibition in Finland. The Realm pre ...

Founded: 1905-1910 | Location: Helsinki, Finland

Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova

Aboa Vetus (Old Turku) is a museum of archaeological history. Originally, plans were for only Ars Nova, the contemporary art museum, but during its construction a number of structures and artifacts dating back to the Middle Ages were discovered, and the archaeological excavation that was commissioned eventually transformed into Aboa Vetus. The two museums were combined in 2004.The ruins excavated in the Convent Quarter or ...

Founded: ca. 15th century | Location: Turku, Finland

The Finnish Labour Museum Werstas

The Finnish Labour Museum Werstas is located in the historical Finlayson cotton mill area. At Werstas, you can visit the Textile Industry Museum, the Steam Engine Museum as well as the Labour Museum's changing and permanent exhibitions.The exhibitions at Werstas offer an overview of the history of the industrial era, worker population and civil society from different perspectives. The constantly refreshed exhibitions pres ...

Founded: Museum founded in 1993 | Location: Tampere, Finland

Vapriikki

Vapriikki is a collection of five previously separate museums now under one roof. The museum is located to the old forge of Tampella on the banks of the Tammerkoski rapids. The themes of temporary exhibitions range from archaeology to modern art, manual skills to technology and nature. Vapriikki is also home to The Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame, The Shoe Museum, and The Doll Museum. Visitors are served by the museum restaur ...

Founded: 1996 | Location: Tampere, Finland

Lenin Museum

The Lenin museum is located at the old Worker's Hall of Tampere, where V. I. Lenin and Josef Stalin met for the first time in 1905. It was opened in 1946 to present the life and ideas of Lenin. Today the museum focuses more widely to material related to Lenin's life and activities and the history of the Soviet Union.

Founded: 1946 | Location: Tampere, Finland

Prison Museum

The prison museum introduces to the visitors the history of correctional treatment in Finland and the prison life in the past and these days. The most valuable item is the museum building itself with its authentic premises that have been maintained in their original condition since the time when the building still functioned as a prison. The building and the exhibition consist of three floors.The prison museum functions i ...

Founded: 1871 | Location: Hämeenlinna, Finland

Forum Marinum

The Forum Marinum Maritime Centre exhibits seafaring history and traditions of the nautical culture in the southwest of Finland, history of the naval forces and the maritime history collections of Åbo Akademi University and Provincial Museum.In addition to permanent and temporary exhibitions there are several museum ships located to the museum or near Aurajoki river. Most well-known ships are full-rigger Suomen Jousten ( ...

Founded: 1999 | Location: Turku, Finland

Luostarinmäki Handicrafts Museum

Luostarinmäki is the only unified part of the Turku city that survived the conflagration of 1827. The area consists of 18 blocks of original 18th century – early 19th century buildings on their original location. Today Luostarinmäki is an outdoor museum that offers over 30 workshops from different fields of craftmanship display the City's handicrafts history and craftsmen's dwellings.During the summer season, the muse ...

Founded: ca. 1800 | Location: Turku, Finland

Aviation Museum of Central Finland

The Aviation Museum of Central Finland exhibits the aviation history of Finland, from the early 1900s until today. The exhibition consists of aircraft, engines and aircrew equipment which has been used by the Finnish Air Force. The equipment of the Air Force Signals Museum has its own section. A large collection of scale models gives a wider perspective to the whole field of aviation.

Founded: 1979 | Location: Jyväskylä, Finland

Military Museum of Finland

The Military Museum of Finland was earlier located in a garrison building designed by Evert Lagerspetz in 1883. This site was closed in 2016.

Founded: 1883 (Museum opened in 1948) | Location: Helsinki, Finland

Tampere Art Museum

The Tampere Art Museum was established in 1931. It was founded by the Tampere Art Society which had already been collecting art and arranging art exhibitions in Tampere since the beginning of the last century.The museum is renowned for its active exhibition policy, especially exhibitions presenting ancient cultures, wide-ranging publication activities, the Young Artist of the Year event and Moominvalley, which can be foun ...

Founded: 1838 (Art Museum 1931) | Location: Tampere, Finland

Seurasaari Open-Air Museum

Seurasaari is a museum island, which consists of old, mainly wooden buildings transplanted from elsewhere in Finland and placed in the dense forest landscape of the island. The Open-Air Museum was founded in 1909. All the different provinces of Finland are represented in the well preserved old buildings and they give an overall view of Finnish countryside life from the 18th to the 20th century. At present, there are 87 se ...

Founded: 1909 | Location: Helsinki, Finland

Armoured Vehicle Museum

Parola Tank Museum, officially Armoured Vehicle Museum displays various tanks, armoured vehicles and anti-tank guns used by the Finnish Defence Forces throughout its history. A rare exhibit is an armoured train used in World War Two. A few kilometers away from the museum is also the Armoured Brigade. The museum was opened June 18, 1961, when there were 19 tanks and 12 anti-tank guns on display. Also Leopard 2A4, the lates ...

Founded: opened 1961 | Location: Hämeenlinna, Finland

Arktikum

Arktikum is the Provincial Museum of Lapland and Arctic Center. The exhibitions examine culture, history, and modern life in the Arctic. Concepts such as human life in tune with nature are explored in depth. In the Provincial Museum’s permanent exhibition “The Northern Ways” you will find out about the life and mothology e.g. of the moose and bear and you will also hear the sounds of the Lappish animals. ...

Founded: 1992 | Location: Rovaniemi, Finland

South Karelia Art Museum

The Art Museum is located at the neoclassic-style barracks (built in 1798) of the Lappeenranta fortress. The museum has a collection of Finnish visual art from the 1850´s to the present day. This collection includes works by many well-known artists such as Arvi Liljelund, Pekka Halonen, Tyko Sallinen, Hjalmar Munsterhjelm and Jalmari Ruokokoski.The main emphasis of research and collections is on the Kymi province an ...

Founded: | Location: Lappeenranta, Finland

Museum Ship Pommern & Åland Maritime Museum

The Pommern, formerly the Mneme (1903–1908), is a four-masted barque that was built in 1903 in Glasgow at J. Reid & Co shipyard. It was one of the Flying P-Liners, the famous sailing ships of the German shipping company F. Laeisz. Later she was acquired Gustaf Erikson of the Finnish Åland archipelago, who used the ship to carry grain from the Spencer Gulf area in Australia to harbours in England or Ireland ...

Founded: 1903-1908 (museum ship Pommern | Location: Maarianhamina, Finland

Åland Museum

The history of Åland from the Stone Ages to present times is exhibited at the permanent exhibition in the Åland museum. It’s concentrating on such themes as hunting and fishing, The Earth, The sea, The People and Autonomy. A comprehensive picture of Åland´s archaeology, folklore and natural sciences. In 1982 the museum received the European Museum of the Year Award.

Founded: 1981 | Location: Maarianhamina, Finland

Cavalry Museum

The Cavalry Museum is housed in the former guardhouse of the Lappeenranta fortifications, and dates from the 1770’s. The museum was opened in 1973. In the Cavalry Museum you can experience the fire of the fierce Hackapelites and succumb to the charm of the red-panted dragoons.The Cavalry belonged to the Lappeenranta street scene from the 1880’s, when a garrison was built for the Finninsh Dragoon Regiment. Unif ...