Museums in Finland
Infantry Museum
The Infantry Museum, founded in 1982, is housed in three wooden barracks built in the 19th century. The exhibition includes 70 different military uniforms, 120 hand guns, 20 machine and light machine guns, 20 mortars and guns, and plenty of other military equipment. The exhibition is supplemented by a large collection of photos, also in colour, and scale models depicting the battles of Tuulos and Ihantala.The task of the ...The Gun and Military Museum
The Gun and Military Museum in Kuhmoinen has a massive collection of over 3000 weapons, medals, swords, helmets, bayonets and lots of other material connected with war, especially the Second World War. The oldest showpieces are from the 18th century. In a separate area, there is a collection of both old and new hunting weapons. There is also a library of war history that includes more than 2000 books, as well as newspaper ...The Sagalund Museum
The Sagalund Museum is one of the oldest and largest open-air museums in Finland. It consists of 26 historically valuable buildings with about 70 authentic room interiors. Among them are a courthouse from the 18th century and an old school from1649. There’s also a library with e.g. studies of Linné.Sarka - The Finnish Museum of Agriculture
Sarka brings the versatile history of farming to you through moving image, sound, scale models and genuine objects. As an introduction to its collections, the Museum has an impressive scale model, which takes you through the development of the imaginary village of Sarkajoki from the Bronze Age to present. The basic collection builds on farm work associated with each season. Another dimension of the exhibition is time. It ...The Untamala Archaeology Centre
The Untamala Archaeology Centre is an archaeological exhibition centre founded by the National Board of Antiquities. The centre is situated in the midst of southwestern Finland’s rural landscape and by the famous iron-age graveyard.The Untamala Archaeology Centre distributes knowledge about archaeological cultural heritage and cultural landscape and promotes their conservation and management. The centre offers a var ...Automobile and Tractor Museum
Seppo Kotajärvi from Vammala gathered a notable vehicle and husbandry machine collection during his lifetime. The collection and the museum showcasing it are nowadays tended by a foundation carrying the name of the collector.Kotajärvi Automobile and Tractor Museum puts on display almost 100 tractors, around 20 cars and a large number of motorbikes, mopeds and bikes. The museum hosts many different events during ...Kalela
Kalela is a former wilderness atelier of Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931), a Finnish painter who is best known for his illustrations of the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. His work was considered very important for the Finnish national identity.Kalela is one of the largest nineteenth-century log buildings in Finland whose structure remains intact. It is designed by Gallen-Kallela himself and was completed in 1895. G ...Skarpnåtö Homestead Museum
Most buildings in the Homestead Museum date from the beginning of 18th century. The museum in main building exhibits the life of peasants in Åland. There is also a handicraft shop selling a local ceramics.Dånö Homestead Museum
The Dånö homestead museum exhibits past time living in a typical pilot- and fishing crofter’s holding. Dånö became a pilot’s residence already in the 1700’s and the house where the museum is located has been inhabited by two families of pilots.Reference: visitaland.comLyytikkälä Farm Museum
Lyytikkälä is a Southeast Finnish farming estate that has been in the same family for more than 250 years. Owing to this, the buildings, structures and the interior of the farmhouse have largely remained unaltered. Most of 20 buildings were built between the end of 18th century and the beginning of 20th century. Lyytikkälä is therefore a valuable historic example of the lifestyle and working environmen ...Border Museum
Opened in 1989, the Border Museum is located in the Immola Barracks. The museum houses a permanent exhibition which traces the history of Finland’s frontiers and that of the Border Guard itself. The exhibition also gives an insight into the life and work of border guards during the period following Finland’s independence (in 1917), in times of both war and peace.The museum is open in summer, and at other times ...Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings
Historic Site of the week
Lorca Castle
Castle of Lorca (Castillo de Lorca) is a fortress of medieval origin constructed between the 9th and 15th centuries. It consists of a series of defensive structures that, during the Middle Ages, made the town and the fortress an impregnable point in the southeast part of the Iberian Peninsula. Lorca Castle was a key strategic point of contention between Christians and Muslims during the Reconquista.
Archaeological excavations have revealed that the site of the castle has been inhabited since Neolithic times.
Muslim Era
It has not been determined exactly when a castle or fortress was first built on the hill. The first written documentation referring to a castle at Lorca is of Muslim origin, which in the 9th century, indicates that the city of Lurqa was an important town in the area ruled by Theudimer (Tudmir). During Muslim rule, Lorca Castle was an impregnable fortress and its interior was divided into two sections by the Espaldón Wall. In the western part, there was an area used to protect livestock and grain in times of danger. The eastern part had a neighbourhood called the barrio de Alcalá.
After Reconquista
Lorca was conquered by the Castilian Infante Don Alfonso, the future Alfonso X, in 1244, and the fortress became a key defensive point against the Kingdom of Granada. For 250 years, Lorca Castle was a watchpoint on the border between the Christian kingdom of Murcia and the Muslim state of Granada.
Alfonso X ordered the construction of the towers known as the Alfonsina and Espolón Towers, and strengthened and fixed the walls. Hardly a trace of the Muslim fortress remained due to this reconstruction. Muslim traces remain in the foundation stones and the wall known as the muro del Espaldón.
The Jewish Quarter was found within the alcazaba, the Moorish fortification, separated from the rest of the city by its walls. The physical separation had the purpose of protecting the Jewish people in the town from harm, but also had the result of keeping Christians and Jews separate, with the Christians inhabiting the lower part of town.
The remains of the Jewish Quarter extended over an area of 5,700 square m, and 12 homes and a synagogue have been found; the synagogue dates from the 14th century and is the only one found in the Murcia. The streets of the town had an irregular layout, adapted to the landscape, and is divided into four terraces. The synagogue was in the central location, and around it were the homes. The homes were of rectangular shape, with various compartmentalized rooms. The living quarters were elevated and a common feature was benches attached to the walls, kitchens, stand for earthenware jars, or cupboards.
Modern history
With the disappearance of the frontier after the conquest of Granada in 1492, Lorca Castle no longer became as important as before. With the expulsion of the Jews by order of Ferdinand and Isabella, Lorca Castle was also depopulated as a result. The castle was abandoned completely, and was almost a complete ruin by the 18th century. In the 19th century, the castle was refurbished due to the War of Spanish Independence. The walls and structures were repaired or modified and its medieval look changed. A battery of cannons was installed, for example, during this time. In 1931 Lorca Castle was declared a National Historic Monument.
Currently, a parador (luxury hotel) has been built within the castle. As a result, archaeological discoveries have been found, including the Jewish Quarter.