Amuri Museum of Workers' Housing, Tampere, Finland

Starting from the 19th century, Amuri was originally mainly a residence area for the workers of the Finlayson factory. It consisted of blocks of wooden houses built together, which were replaced by low-rise apartment buildings in the 1970s and 1980s. In the Amuri Museum of Workers' Housing a part of old Amuri is preserved. The museum features five residential buildings that still stand in their original locations and four outbuildings. The 32 apartments represent different ages from the 1880s to the 1970s. Interiors, which are from different periods, illustrate the life of local industrial workers.

You can also stop by at the charmingly quaint café Amurin Helmi for a refreshing cup of coffee and a slice of the local traditional yeast bread or a tasty bun. Guided tours (also in English) are available in summer season.

User Reviews

Irene Cotrina (8 months ago)
One of the places in Finland that I remember with much fondness. A museum about every day life and common household objects in a small, industrialised city in the beginnings of 20th century. It is appropriately located in an old part of Tampere and consisting of a cluster of traditional wooden houses. Each room in every house has its particular furniture and some personal items of the lodgers, along with a description of who resided there, what was his occupation and family status etc. Most of the people were workers in factories, like Finlayson and lived with their family members in just one room. A sole kitchen was attached to every house to be used commonly by all families. Sauna and bakery can also be visited. There is a lovely restaurant/coffee shop in the grounds offering Finnish fare. On fair weather there are tables outdoors too. Warmly recommended!

Joni Kamarainen (8 months ago)
Best traditional bakings - pulla and karjalanpiirakka munavoilla :-)

Paola F (9 months ago)
A fantastic example of time travel through the visit of many well-furnished houses in the style of the years from 1800 onwards. Staff very kind and friendly. It is possible to stop in the cafeteria to taste Finnish delicacies.

Tiina Uusi-Rasi (9 months ago)
Idyllic opportunity to take a peek at how Finland was at the time of industrialization and how people lived in cities way back in the time. Lovely short stories of the occupants and a small but worth it cafe-bakery.

Joonas Heloterä (10 months ago)
A very pleasant 1-hour walk through the Amuri and Tampere history of the near centuries. 7e soup lunch in the cafeteria absolutely worth!

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Porta Nigra

The Porta Nigra (Latin for black gate) is the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps. It is designated as part of the Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name Porta Nigra originated in the Middle Ages due to the darkened colour of its stone; the original Roman name has not been preserved. Locals commonly refer to the Porta Nigra simply as Porta.

The Porta Nigra was built in grey sandstone between 186 and 200 AD. The original gate consisted of two four-storied towers, projecting as near semicircles on the outer side. A narrow courtyard separated the two gate openings on either side. For unknown reasons, however, the construction of the gate remained unfinished. For example, the stones at the northern (outer) side of the gate were never abraded, and the protruding stones would have made it impossible to install movable gates. Nonetheless, the gate was used for several centuries until the end of the Roman era in Trier.

In Roman times, the Porta Nigra was part of a system of four city gates, one of which stood at each side of the roughly rectangular Roman city. The Porta Nigra guarded the northern entry to the Roman city, while the Porta Alba (White Gate) was built in the east, the Porta Media (Middle Gate) in the south, and the Porta Inclyta (Famous Gate) in the west, next to the Roman bridge across the Moselle. The gates stood at the ends of the two main streets of the Roman Trier, one of which led north-south and the other east-west. Of these gates, only the Porta Nigra still exists today.

In the early Middle Ages the Roman city gates were no longer used for their original function and their stones were taken and reused for other buildings. Also iron and lead braces were broken out of the walls of the Porta Nigra for reuse. Traces of this destruction are still clearly visible on the north side of the gate.

After 1028, the Greek monk Simeon lived as a hermit in the ruins of the Porta Nigra. After his death (1035) and sanctification, the Simeonstift monastery was built next to the Porta Nigra to honor him. Saving it from further destruction, the Porta Nigra was transformed into a church: The inner court of the gate was roofed and intermediate ceilings were inserted. The two middle storeys of the former gate were converted into church naves: the upper storey being for the monks and the lower storey for the general public. The ground floor with the large gates was sealed, and a large outside staircase was constructed alongside the south side (the town side) of the gate, up to the lower storey of the church. A small staircase led further up to the upper storey. The church rooms were accessible through former windows of the western tower of the Porta Nigra that were enlarged to become entrance doors (still visible today). The top floor of the western tower was used as church tower, the eastern tower was leveled, and an apse added at its east side. An additional gate - the much smaller Simeon Gate - was built adjacent to the East side of the Porta Nigra and served as a city gate in medieval times.

In 1802 Napoleon Bonaparte dissolved the church in the Porta Nigra and the monastery beside it, along with the vast majority of Trier"s numerous churches and monasteries. On his visit to Trier in 1804, Napoleon ordered that the Porta Nigra be converted back to its Roman form. Only the apse was kept; but the eastern tower was not rebuilt to its original height. Local legend has it that Napoleon originally wanted to completely tear down the church, but locals convinced him that the church had actually been a Gaulish festival hall before being turned into a church. Another version of the story is that they told him about its Roman origins, persuading him to convert the gate back to its original form.

In 1986 the Porta Nigra was designated a World Heritage Site, along with other Roman monuments in Trier and its surroundings. The modern appearance of the Porta Nigra goes back almost unchanged to the reconstruction ordered by Napoleon. At the south side of the Porta Nigra, remains of Roman columns line the last 100 m of the street leading to the gate. Positioned where they had stood in Roman times, they give a slight impression of the aspect of the original Roman street that was lined with colonnades. The Porta Nigra, including the upper floors, is open to visitors.

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