Prison Museum, Hämeenlinna, Finland

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 in the former premises of the provincial prison of Häme. When the building was finished in 1871, it was the first prison in Finland with cells, and it was used until the 1993. The museum was opened to the public in June, 1997. The building was designed by the architect L. I. Lindqvist. The museum features a permanent exhibition and changing exhibitions. For more details, take a look at the museum's calendar of events. Special exhibition: elementary studies in prison. In this exhibition, you can find answers to questions about how and why reading, writing and basic mathematics were taught in prisons. Paid guided tours available only if booked in advance.

User Reviews

Hilary P (10 months ago)
Some marvelous town history of Hameenlinna, video stories, artifacts and some modern art upstairs.

Marina (19 months ago)
Great exhibition about 60s! I liked the video about history of the city!

Colin B (21 months ago)
A real gem in the centre of Hämeenlinna, great large screen film showing the history of the town, and upstairs currently a "swinging 60's" exhibition, everything well displayed and presented, staff very knowledgeable.

Antti Helin (3 years ago)
Fun little museum, but not much to see. Exhibit texts are predominantly only in Finnish. I'd only recommend with Museokortti.

María Andrea Cruz Blandón (3 years ago)
Staff was very friendly and helpful.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Michel Couprie

Historic Site of the week

Briançon Fortress

The historical centre of Briançon is a strongly fortified town, built by Vauban to defend the region from Austrians in the 17th century. Its streets are very steep and narrow, though picturesque. Briançon lies at the foot of the descent from the Col de Montgenèvre, giving access to Turin, so a great number of other fortifications have been constructed on the surrounding heights, especially towards the east.

The Savoyards made two raids into French territory in 1691 and 1692. As a result, Vauban was dispatched to inspect the frontier defences, which had been ill-equiped to deal with the attack from Savoy. He returned to the area in 1700 to check on the progress that had been made since his first visit. When Vauban visited Briançon, work on the defences had already started under a local engineer, Monsieur d"Angrogne in 1692.

Prison Museum

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Briançon Fortress