The Kuopio Museum was established in 1907 and it is the third oldest museum in Finland. The Jugend-style building, designed by J. V. Strömberg has been influenced by Finnish castles, such as Olavinlinna and the castle of Vyborg.
There are two museums located in the building: The Kuopio Cultural History Museum and the Natural History Museum. The permanent exhibitions of the Cultural History Museum provide information on the prehistory, settlement, local livelihoods, industry and the ways of life in Northern Savo. The smoke cottage, old-style coffee shop and Savo-style rowing boat tells a story of the area's history and traditions.
The Natural History Museum displays the ecological systems of the nature in Eastern Finland. The main themes are winter and summer. The most popular showroom is the mammoth interior, which shows the nature as it was 22 000 years ago. The botanical and zoological collections belong to the the most important collections in Finland.
The church of the former Franciscan monastery was built probably between 1515 and 1520. It is located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Old Rauma. The church stands by the small stream of Raumanjoki (Rauma river).
The exact age of the Church of the Holy Cross is unknown, but it was built to serve as the monastery church of the Rauma Franciscan Friary. The monastery had been established in the early 15th century and a wooden church was built on this location around the year 1420.
The Church of the Holy Cross served the monastery until 1538, when it was abandoned for a hundred years as the Franciscan friary was disbanded in the Swedish Reformation. The church was re-established as a Lutheran church in 1640, when the nearby Church of the Holy Trinity was destroyed by fire.
The choir of the two-aisle grey granite church features medieval murals and frescoes. The white steeple of the church was built in 1816 and has served as a landmark for seafarers.