Museum of Northern Ostrobothnia, Oulu, Finland

The museum of Northern Ostrobothnia was established in 1896. The basic exhibition will tell you the history of the city of Oulu and its surroundings. Between the years 1911-1929 the museum operated in an old wooden villa Villa Ainola, which was destroyed in a fire on July 9th, 1929. Some of the collections of the museum were also destroyed. Soon after the fire the current museum building was started to be built on the site of the old villa. The new stone house was completed in 1931. The building was designed by a Finnish architect Oiva Kallio.

The basic exhibition extends in the all other floors of the building except the bottom floor, which is dedicated to the changing exhibitions and an exhibition for the children. The exhibition for the children is which is based on the Doghill books by Finnish children's author Mauri Kunnas. The ground floor hosts a large scale model of Oulu city centre in the year 1938 before the bombings of the World War II.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Arsi Häggman (3 years ago)
Suprisingly kids enjoyed here much. Partly because of toy museum with activities and Doghill "Koiramäen lapset" exhibition.

Adrian Agus Setiawan (3 years ago)
interesting facts about Oulu and Finland history, could use some renovations to attract kids and students0

dan ben (4 years ago)
Fantastic and fascinating museum. We really enjoyed our time here and learnt a lot about the local area and history

Alan Pembshaw (4 years ago)
An excellent cultural museum centring on Oulu and its surrounding area from the stone age to the present. Has a great model of Oulu in the mid 1930s when the city had only about 20000 people. If you have time to visit here, also go to the Art Museum on the other side of the park. Well worth a visit.

Bobsmei Bontilao (4 years ago)
A big exhibit of Finnish history of the region. From the stone age to the present. A view of the way of life of the region and hoe Oulu came to be. Truly an educational tour and a must visit for all history-loving tourist and locals alike.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright joiseyshowaa

Historic Site of the week

Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.

The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use.

The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A 'main street' connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages.

Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.

At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as Pictish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead.

In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

Museum of Northern Ostrobothnia

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Great Spa Towns of Europe

History of Guernsey & Jersey

Most beautiful castles in Lithuania

Historic Site of the week

Broch of Gurness

Looks like you are a history fan!