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Studio
The most celebrated artist of the National Romantic era, Akseli Gallen-Kallela painted most of his famous Kalevala works in this studio , which he also designed and helped build. It’s still owned by his family, who organise good exhibitions in summer. To get here, follow Route 66 5
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Strömfors Ironworks
On the edge of Ruotsinpyhtää village, Strömfors Ironworks is one of Finland’s oldest bruks, dating back to 1698. Today its red-stained buildings are an open-air museum amid a patchwork of forest, rivers and bridges. The Forge Museum has two sections: an old smith’s workshop and the
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Sibeliuksen syntymäkoti
Johan Julius Christian (Jean) Sibelius was born in Hämeenlinna in 1865 and was schooled here, but the town makes surprisingly little fuss about it. His childhood home is a small museum containing photographs, letters, his upright piano and some family furniture. It’s a likeable pla
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Radio
This radio and television museum, on a hill by the radio mast just south of the town centre, has an interesting history of those appliances in the basement. The entrance level has a feast of interactive exhibits. Some, like classic ‘60s Finnish TV hits, won’t keep you long, but the
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Vakoilumuseo
The offbeat spy museum under the Finlayson Centre offers a small but well-assembled display of devices of international espionage, mainly from the Cold War era. As well as histories of famous Finnish and foreign spies, it has numerous Bond-style gadgets and some interactive display
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Werstas
This worthwhile labour museum has a variety of changing exhibitions covering social history and labour industries. The permanent exhibition consists of three parts: a reconstruction of various historically typical Finnish workplaces – a shop, a printing press; an in-depth focus on
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Savonlinna Maakuntamuseo
The town’s provincial museum, in an old Russian warehouse near Olavinlinna Castle, tells of local history and the importance of water transport. There are old photographs, models and a changing art exhibition. Here also is Nestori , a national parks information centre, and a select
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Pielisen Museo
Over 70 Karelian buildings and open-air exhibits at this outdoor museum are organised by century or trade (such as farming, milling, fire-fighting). A fascinating insight into the forestry industry includes a look at a logging camp and floating rafts and machinery used for harvest
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Gallen
Part castle, part studio, this was the home of Akseli Gallen-Kallela, one of Finland’s most significant artists. Many of his works are displayed here including his famed Kalevala illustrations. The peace of the lakeside location is a little disturbed these days by the whoosh of the
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Mailboat Museum
Inside the historic Post och Tullhuset in Storby, this small museum tells the story of the Mail Rd between mainland Sweden and Finland. Between 1638 and 1895, local farmers were called upon to transport thousands of letters each week across the Åland sea. The most treacherous time
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Samiland
Attached to the Levi Panorama hotel at the top of the main ski lift, this museum is a Unesco project. The very worthwhile exhibition gives plenty of good multilingual information on the Sámi, including details about their traditional beliefs and reindeer herding, accompanied by exc
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Lahden Historiallinen Museo
Lahti’s historical museum is in a beautiful old manor house by the bus station. Changing exhibitions illustrate aspects of Lahti’s history, while the middle floor is mostly devoted to the collection of former diplomat Klaus Holma. It’s a treasury of French and Italian religious art
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Paikkari Cottage
Twenty-three kilometres northwest of Lohja, and 5km north of the village of Sammatti, just off Rd 104, is Paikkari Cottage, the birthplace of Elias Lönnrot, compiler of the Kalevala . It’s an endearing cottage set amid summer-flowering meadows that would have motivated Lönnrot’s Ar
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Kierikki
This excellent museum is set by the Iijoki, whose banks are riddled with Stone Age settlements that have provided archaeologists with valuable information about this period in the Nordic lands. The communities made a comfortable living fishing and sealing, using surplus production
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Vankilamuseo
Häme Castles old cellblock, last used in 1993, has been converted into a prison museum where you can visit a solitary confinement cell or see graffiti left by former inmates. Most interesting are three cells left more or less as they were when the inmates departed, along with a bri
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Jan Karlsgårdens Friluftsmuseum
At this sprawling open-air museum next to Kastelholms Slott, you can stroll around traditional 18th- and 19th-century Ålandic buildings, including windmills and a smoke sauna. The museum shops guidebook (€2) is invaluable for background on each building.By the entrance, the small F
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Turun Taidemuseo
Turku Art Museum is housed in a striking granite building with elaborately carved pilasters and conical turrets. Much of the art is modern, though the Victor Westerholm room offers traditional Finnish landscapes. Gunnar Berndtson’s Kesä (Summer) is an idyllic depiction of sunny Suo
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Sjökvarteret
At the northern end of Österhamn, Sjökvarteret has long been devoted to boat-building. You can stroll along the quay, lined with traditional schooners, and perhaps see boats under construction. The museum , with exhibitions on ship-building (no English information), is located in a
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Finlayson Centre
Tampere’s industrial era began with Scot James Finlayson, who established a cotton mill by the Tammerkoski in the 1820s. Later it grew massively and was the first building in the Nordic countries to have electric lighting, which started operating in 1882. It has now been sensitivel
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Petkeljärvi Nature Centre
Petkeljärvi Nature Centre , in the heart of the Petkeljärvi National Park, is an excellent retreat. As well as tent and caravan sites, there’s a modern lodge building with kitchen, a cafe, sauna, and boats and canoes for use on the lake. Park information, including maps, is also av
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