Finland’s national open air museum was established, like those of other Scandinavian countries, in the period of Romantic nationalism before the First World War, at a time when Finland formed part of the [...] centre of Helsinki by the ethnographer Axel Olai Heikel (1851-1924), and illustrates the history of Finland in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries through a collection of more than 80 buildings from all parts [...] water-powered saw mill and a country store of 1871. The Kurssi farmstead shows how in some parts of Finland weaving was an important summer time occupation before the development of textile factories. There

characterises the changes that took place in industry in Finland, and in other European countries in the course of the 20th century. All cables used in Finland had to be imported until the Suomen Kaapelitehdas [...] wrestling gold medallist, who had studied at Karlsruhe and worked in the Urals, and returned to Finland when it gained independence from Russia in 1917. The factory was built to the design of the architect [...] light-coloured brick. The complex extends over 5 ha, and was reckoned to be the largest factory in Finland. From the early 1960s Suomen Kaapelitehdas Oy became more concerned with electronics rather than

The Maritime Centre Vellamo at Kotka is Finland’s national maritime museum, and is the responsibility of the National Board of Antiquities. It opened in 2008 and has a spacious boat hall and an auditorium [...] seating 200 people. Its main exhibition ‘North Star: Southern Cross’ tells the story of seafaring in Finland, explaining the nature of trading by sea, the achievements of explorers, and the history of passenger [...] safety and the marine environment. Since 2011 the centre holds an annual public event, the Gulf of Finland Village, when visiting research ships are open to the public.

Nakkila church in western Finland, designed by Erkki Huttunen and built in 1937 is regarded as an iconic building, and is the subject of a popular saying ‘by the Nakkila church’. It was paid for by a factory [...] cheese and buttermilk cheese, which is now a museum, showing the importance of the dairy industry in Finland. There are also sections showing how shoes and chairs were made in the early twentieth century, and

second oldest city in Finland. It stands as one of the best-preserved and architecturally perfect ironworks areas in the country presenting the early stages of in­dustrialisation in Finland with architectural

limestone to the rest of Finland and to Sweden, Poland and the Baltic states. The Finnish lift (elevator) manufacture Kone uses the mines for testing and is in the process of installing Finland's fastest elevator

Finland’s national forestry museum is located in the Punkaharju region in the south-east of the country, an area rich in woodlands and with a long history of working timber. The permanent exhibition is [...] Forest’, and shows how forests have shaped patterns of work and leisure, beliefs and the arts in Finland over many centuries. The buildings within the museum include a former railway station, used as a

Kangasala is a town in western Finland, 20 km from Tampere, in an area of spectacular scenery commemorated in the poem ‘Summer Day in Kangasala’ written in 1853 by Zacharias Topelius. The Vehoniemen Automuseo [...] illustrate the history of motor transport generally and pay particular attention to motor cars built in Finland. The museum is the location for many events, particularly for gatherings of bikers. The shop prides

Finland's Museum of Technology, founded in 1969 and opened in 1975, is housed in the historic waterworks buildings that were built in the 1870s for the Helsinki Water Board and closed in the 1960s. They [...] ano at the mouth of the Vantaa River. The museum uses interactive exhibits to tell the story of Finland's development from an agrarian society to a leading developer and producer of high technology on

Kuhala rapids in 1847. It was soon followed by a weaving mill, a yarn dyeing plant, and in 1861 Finland's first and for 60 years the only fabric printing plant. Initially, pattern designs and printing [...] and the studio department started at the factory in 1951. From 1934, the Forssa mills were part of Finland's largest textile factory, Finlayson. Finlayson fabrics were designed and printed in Forssa. During [...] gallery, focuses on contemporary and textile art. Forssa Museum was the Museum of the Year 2014 in Finland and a nominee for the Emya prize in 2015. In 2021, the museum opens a new site Pattern Centre, dedicated

Copper ores were discovered in the Outokumpu district of eastern Finland in 1910 by the German geologist Otto Trustedt. Mining began in 1913 when a smelter came into operation. The smelter ceased working [...] and crushing plant. Displays illustrate the development of geological prospecting and mining in Finland, and the life and work patterns of mining communities.

people in the new industries of Finland from around 1900 until the 1960s. The forestry and papermaking company Tornator began a factory on the River Vuoksi in south-east Finland in 1895. It built 20 apartment

buildings in countryside of fields and woodland in south-west Finland, built between 2005 and 2019. It explores the history of agriculture in Finland across 3,000 years. The main permanent exhibition is about

At Riihimaki, north of Helsinki, is Finland’s national museum of the glass industry. The origins of the museum were in 1961 but in 1980 it relocated to a former industrial building. This began in 1914 [...] designer Tapio Wirkkala. The focus of the museum is on the three centuries of the glass industry in Finland. The ground floor presents 4,000 years of glass production and explains methods of glassblowing,

The rural village of Killinkoski in southern Finland (300 km north of Helsinki) has been a centre for weaving fine ribbons and tapes since the early twentieth century. Many people still work in the Inka [...] Edith Rönnqvist became the ribbon factory manager – one of the earliest female industrialists in Finland. The museum displays samples of ribbons together with photographs and weaving machines in the original

history of industrial-scale peat production in Finland. The extraction and use of peat for energy production began in Aitoneva during World War II. Finland was lacking sources of energy due to the difficulties

Located in the industrial city of Vassa, this is Finland’s largest private car museum. Owned by Vaasa Vintage Car Society, it opened in 1981 and moved to its present building in 2010. It explores the history [...] rare Lancia Fulvia Zagato, the Volvo P1800S and the Triumph Spitfire. The exhibition also includes Finland’s first robot or driverless car, Marilyn 2.0. The floor above focuses on engine manufacturing in Vaasa

he returned to Scotland ten years later, the company he established became one of the largest in Finland employing more than 3,000 people in the late 19th century. Production on the original site, in a [...] exhibition describes how Tampere became the largest industrial city in the country, “the Manchester of Finland”. Impressive museum artefacts and photographs introduce visitors to the industrial enterprises and

same building with the Maritime Museum of Finland . After World War II Kymenlaakso was among the world’s leading paper producers. Nowadays South-Eastern Finland has one of the biggest industrial forestry

in a former shipyard which has a collection of about 100 vessels most of them built in south-west Finland. The trust which manages the museum was created in 1998 and the following year it brought about the [...] main display is entitled ‘Work at Sea’ and describes many aspects of the history of seafaring in Finland, including ship-building and the manufacture of marine engines. The ships are open to visitors only