135. Regional Travel #3.6 - National Museum of Finland
The National Museum of Finland (Suomen Kansallismuseo) was perhaps my favorite museum I visited on this trip to Helsinki. It's housed in a 1910 building in the center of town, complete with stained glass windows and ceiling frescoes from 1928. The museum was renovated at the turn of this century, but they preserved the century-old bullet holes in the front door to serve as a stark reminder of the chaos during the Civil War in 1918.
There are three floors inside, with exhibits that provide a comprehensive overview of the last 10,000 years in Finland. The basement exhibits focus on the prehistory of the area. Although this was one of the smaller galleries, I spent more time in these rooms than anywhere else. They had a great collection of stone axes, swords, burial items, and other archaeological artifacts on display, with some solid interpretation. I enjoyed the high-tech timeline that covers an entire wall - a moveable computer screen at the base of the timeline shows images of artifacts from whatever year it lines up with on the wall above.
The main floor covers the medieval period. Of course, these galleries include a variety of religious art, but also furniture, decorative items, maps, clothing, paintings, and a few reconstructed room interiors. The top floor covers more recent history, during Finland's Russian period (1809-1917). There is also a small exhibit on the first floor that tells the story of the indigenous peoples of northern Finland, as well as a photographic exhibit with images from around the country during the early and mid-20th century. After spending an afternoon here, I really felt that I came away with a better understanding of the Finnish people and their rich history.
There are three floors inside, with exhibits that provide a comprehensive overview of the last 10,000 years in Finland. The basement exhibits focus on the prehistory of the area. Although this was one of the smaller galleries, I spent more time in these rooms than anywhere else. They had a great collection of stone axes, swords, burial items, and other archaeological artifacts on display, with some solid interpretation. I enjoyed the high-tech timeline that covers an entire wall - a moveable computer screen at the base of the timeline shows images of artifacts from whatever year it lines up with on the wall above.
The main floor covers the medieval period. Of course, these galleries include a variety of religious art, but also furniture, decorative items, maps, clothing, paintings, and a few reconstructed room interiors. The top floor covers more recent history, during Finland's Russian period (1809-1917). There is also a small exhibit on the first floor that tells the story of the indigenous peoples of northern Finland, as well as a photographic exhibit with images from around the country during the early and mid-20th century. After spending an afternoon here, I really felt that I came away with a better understanding of the Finnish people and their rich history.
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