Maritime and Naval Museums: Finland

Mariehamn, Åland

Pommern

Västra hamnen,
FIN-22100 Mariehamn,
Åland.

Telephone: +358 (9)28 531 420; 14 915.

Museum ship: Pommern (1903), a four-masted steel barque. Kept in sailing condition.

Ålands Sjöfartsmuseum

Hamngatan 3 [2?],
FIN-22100 Mariehamn
Åland.

Telephone: +358 (9)28 19930; +358 (9)28 16933
Telefax: +358 (9)28 19936
WWW: http://www.maritime-museum.aland.fi/

Opening hours: September — April, daily 10:00-16:00; May, June, & August, daily 09:00-17:00; July, daily 09:00-19:00. The museum, which was opened in 1954, exhibits many object from the last period of sail, among them the master's cabin from the four-masted barque Herzogin Cecilie.

Helsingfors/Helsinki

Hernesaari.

Russian Foxtrot-class submarine. Will be open for public in spring 1993. In active service until sold to some Finnish businessmen, who are making a museum of it. In full working order. According to one source, it will be turned into a restaurant.

Juliett U484 - Submarine Museum

Sillilaituri,
Hietalathi/Sandviken,

Telephone: +358 0 6936 1070

Opening hours: Daily 10:00-21:00.

Finlands Sjöhistoriska Museum/Suomi Meri Musea

Vrakholmen/Hylkysaari.

Telephone: +358 (9)0 135 5379
Telefax: +358 (9)0 135 4991.

Opening hours: May 2 — September 30, daily 11:00-17:00; October — April, Saturday-Sunday 10:00-15:00.

The museum is located on an island 3 km from the center of Helsingfors, it is possible to get there by ferry.

Museum ship:

A maritime museum covering mostly merchant history. There are also two halls with fishing and pleasure boats on display.

Sveaborg/Suomenlinna

Vargön/Susisaari

Opening hours: June — August, guided tours daily at 11:30 and 13:30.

Two km from Helsinki Centrum, about 15 min by ferry from Salutorget, pier 4-5.

The sea fortress Sveaborg was built during the 1750s on the islands outside Helsingfors/Helsinki by Augustin Ehrensvärd. The fortress is one of the largest sea-fortresses in the world, with some 2000 guns and 8000 men. Altogether there are 20 kilometers of fortifications.

The fortress was given up in 1808 after a short Russian siege and the entire Finnish squadron of the Army's Navy, 110 ships and boats, fell in hand of the Russians. governed by the Russians 1808-1917. Some part of the islands, fortifications and guns date from that time period. The combined English-French fleet was not able to take the fortress during in the Crimean war 1854. Today some 700 inhabitians live on the island s which are protected by Unesco. Read more about Sveaborg from Pauli Kruhse.

There are several museums on Suomenlinna:

Vesikko (1933), the last survivor of five Finnish submarines. Saw action in 1939-40 and 1941-1944.

Coastal artillery museum

Ehrensvärd museum

Telephone: +358 (9)0 668 154.

Augustin Ehrensvärd was the designer of the Sveaborg fortress. He was also a gunnery officer, artist, and a ship designer.

Naval academy

Permission is required for a visit. Finnish naval history 1700 - Guns, mines, machine guns, torpedo, uniforms, Models of ships and artefacts from the Russian frigate St. Nikolai, which was sunk at the Second Battle of Svensksund in 1790.

Jakobstad / Pietsaari

Jakobstads Museum

Storgatan 2,
FIN-68600 Jakobstad.

Telephone: +358 (9)67 7851 373; 85370/12495 [Old?].

Opening hours: daily 12:00-16:00.

The museum which is located in the former residence of the Malm trading house built in 1835-38, has a section on maritime history.

Museum ship: Jakobstads Vapen, a reconstruction of an 18th century brigantine designed by F.H. af Chapman.

Kotka

Kymmenedalens Landskapsmuseum / Kymenlaakson Maakuntamuseo

Kotkankatu 13,
FIN-48100 Kotka.

Telephone: +358 (9)52 2274433
Telefax: +358 (9)52 2274277
E-mail: museo@www.kotka.fi
WWW-server: <URL:http://www.kotka.fi/satama/htm /liik_gb.htm>

Opening hours: Tuesday-Friday 12:00-18:00, Saturday-Sunday 12:00-16:00. Closed on Mondays.

A provincial museum with permanent exhibitions on the Svensksund battles (1789 and 1790)

Museum ships: Opening hours: May 15 — August, Monday-Friday 11:00-18:00, Saturday-Sunday 11:00-16:00.

Kotka, Varissaari

Ruotsinsalmen museo

Museum of the Svensksund battles in 1789 and 1790 between the Swedish and Russian inshore fleets. Some 500 light frigates, galleys and gun-boats participated in the two battles. In the first battle of 1789 the Russian navy defeated the Swedish, but the second battle of Svensksund ended in a disaster for the Russian galley fleet which was completely defeated by the Swedish.

Kristinestad

Kristinestads sjöfartsmuseum

Salutorget 1
FIN-641 00 Kristinestad.

Telefon: +358 6 22 12859.
Curator Captain Jouni Harju: +358 6 2211713.

Opening hours: Open during the summer and as per agreement with the Curator.

The museum has a collection of local work boats and boat engines.

Malax

Kvarkens båtmuseum

Åminne,
FIN-66100 Malax.

Telephone: +358 61 3651 123 (Göran Strömfors)

Opening hours: June 20 — August, Tuesday - Sunday 09:00-14:00.

A local boatmuseum comprising three boathalls with together 40 boats and objects connected with fishing and seal hunting.

Savonlinna

Nyslotts Landskapsmuseum / Savonlinnan maakuntamuseo

Riihisaari,
FIN-57130 Savonlinna. Telephone: +358 (0)15 571 4712 Telefax: +358 (0)15 571 4717 E-mail: museo@savonlinna.fi
WWW: http://www.savonlinna.fi/sivistys/museo/museolaivat.htm

Museum ships:

Åbo/Turku

Sjöfartsmuseet vid Åbo Akademi

Vartiovuori,
Domkyrkotorget 3 [Old address?],
FIN-201 00 Åbo.

Telephone: +358 (9)21 2620 400.

Opening hours: April 16 — September 15, daily 10:00-18:00; September 16 — April 15, 10:00-15:00, Monday closed.

Museum ship: Sigyn (1867), a three-masted wooden barquentine. One of the few wooden sailing merchantmen left in the world.

Itäinen Rantakatu 48.

Telephone: +358 (9)21 654 116.

The Merchant Navy Seaman's School

Suomen Joutsen (1902), (The Swan of Finland) a three-masted steel full-rigged ship, ex-sail training ship and submarine mothership of the Finnish Navy.

Updated 2000-03-28 by Lars Bruzelius


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Copyright © 1996 Lars Bruzelius.