National Museum of Finland

National Museum of Finland
National Museum of Finland
Location within Finland
General information
Classification	Museum
Location	Helsinki
Address	Mannerheimintie 34
Coordinates
Construction started	1905
Construction stopped	1910
Opened	1916
Client	Board of Public Building
Owner	Senate Estates
Height	tower 58 m
Technical details
Floor area	Exhibition area more than 3 100 m²
Design and construction
Architect	Gesellius, Lindgren, Saarinen
Main contractor	Master Builder August Pettersson and Master Builder Frans Johansson

The National Museum of Finland (Finnish: Kansallismuseo, Swedish: Nationalmuseum) presents Finnish history from the Stone Age to the present day, through objects and cultural history. The Finnish National Romantic style building is located in central Helsinki and is a part of the Finnish Heritage Agency (until 2018 the National Board of Antiquities) (Finnish: Museovirasto, Swedish: Museiverket), under the Ministry of Culture and Education.

Building

File:National Museum of Finland1.jpg

Original sketch of the building

The building of the National Museum was designed by the architect company Gesellius, Lindgren, Saarinen. The appearance of the building reflects Finland's medieval churches and castles. The architecture belongs to national romanticism and the interior mainly to art nouveau. The museum was built from 1905 to 1910 and opened to the public in 1916. The museum was named the Finnish National Museum after Finland's independence in 1917. After the last thorough renovation, the Museum was re-opened in July 2000.

Details of the building
Bear statue by Emil Wikström, 1910  The tower The tower  The other side of the building The other side of the building  Small turret Small turret  Another turret with animal reliefs Another turret with animal reliefs  Front door Front door  Back door Back door

The museum's entrance hall ceiling has ceiling frescoes in the national epic Kalevala theme, painted by Akseli Gallén-Kallela, which can be seen without an entrance fee. The frescoes, painted in 1928, are based on the frescoes painted by Gallén-Kallela in the Finnish Pavilion of the Paris World Fair in 1900.

Akseli Gallen-Kallela's 1928 frescoes in the entrance hall
Entrance hall Entrance hall  Forging the Sampo Forging the Sampo  Ilmarinen Ploughing a Field of Vipers Ilmarinen Ploughing a Field of Vipers  The Great Pike The Great Pike  The Defence of the Sampo The Defence of the Sampo

Exhibitions

The permanent exhibitions of the National Museum are divided into parts. There are collections of coins, medals, orders and decorations, silver, jewellery and weapons. There is prehistory of Finland, the development of Finnish society and culture from the Middle Ages 12th century to the early 20th century through the Swedish Kingdom Period to the Russian Empire Era, and Finnish folk culture in the 18th and 19th centuries with life in the countryside before the industrialisation among other exhibitions.

The collections also included the Mesa Verde artifacts from the cliff dwellings of Colorado. These were donated to the museum by the Finland Swedish explorer Gustaf Nordenskiöld. They comprised the most-extensive collection of Mesa Verde items outside the United States and one of the largest collections of native Americana outside the American continents. In 2019 it was decided to return a portion of the artifacts to the representatives of the indigenous people of the United States of America, with it agreed for some 600 items to be kept and exhibited.

Gas explosion in the Silver Room

On Monday 23 January 2006 there was an explosion accident at the National Museum in the Silver Room, which was caused by methane leaking into a broom cupboard from the drainage through dried floor drain and lit by a spark from the power distribution cabinet in the cleaning closet. There were two possible sources for the methane; a leak from a gas pipe under the nearby Museokatu street, or gas that developed on its own in the sewer. Later, police investigations found the cause to be a gas pipe leak. Most display cases and 49 pieces out of more than 200 silver objects in the museum's Silver Room were damaged in the explosion, although most of them only mildly. Nobody was hurt. All objects were successfully repaired the same year. The Silver Room was re-opened to the public in early 2007.

Gallery

Painted glass Painted glass  Finnish Stone Age collection Finnish Stone Age collection  Finnish Bronze or Iron Age collection Finnish Bronze or Iron Age collection  Medieval Finnish Christian art Medieval Finnish Christian art  Armor and weapon collection Armor and weapon collection  Weapon (and in the back silverware) collection Weapon (and in the back silverware) collection  Suontaka sword Suontaka sword  Tableware Tableware  Various objects Various objects  The Eura Dress (fi) of the Eura Matron (fi) The Eura Dress of the Eura Matron  Perniö Dress  Grand furniture and paintings Grand furniture and paintings  Alexander I's seat used at Diet of Porvoo, originally commissioned by Paul I at St. Petersburg in 1797  Museum shop and lounge Museum shop and lounge

See also

• Elk's Head of Huittinen, an eight to nine thousand year old sculpture exhibited at the museum.

External links

• The National Museum of Finland Homepage
• Emporis – The National Museum of Finland
• Panoramic virtual tour inside the museum
• Museum of Cultures Helsinki