The National Museum of Finland - Helsinki, Finland
N 60° 10.488 E 024° 55.932
35V E 385284 N 6672674
The National Museum, in Helsinki, illustrates the 10,000 year Finnish history from prehistoric times to the present, including major archaeological finds. Both permanent and temporary exhibitions embark on a time-trip through the history of Finland.
Waymark Code: WMG6HK
Location: Finland
Date Posted: 01/20/2013
Views: 63
"The National Museum of Finland presents Finnish life from prehistoric times to the present.
The entrance hall has direct access to the prehistoric section where the museum visit can begin in chronological order. The hall leads to the Treasure Troves at basement level and also to the historical section The Realm, which continues on the second floor.
The visit leads to the ethnological section A Land and its People. The new permanent exhibition Suomi Finland 1900 on 20th century Finland and Finns. On the third floor of the museum is workshop VINTTI, open Tue-Sun 12 noon - 4 p.m." (
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"The permanent exhibition is divided into six departments:
The Treasure Troves present the museum's collections of coins, medals, orders, decorations, silver and weapons. The Prehistory of Finland is Finland's largest archaeological exhibition.
The Realm tells of the history of Finnish culture and society from the Middle Ages until the beginning of the 20th century. A Land and Its People presents rural life in Finland before industrialisation.
Suomi Finland 1900 the new permanent exhibition on 20th century Finland and Finns." (
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"The National Museum building was designed by the Finnish architects Herman Gesellius, Armas Lindgren and Eliel Saarinen.
They won the architectural competition for the project in 1902, and the building work was conducted mainly between 1905 and 1910. The museum was opened to the public in 1916.
The museum had been founded in 1893 as the State Historical Museum by combining several older collections and placing them in the care of the state.
The museum underwent thorough renovation between 1997 and 2000.
Renovation of museum 1997-2000
The building represents the prevailing museum architecture of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, according to which the various parts of the building reflect the nature of the collections and the different periods of architectural history in Finland. With its granite façade and steatite decoration, the building is one of Finland's most significant national-romantic works of architecture. The characteristics of the new architecture of the early 20th century architecture are visible in the interior.
The vaulted central hall leads to the various departments of the museum. Featured on the vaults are frescoes by Akseli Gallen-Kallela from 1928 on themes from the Kalevala epic: Sammon taonta (The Forging of the Sampo), Sammon puolustus (The Defence of the Sampo), Ilmarinen kyntää kyisen pellon (Ilmarinen Ploughs a Field of Vipers) and Iso hauki (The Great Pike). They are based on the frescoes painted by Gallen-Kallela for the Finnish pavilion of the Paris World Exposition of 1900." (
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