Oulun kaupunki | City of Oulu    

 


THE FLOORS

MUSEUM OPERATION

THE DOGHILL

TURKANSAARI OPEN-AIR MUSEUM

FINNISH HOMEPAGE


THE STOREYS
 

  

The prehistoric time of Finland can be divided into three ages: the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages.

In Finland the prehistoric time started around 9000 B.C., when the first inhabitants arrived after the Ice Ages.

The prehistoric department tells for instance about the great significance of the seal in hunterer-gatherers' lives.

 

 

In the department displaying peasant culture, you will get familiar with keeping cattle,  popular clothing as well as the traditional styles of building.

 
The town history of Oulu started in 1605, when King Karl IX of Sweden founded the town. The history of the castle, which was located at the mouth of the River Oulujoki, is even older.

 


The scale model of the castle was made
by Col. Ahti Paulaharju in 1955.
 

In the excavations carried out in Linnansaari, where the castle located, has been found some artefacts from the 15th century.
The history of building the town is displayed by means of scale models. The biggest of them  (about 20 sq large) represents the town of Oulu before the war (1939-1944) in the year 1938.

 
   


 

A nuisance of the wooden town was fires, the worst ones of which occurred in 1822 and 1882 (in the picture). The copy of oili-painting by Hemmu Kesti.

mahapullo Olhavan lasiruukin tuotantoa

At the end of the 1700īs 12 glass factories were founded in Finland, among the the Nyby glass works at Olhava, in the district of Ii, in 1782. The founder of Nyby was the Oulu trader Johan Mattson Nylander.

A bottle manufactured by the Nyby glass works.

 
Factories of different industrial branches, for instance leather and wool mills as well as sweet plants have operated in Oulu.


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The way of living of officials and citizens of Oulu is  displayed in the museum from the Gustavian time of the 18th century to functionalism of the 1930's. A kitchen from the 1970's is also displayed.
 

The museumīs oldest silver exhibits are from th 1700īs. Before the goldsmiths of Oulu had their own guild they belonged to the Stockholm and Turku guild. Influences also came from them.

The silver mug was made by Anders Bruse, who lived in Oulu in 1670-80īs. The mug is decorated with tulips.
 

The exhibition presents the road of learning of people from Oulu from the 17th century until today - from small children's grammar school to Oulu University, which was established in 1958. In the 1970's a university student had quarters in an attic room.
 

The church department presents the
best-known church painters of the area, among others.

Here ypu can see some tools of a famous painter Mr Mikael Toppelius (1734-1821).

 



The location of the town by the sea made direct connections abroad possible. Oulu was quite an international town as early as the late 18th century. The wealth of the town was mainly based on tar and timber trade.

 

The Lapland department of the Northern Ostrobothnia Museum is a tribute to the life-work of Samuli Paulaharju (1875-1944), an author and a folklorist. His study is also displayed in the department.


 

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Published by:
Arja Keskitalo
curator