The National Museum of Finland

The National Museum of Finland is a national cultural history museum and its operations are governed by law. We engage in multidisciplinary, national and international cooperation with several partners and authorities to ensure that cultural heritage is preserved and its significance is communicated and strengthened. Our task of supporting cultural change has become increasingly important. Cultural change enables us to build an ecological and social future society with cultural well-being.

The National Museum of Finland contains the oldest and most comprehensive cultural history collections in Finland with approximately half a million objects. The artefacts illustrate Finnish history, folk culture and the culture of Finno-Ugric peoples as well as world cultures from various parts of the world. The National Museum of Finland also documents contemporary culture in Finland. The collections are mainly accumulated through donations. You can also participate in taking care of our common treasures or volunteer at the museum.

The National Museum of Finland was born when several collections were combined to form the State Historical Museum in 1893. As Finland became independent, the name of the museum, National Museum of Finland, was established. The building of the National Museum of Finland was completed in Helsinki in 1910 and opened to the public in 1916. At that time, the museum already included the Seurasaari Open-Air Museum, which was opened in 1909. Currently, the National Museum of Finland operates in a total of ten locations, and the museum collections are exhibited in other museums throughout Finland from the south all the way to Lapland.

Our programme consists of temporary exhibitions, short-term pop-up exhibitions and events as well as themed tours and workshops. Many of the events are implemented in cooperation with partners and the public. Our goal is to introduce versatile audiences to topical, interesting viewpoints to culture and history in a comprehensive fashion.

High-quality museum shops and a series of museum restaurants in keeping with the style of the locations serve visitors in our museums and castles. Our locations also have plenty of unique spaces that can be rented for private functions, such as meetings and banquets.