Raahe Museum (or the Museum of Raahe) is the oldest

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

local history Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small bu ...

and culture in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. The museum is located in the town of

Raahe Raahe (; sv, Brahestad; ) is a town and municipality of Finland. Founded by Swedish statesman and Governor General of Finland Count Per Brahe the Younger in 1649, it is one of 10 historic wooden towns (or town centers) remaining in Finland. Examp ...

, in

Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...

province.

History

The Museum of Raahe was founded in 1862 by Carl Robert Ehrström. From the beginning of the 20th century, the museum has been located in the old

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

house, which was built in 1848 and originally acted as a place for hiring seamen during the period of sailing ships. The building has been preserved almost in its original condition.

Collections

The collection found in Raahe Museum reflects the history of Raahe as a town of ship builders and seafarers. The main collection of the museum consists of donations made in the 19th century. These encompass unusual natural items and other objects from foreign countries, including exotic souvenirs brought to Raahe by

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

s. The collection has been expanded to include items of

cultural history Cultural history combines the approaches of anthropology and history to examine popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. It examines the records and narrative descriptions of past matter, encompassing the ...

, with many relating to Raahe's history. Many of these items, such as the miniature sailing boats and paintings thereof, reflect the maritime history of the town. The collection also includes weapons, coins, textiles and toys from different eras.

Rarities

There are several rarities among the artifacts such as the

wooden sculptures Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin tha ...

which were made for the first church of Raahe in the 17th century. These colourful and unique sculptures were made by a French sculptor,

Mikael Balt Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

, who was invited to work in Raahe by the

burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief m ...

, Henrik Corte, in 1655. They date from

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and mostly represent the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style. Balt's sculptures in the Raahe Museum include angels, saints and many other figures and symbols from the Bible.

The Old Gentleman

:''InterWiki: fi'' The most famous treasure of the museum is "The Old Gentleman", the oldest surviving

diving suit A diving suit is a garment or device designed to protect a diver from the underwater environment. A diving suit may also incorporate a breathing gas supply (such as for a standard diving dress or atmospheric diving suit). but in most cases the te ...

in the world. It was made of calf

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...

and dates from the 18th century. Its exact origin is unknown but the foot parts suggest a Finnish origin. The suit, which was used in short underwater work like checking the conditions of the bottom of a ship, was donated to Raahe Museum by Captain Johan Leufstadius (1829–1906), who was a master mariner, merchant and ship owner. The conservator of Raahe Museum, Jouko Turunen, tailored a perfect copy of the old suit in 1988, suitability called ''The Young Gentleman''. The copy has been successfully tested underwater several times.

Other museums operated by Raahe Museum

The Raahe Museum also operates The Shipowner's Home Interior Museum and The Old Pharmacy Museum, which are both situated in the centre of the town near the Museum of Raahe. Ojala Homestead Museum, Olkijoki Armistice Cottage and Saloinen Museum in the wider Raahe area are also operated by Raahe Museum.

External links

References

{{Authority control History museums in Finland Raahe Museums in North Ostrobothnia 1862 establishments in Finland Museums established in 1862