Skogster Museum, Tavastia Proper, Finland

4Mikael F 5:00 PM Aug 12, 2019

Hämeenlinna City Museum
This museum is located in a beautiful Art Nouveau building where was the Skogster department store opened in 1907. Downstairs is a museum shop and a small Hämeenlinna exhibition. The video showing the history of Hämeenlinna was the most interesting thing here. On the upper floor are changing special exhibitions and the Savings Bank Museum exhibition. On our visit, the special exhibition was Tales of the Spiritual World which contemplates supernatural phenomena. We were only visitors and in some points, the exhibition was quite scary. The sounds were so realistic. The entrance to this museum is free.

4Adventure 5:00 PM Jul 31, 2019

The upstairs temporary exhibition was the highlight
We visited the Skogster Museum as we were interested to see the exhibition which was about Hameenlinna's lacal area ghost stories, spiritualism and folklore. On arriving at the reception the lady behind the desk was very welcoming. She explain that the temporary exhibition was situated on the upper floor and the main museum was on the ground floor, the enterance was free. The upstairs exhibition was very good lots of things to see and all exhibits were well explained in English. I felt that the exhibition was aimed at all ages and a lot of effort seems to have been put into taking the subject seriously. Examples of the old beliefs were shown in various exhibits, and good explanations of how people believed various charms would protect them. Many tales of ghosts and haunted houses in the area as well as an effort to give rational explainations. On the same floor was also a bank set out in the times of the 1920's. The main museum on the ground floor consisted of items from Hameenlinna's history, you had to open cupboards and doors to see the exhibits again everything well explained in English. The first thing you find are various items of old fashioned clothes and hats which you can put on and have your photograph taken on computer. The gift shop had a very good choice of books, unfortunately not so many in English as I would have liked. I left with the feeling that whatever the temporary exhibition is at anytime, it would be well worth going to have a look as they seem to be able to give a good show.