City of Turku museum collections
The collections of the Turku City Museum tell the story of life in Finland's oldest city and its wide area of influence.
Museum objects from many centuries tell the story of people's activities in Southwest Finland at different times. They convey information about Turku's role as the former capital of the country and still an active port, a gateway to foreign countries.
Through objects, works of art, photographs, archival material, archaeological and natural history material, the collections provide a glimpse of life and memories of recent history.
The archival collection of the Turku City Museum includes material from the Middle Ages to the 2020s. The total volume is estimated at 2,500 shelf metres. It includes various private archives, poster collections, postcard collections, historical book collections and a wide range of thematic material such as "concert programmes", "theatre programmes" and "menus".
Museum archival collections play an important role in preserving documentary cultural heritage, as museums have the potential to act as custodians of documentary cultural heritage of local significance and related to the museum's recording responsibilities that would not otherwise be recorded.
To date, only a small part of the contents of the archive collection has been catalogued. Some printed products of Turku's printing houses originally catalogued in the collection have been published in the search service Finna, as well as a series of circus posters digitised in the summer of 2024. The contents will be updated as the cataloguing and digitisation work progresses.
Poster collections
The poster collections include the Circus, Concert and Show Poster series, the Theatre Poster series and the Film Poster series.The circus, concert and show posters date from 1830 to 1889 and the theatre posters from 1819 onwards. The film posters date from the golden age of Finnish cinema in the mid-20th century. They were donated by the cinema Kinopalatsi.
Historical book collections
The core of the historical book collection is the Old Literature collection, which was started when the Turku City History Museum was founded. It contains books from the 16th century to the 20th century.
The oldest known work in the collection is Franciscus Irenicus' Germaniae exegeseos volumina duodecim from 1518, which is in good condition.
The historical book collection also includes other books received as individual donations, and medieval coral book fragments. The oldest work is the rare Legenda aurea, an incunable dating from 1485.
About the archive collection
You can access the contents of the archive collection in the collection management system Aina. However, our extensive collection also includes many items that cannot yet be found via Aina or Finna. Please contact the Archives Collection if necessary.
Turku City Museum has an extensive collection of archaeological artefacts and samples, the accumulation of which began in the late 19th century. Today, the collection contains over 100,000 items.
The finds date from both the prehistoric period (before 1150 CE) and the historic period. As a rule, the collection contains finds and samples from archaeological investigations carried out in the Turku grid plan area.
The archaeological collection is used in various research projects and is displayed in museum exhibitions. Objects from the collection are also lent to other exhibitions.
Turku City Archaeological Finds on Finna
The City Museum of Turku publishes almost 40,000 archaeological finds on the Finna search service. The artefacts and their fragments that can be viewed in Finna are urban archaeological finds from all over old Turku. The most significant collection is from archaeological excavations near Turku Cathedral.
The cultural history collection of the Turku City Museum contains around 130,000 objects. The collections have been gathered since the early 1880s, mainly through donations and purchases. Nowadays, the collections are also being expanded to record contemporary phenomena.
The collections include costumes, medals, furniture, toys, vehicles, vessels and other objects from the 16th century to the present day. Most of the objects are from the Turku and Southwest Finland region. Extensive subcollections include items from the ceramics industry, the confectionery and canning industry and the pharmacy industry.
The cultural history collection is presented extensively in the permanent and temporary exhibitions of the Turku City Museum. The collection of objects can also be consulted in the collection management system Aina.
The City Museum has around 19,000 objects in its teaching and working collections. The teaching collection consists mainly of agricultural and domestic objects from the 1940s and 1950s in the Kurala Village.
Objects from the working collection can be found in the photographic, art, archive and artefact collections. These museum objects can still be used and touched.
The museum's collection of building samples includes material samples from buildings from the 1700s to 1900s, as well as tiled stoves, doors, windows and mouldings. The largest collection is made up of old wallpaper samples, which are available for all to see on Finna. The collection is the result of the work of the museum's building researchers during the renovation and demolition of buildings.
The natural history collection of the Turku City Museum contains around 23,000 different specimens, of which the majority, or 80%, are insect specimens. In addition, the collection includes stuffed birds and mammals, plant samples and bird eggs. The collection focuses on Finnish species, but also includes an impressive collection of exotic butterflies and other foreign additions.
The natural history collection is based on the Biological Museum's dioramas from 1907-08, but has since been supplemented by older objects. The oldest stuffed birds in the collection are thought to date from the early 19th century. The collection is not actively accumulated by the museum itself, but is mainly made up of donations from individuals and schools.
Turku City Museum's heritage plant collection is a "living gene bank" that focuses on plant varieties and strains adapted to local conditions. The cultivation of landraces helps to maintain biodiversity and traditional landscapes and to preserve cultural environments.
In addition to the original ornamental and useful plants from Kylämäki Village, the collection includes landraces and houseplants from Finland, donated since the 1990s.
The City of Turku's art collection contains more than 11,000 works. The collection spans from the 15th century to the present day. The oldest works are medieval woodcarvings and portraits from the 17th century, originally from the Turku Historical Museum (1881-1981) and later from the Turku Provincial Museum (1982-2008). In 1937, the City of Turku started a systematic collection of art.
Most of the art collection of the City of Turku is related to the cultural and art history of the Turku region. The focus of the collection is on contemporary art, especially sculpture and three-dimensional art. The works of Wäinö Aaltonen are part of WAM's core collection.
The art collection is managed by WAM Turku City Art Museum.
The photo collections include around 1.7 million photographs, from daguerreotypes to digital images, from the 1840s to the present day.
The collections have been accumulated since the establishment of the Turku City History Museum in 1881, mainly through donations. In the early years, the city's photographs were also acquired through purchases from J. Reinberg and Gustaf Welin, among others.
The collections have also been built up through the city's own photographic activities since the beginning of the 20th century. Armas Kaisla, a watchman, photographed the oldest museum objects. From the 1940s onwards, C. J. Gardberg captured the vanishing wooden town and Irja Sahlberg the manor culture of Southwest Finland.
Most of the collections are related to Turku and Southwest Finland. Turku's industry, villa culture, city life, families and events are key themes. The collection includes rarities such as a daguerreotype taken by Henrik Cajander in Turku on 3 November 1842, which is thought to be the oldest photograph in Finland.
Some of the photographs
Some of the digitised collections are available directly online. You can browse and access the photographs through the Aina collection management system and the national search service Finna. Most of the photographic material is freely available for downloading under a licence. The Daguerreotype collection can also be found on the international Daguerrobase service.
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Turku has a rich and varied tradition of public art. The city's public spaces, such as the riverside, parks and squares, are home to nearly 100 works of art. In addition, there are more than 80 public artworks in semi-public indoor spaces such as libraries, kindergartens and schools. In addition, around 1,000 works of art are deposited in the city's public spaces.
The public artworks are part of the City of Turku's art collection, which is managed by WAM Turku City Art Museum. We also act as an art consultant when the city commissions new public art.
The priorities and acquisition principles for public art are outlined in the Turku Public Art Programme (2022) (in Finnish).
The assessment and consideration of the environmental sustainability of public art acquisitions is supported by the Turku Public Art Eco-Guide (2025).
Care and maintenance of public art
WAM is responsible for the maintenance of public artworks in the City of Turku's art collections. Maintenance refers to the upkeep and, where necessary, conservation of the works.
Maintenance of works also includes measures other than those related to the physical characteristics of the work. The preservation of materials relating to the works and active communication about current projects and works in the collection are part of the work of the collection.
Learn more about WAM on the City of Turku Art Museum's website: wam.fi/
Collection programme
Browse collections
Developed to manage and search museum collections, Aina contains hundreds of thousands of objects, photographs, art and archival material. The public interface of Aina serves a wide range of users. Researchers, non-fiction writers and teachers can browse the material. Similarly, genealogists and people who want to map their own family history can search for familiar places in old photographs.
Finna is an information search service that provides free access to digital materials and collection catalogues from around 100 Finnish archives, libraries and museums. With a wide range of search functions, you can easily access millions of items for free. Finna is maintained and developed by the National Library of Finland in cooperation with libraries, archives, museums and other partners. The Daguerreotype collection can also be found on the international Daguerrobase service.