Seurasaari Open-Air Museum, Helsinki, Finland

Seurasaari is a museum island, which consists of old, mainly wooden buildings transplanted from elsewhere in Finland and placed in the dense forest landscape of the island. The Open-Air Museum was founded in 1909. All the different provinces of Finland are represented in the well preserved old buildings and they give an overall view of Finnish countryside life from the 18th to the 20th century. At present, there are 87 separate buildings at Seurasaari Museum.

Seurasaari has also a variety of wildlife, especially birds, but also red squirrels and hares. It’s very popular place for citizens who want enjoy the peaceful outdoor atmosphere.

User Reviews

Maria Paz Fernandez Vitale (3 months ago)
Beautiful island to go walking. It is very well maintained!

Κέλυ Λιαράτσικα (5 months ago)
Very interesting island! It is worth a visit. It is a quiet place where you can relax, walk, eat and run!!! The houses are wooden and the landscape is like a tale.

Kaan Ozkan (6 months ago)
Very nice experience. You can reach easily with bus. No bicycles are allowed, but super for a walk or run. Fishing is forbidden as well as feeding the birds

H K (7 months ago)
Nice place to walk around. Beautiful views of Helsinki skyline. Couple of kilometers wal around. Old buildings and heritage.

Debaleena Sain (13 months ago)
In my short few days of visiting Helsinki, I got the chance to visit this one island and I could not have been more grateful! The island is accessible by public transport with a 20 minute beautiful walk from the bus stop. There is a small parking lot and bike rack as well. I visited in autumn, so it was not crowded. Got to see a few birds and squirrels even during this time. As the leaves were changing colours, the island looked incredibly beautiful. There are many walking trails, but no food places nearby (or not sure if those were closed due to off-season), so bring your own food for this short, beautiful, and quite hike.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright mixteri

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Bengtskär Lighthouse

Towering 52 meters above the sea, Bengtskär lighthouse is the tallest one in Scandinavia. The building started in in 1905 after the shipwreck of S/S Helsingfors and was completed in 1906. The lighthouse was designed by architect Florentin Granholm. On December a special petrol lantern, designed and built in Paris, was brought to Bengtskär and installed atop the tower.

German fleet bombarded Bengstkär in the First World War in 1914. Since the Gulf of Finland was heavily mined, it was not until 1919 that the surrounding seas were declared safe for shipping, that the light was lit again.

After the war the military value of Bengtskär increased as part of the defence system of independent Finland. In Second World War (1941) Soviet Union made a suprise attack to island. After a bloody battle, the small Finnish garrison emerged victorious. Intermittent repairs to the facility continued during the post-war period.

Seurasaari Open-Air Museum

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