Maritime Centre Vellamo, Kotka, Finland

Maritime Centre Vellamo is a unique building in Finland with a wave-like roof. It houses the Maritime Museum of Finland, Museum of Kymenlaakso and Information Centre Vellamo.

The Maritime Museum of Finland is a national maritime museum operating under the National Board of Antiquities and the Ministry of Education, destined to record the history of seafaring in Finland and to convey related information. The Maritime Museum collects and preserves items, photographs, archival material and literature pertaining to seafaring and boating.
In its main exhibition “North Star, Southern Cross”, the Maritime Museum of Finland tells about the history of seafaring in Finland, focusing on issues such as life of seafarers, development of ships, maritime trade, and travelling by sea. The main exhibition also covers the speciality of Northern seafaring, winter shipping and ice.

The Museum of Kymeenlaakso records, studies, preserves and presents the cultural legacy of Kotka and the entire region of Kymenlaakso. The foremost themes of the main exhibition Flow are efficiency as well as the relationship between an individual and the community. These themes are approached from a number of angles, and the topics covered include perception of time, significance of money, boundaries and crossing them, beauty, immortality, work and having fun.

There’s also an icebreaker Tarmo located outside the Vellamo. Built in 1907, it’s one of the oldest still surviving icebreakers in the world.

User Reviews

Lukas Toropainen (2 years ago)
It's alright, the icebreaker Tarmo was pretty interesting (especially with the tour) but the rest of the exhibition didn't have too much to offer other than some old boats on display. Worth visiting if you're in Kotka or are driving by though, especially if you're interested in ships, maritime history etc.

Christian Greiner (2 years ago)
We had a wonderful time in the museum, including 2 kids (2 and 5 years). It is very big, meaning we didn't have the time to see all the exhibition pieces, especially the extra exhibition the museum had to offer. The extra cost for the two ships on the outside was absolutely worth it. (Especially the ice-breaker was impressive) Also the restaurant had good food, even for vegetarians, and the price is good.

Antti Kaunismäki (2 years ago)
Very comprehensive view on Finnish maritime history in the permanent exhibitions. The building also houses the museum of the Kymenlaakso region.

John Gathard (2 years ago)
A very comprehensive series of displays. Boats, a couple of Aircraft used by the coastguards both prewar and postwar. Archeology, Forestry, Paper industry, Interesting displays for children to get involved with. Excellent description of the Sweden v Russia naval battles in the 18c artefacts. Finland's Maritime history. And computer generated video. Excellent restaurant. One of the best museums I've ever seen.

Gamze Örs (2 years ago)
Nice place to visit. If you come to Kotka one day, don’t forget to visit Maritime Center Vellamo? Also they have really nice restaurant&cafe.. You can take cool pictures ?

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright R. Van Wallendael

Historic Site of the week

St. Martin Rotunda

The Chapel of St. Martin is the only completely preserved Romanesque building in Vyšehrad and one of the oldest in Prague. In was built around 1100 in the eastern part of the fortified outer ward. Between 1100 and 1300, the Rotrunda was surrounded by a cemetery. The building survived the Hussite Wars and was used as the municipal prison of the Town of the Vyšehrad Hill.

During the Thirty Years’ War, it was used as gunpowder storage, from 1700 to 1750, it was renovated and reconsecrated. In 1784, the chapel was closed passed to the military management which kept using it as a warehouseand a cannon-amunition manufacturing facility. In 1841, it was meant to be demolished to give way to the construction of a new road through Vyšehrad. Eventually, only the original western entrance was walled up and replaced with a new one in the sountren side. The dilapidating Rotunda subsequently served as a shelter for the poor.

Maritime Centre Vellamo

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

St. Martin Rotunda