Brages friluftsmuseum

About the museum

The initiative for museum activities within Vasa Brage was taken in 1917 by the merchant Uno Finnilä, because the association’s sections needed a meeting hall. The city provided a plot of 9,200 square metres without lease. On the proposal of Professor Gabriel Nikander, the buildings of Harf farm in Böle village in Närpes were bought, as he considered it the most beautiful peasant farm between Närpes and Vaasa, and in 1922 the first buildings were moved to Vaasa. Models were Skansen in Stockholm and Fölisö in Helsinki, and the aim was a complete Ostrobothnian farmstead. The Brage farm was established in 1933.

Nine of the buildings come from Harf farm and were moved to Vaasa in the 1920s and 1930s. The main farmhouse, from around 1810, is a double-room cottage (parstuga), and the front room is furnished as an Ostrobothnian bridal chamber with bridal canopies, mirrors and a laid table for a peasant wedding in 1890. In the loft row is the girls’ clothing loft with colourful textiles.

There are 22 buildings in the area today. Four of them represent fishing, including a beach storehouse, a boathouse and a seal-hunting museum with a fitted fälbåt, and near the beach lies a jungfrudans (maiden’s dance), a stone labyrinth. The museum is maintained by the Brage Association in Vaasa r.f., which also organises events, courses and activities around the Swedish-speaking Ostrobothnian cultural heritage. The St Olav’s Trail, a pilgrimage route through Coastal Ostrobothnia, passes through the area.

Highlights

• Ostrobothnian bridal chamber with a laid peasant wedding table
• Girls’ clothing loft with colourful textiles
• Seal-hunting museum with a fitted fälbåt
• Jungfrudans, a stone labyrinth by the beach
• Lillstugan café with freshly baked waffles
• Audio guide and guided tours in Swedish, Finnish and English

Permanent exhibitions

• Österbottnisk brudstuga – The front room of the main farmhouse is decorated as an Ostrobothnian bridal chamber, with bridal canopies, bridal trousseau and a laid table for a peasant wedding in 1890.
• Flickornas klädloft – The loft row shows the girls’ clothing loft with colourful textiles, as a sign of the farm’s prosperity.
• Säljakt – The seal-hunting museum has a fitted fälbåt and rich pictorial material, including a large wall painting of the seal hunters’ methods on the spring ice of the Kvarken.

Founded

1933

Operated by

Föreningen Brage i Vasa r.f.

Admission & discounts

Admission during the summer opening includes a guided tour. Payment by cash, bank card or Museokortti (Finnish Museum Card).

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: not available
• Elevator: not available
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

All the museum buildings are hard to reach by wheelchair, as they have steps at the entrance and high thresholds. Cars with a disabled parking badge may drive onto the museum grounds. Lillstugan café has tables and chairs outdoors. Visitors with special needs can contact the museum in advance so that the guided tour can be adapted.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Kids’ birthday parties

The museum offers programmes for children and young people, drama guided tours, time-travel tours and a nature trail, as well as three school programmes for different year groups together with Stundars. Children’s parties with a programme can be arranged at the museum. The buildings have steps and high thresholds.

Getting there & parking

The museum lies about 2 km south of Vaasa market square, along the shore.

Amenities & dining

• Café

Lillstugan café in the yard is open during the museum’s opening hours and serves coffee, tea, squash and freshly baked waffles with whipped cream and raspberry jam.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events

Up to 30 guests.

Smedasgården, an old farm from Purmo that was moved to the area in 1990, can be rented as a meeting and party venue for up to 30 people. The kitchen has basic equipment, and a projector and conference camera are available.

Plan your visit