Kvarkens båtmuseum

About the museum

Kvarkens båtmuseum is Finland's largest boat museum and shows Ostrobothnian working boats from the years 1820–1993. In addition to boats and fishing gear, the exhibitions tell of seal hunting, log floating and archipelago life. The museum is located at the river mouth of the Malax river valley, a nationally valuable cultural landscape where traditional boathouses line the shores.

The collection comprises 92 working boats and about 3,000 catalogued objects, more than 130 boat engines, four snowmobiles and various pikkakälkar (early snow sleds), the forerunners of the snowmobile. Among the rarities are Zacharias Topelius's green rowing boat (julla) Gröngölingen from the 1800s and a reed boat from Bolivia, built on Lake Titicaca in 2008. The oldest boats are a small family boat built in Larsmo in 1850 and Paul Stoor's julla Korpen from Malax, which probably dates from the 1820s. Flat-bottomed oak dugout boats (ekstockar) are also shown, including one from Lappfjärd that has been dated by dendrochronology to about 1774.

The objects are presented in twelve buildings on the site: a boat hall, the fälbåt house, where seal hunting is shown, the skötbåt house for Baltic herring fishing, a motor hall, a net house, a fisherman's cabin, a log-boat house, a log-floating shed and other exhibition halls. During summer, changing theme exhibitions are arranged, and volunteer work meetings with coffee are held on Thursdays at 18:00 from early May to mid-September.

Highlights

• 92 working boats from 1820–1993
• More than 130 boat engines and pikkakälkar
• Topelius's rowing boat Gröngölingen
• Reed boat from Lake Titicaca
• Exhibitions on seal hunting, log floating and herring fishing

Permanent exhibitions

• Bruksbåtar och motorer – Ostrobothnian working boats, fishing gear and more than 130 boat engines, shown in twelve buildings.
• Säljakt och strömmingsfiske – The fälbåt house shows seal hunting, and the skötbåt house herring fishing.

Operated by

Malax museiförening

Admission & discounts

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• 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

Partly accessible for people with reduced mobility.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum is located at the mouth of the Malax river, on Åminnevägen.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit