Mekaanisen musiikin museo

About the museum

The museum was founded by Liisa and Jürgen Kempf, whose interest in mechanical instruments began with an antique cabinet gramophone and a horn gramophone bought at an auction. They repaired, bought and sold mechanical instruments, and gradually the collection filled their home. The museum opened in summer 1981 in the former village school of Hiidenlahti in Tuusniemi. In 1988 it moved to Varkaus, where it opened on 1 April 1988 in a former old people’s home in the middle of a park, which the city offered to the museum.

The Varkaus building has an area of 1,200 square metres and contains seven exhibition halls, 800 square metres in total. The collection began with about 70 instruments; today it holds more than 400 mechanical music instruments and objects from the 1850s to the present day: music boxes, automatic pianos and orchestrions, from small pocket instruments to the 5,000-kilogram Goljat orchestrion, which imitates a 75-piece orchestra. Jürgen Kempf and his son Pawel restored Goljat over more than 2,000 working hours.

The museum describes itself as a family business and the only one of its kind in the Nordic countries. Visitors see the exhibition only on a guided tour, which the museum describes as lively and entertaining.

Highlights

• More than 400 mechanical music instruments from the 1850s to the present day
• Goljat orchestrion, which imitates a 75-piece orchestra
• Music boxes, automatic pianos and a street organ
• Seven exhibition halls in a former old people’s home
• Lively guided tour in Finnish, English or German

Permanent exhibition

• Mekaanisen musiikin kokoelma – In seven halls, more than 400 mechanical music instruments from the 1850s to the present day are presented during a guided tour.

Founded

1981

Admission & discounts

All prices include the guided tour of just over an hour and 10% VAT. Payment methods: cash, Finnish bank cards, Visa/Visa Electron, Mastercard, ePassi and Smartum. Group bookings can also be paid by invoice, in which case a €6 invoicing fee is added to the total sum.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Guide dogs and assistance dogs are welcome, by prior arrangement.

Kids & families

Children aged 5–15 pay €11; children under 5 enter free when accompanied by an adult. Pets are not admitted.

Getting there & parking

The museum is about 1 km from main road 23. In summer, the museum can also be reached by bicycle or by boat along the Taipale Canal; mooring spaces must be asked for in advance.

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Museum shop

There is no café at the museum; restaurants and cafés can be found in Varkaus city centre about 2 km away. The museum shop sells souvenirs such as postcards and records.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit