Ylä-Savon kotiseutumuseo
The Ylä-Savo Local Heritage Museum in Iisalmi presents the everyday life of Ylä-Savo in a smoke cabin (savutupa) and in sixteen buildings on the museum grounds.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
In 1931 the Iisalmi city council decided to establish a museum, but the post-war hardship prevented the project. After the wars the local heritage ideal was revived, and the Iisalmi Local Heritage Association was founded on 17 November 1946. In 1954 the city handed over to the association a 2.5-hectare area south of the Paloisvirta for museum activities.
Construction of the museum grounds began in autumn 1954, when a farmhouse containing a smoke cabin was moved from Kumpumäki in Vieremä onto a cast concrete cellar. The museum opened on 15 June 1964. Afterwards other buildings were added to the yard, such as a windmill from Lappetelä, a net hut, a meat granary, a cowshed, a sheaf granary, a clothes granary and a smithy. A smoke sauna was moved to the grounds in 2016, a threshing barn in 2017 and a luhti granary in 2019.
The museum has been financially supported in particular by Olvi Oyj and the Olvi-säätiö (Olvi Foundation) it established. The permanent exhibition was renewed in spring 2024. The museum grounds have sixteen buildings in total.
Highlights
- Savutuvan muistot (Memories of the Smoke Cabin) exhibition on peasant life in the 18th and 19th centuries
- Over 300-year-old stove in the smoke cabin
- Eränkävijät, Elonkehrä and Muuttuva arki exhibitions
- Pimiö: photographs of Ylä-Savo by Ahti Rytkönen
- Sixteen buildings on the museum grounds
- Free admission
Permanent exhibitions
- Savutuvan muistot – The smoke cabin offers a view of the everyday life and housing of the peasant estate in the 18th and 19th centuries; at the heart of the room is a stove more than 300 years old.
- Pohjakerroksen näyttelyt – The Eränkävijät, Elonkehrä and Muuttuva arki sections present the past of Ylä-Savo from prehistory to the 1950s.
- Pimiö – The Pimiö (darkroom) presentation features photographs of Ylä-Savo taken by Ahti Rytkönen in the 1920s and 1930s; the show lasts about 20 minutes.
- Founded
- 1946
- Operated by
- Ylä-Savon kotiseutuyhdistys
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
Free admission to all exhibitions. Group guided tours are not charged separately.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible: no information
- 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
The exhibitions on the basement floor are reached by steep stairs, so they may be out of reach for people with mobility impairments.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
The museum is located in Iisalmi at Virrankatu 4.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Museum shop
The museum shop sells some history books and copies of maps of Ylä-Savo.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Photography | Photography is allowed in the permanent exhibition rooms, but the use of flash is prohibited. |
| Good to know | Free guided tours of the main exhibitions are offered to individual visitors as far as possible when the summer guides are free. For groups of more than 10 people, a special guided tour by the museum curator can be ordered by email (info@ylasavonkotiseutumuseo.fi) or by telephone 040 643 1472; group guided tours are not charged separately. School groups can book school visits to learn about local history; the teacher must accompany the class for the whole visit. Food and drink may not be taken into the exhibition rooms; packed meals can be eaten in the museum yard. |
