Västerbottens museum

About the museum

Västerbottens museum has its origins in the Westerbottens läns fornminnesförening (Västerbotten County Antiquarian Society), which was founded in 1882. At a meeting in 1886 it was decided that a museum should be set up in Umeå, and that year is counted as the museum's start. The southern collections were destroyed in the Umeå city fire of 1888, after which the museum moved several times, including to the new secondary school (läroverket) in 1901 and to a large storehouse by the harbour in 1911.

From the late 1910s the idea grew of a people's park with an open-air museum at Gammlia on the city's north-eastern outskirts. The local heritage society, founded in 1919, collected buildings and objects with Skansen as its model, and between 1921 and 1990 around thirty older houses were moved to the area from across the county. The museum building at Gammlia was designed by Bengt Romare and has been extended in several stages.

The Bildmuseet (Picture Museum) shared premises with the museum for a long time but moved in 2012 to a building of its own. The space that became vacant was used for the Sune Jonsson Centre for Documentary Photography, which opened in 2014. In summer 2022 Egilhallen opened with the interactive exhibition Hamnstaden Umeå. Today the museum shows permanent exhibitions on, among other things, the county's prehistory, Umeå's 20th-century history, textiles and building conservation, and its art collection comprises just over 7,000 works.

Highlights

• Sten, brons & järn: prehistoric life in Västerbotten, with the Kalvträsk skis, the world's oldest skis
• Hamnstaden Umeå in Egilhallen – an interactive exhibition about harbour life in the early 1880s
• Umeå – Minnen och framtid, about the city's 20th-century history
• Sune Jonsson Centre for Documentary Photography
• The Gammlia open-air museum with around thirty relocated buildings
• An art collection of just over 7,000 works

Permanent exhibitions

• Sten, brons & järn – Life in prehistoric Västerbotten, from the Stone Age hunters and gatherers to the Iron Age farmers and hunting and fishing communities, with archaeological finds, a reconstructed Stone Age hut and the Kalvträsk skis, the world's oldest skis.
• Hamnstaden Umeå – An interactive exhibition for the whole family in Egilhallen about harbour life in Umeå in the early 1880s, where visitors can work in the trading post, cook in the kitchen and load the toy boat.
• Umeå – Minnen och framtid – Umeå's 20th-century history told through objects and photographs, including the fight for the right to vote and an underground tunnel for the youngest visitors.

Founded

1886

Visitors per year

approx. 119,898 (2017)

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission to the museum is always free, and most of the programme is free too.

Accessibility

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

The main building has a lift to all exhibition halls and to the café, stairs with non-slip edges and contrast markings, and a sloping ramp from the reception to the west wing. Disabled parking is outside the entrance, and a wheelchair can be borrowed in the cloakroom. A hearing loop is in Bio Abelli. At the open-air museum there are paved paths, but several of the older houses have high thresholds and no ramp, and the outdoor ramps lack non-slip surfaces. Audio stations (ljudburkar) with information in Swedish, English and German are placed around the grounds. The café offers gluten-free and lactose-free options.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities

Family viewings of the exhibition Sten, brons & järn (from age 7, accompanied by an adult) and special programmes during school holidays. Egilhallen is a playful exhibition for the whole family where visitors can try the work of the trading post and borrow period clothing. Changing tables are at the entrance and at the Skaparverkstaden (Makers' Workshop); prams can be parked in the entrance hall.

Getting there & parking

Gammlia is signposted from the city centre and from the E4.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers
• Wi-Fi

Café in the main building with sandwiches, lunch and fika. Museum shop with crafts from the county. Free Wi-Fi for visitors on the network Vbm_guest (terms accepted on connection). Lockers free of charge at reception. Food you bring can be eaten outdoors at Gammlia.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events
• Weddings / ceremonies

Premises for conferences and events, including the Gammlia dance floor, and buildings at the open-air museum for weddings and parties. Enquiries about bookings to bokningar@vbm.se.

Plan your visit