MINERAL MUSEUMS IN FINLAND

Mineral/rock museums or bigger collections in Finland

Edited by Markku Lehtinen, Research Geologist (Industrial Minerals), Ph.Lic.
Geological Survey of Finland, R
R & D department/Mineralogy and Applied Mineralogy,
P.O.Box 96,
FIN-02151 ESPOO,
Finland

Compiled and updated October 2022

Geological Survey of Finland / Geologian tutkimuskeskus - Geologiska forskningscentralen - with offices in Espoo, Kuopio and Rovaniemi. The main mineral and rock collections of GSF are in the main office at Espoo, near Helsinki. For further info of this museum go to its homepage.
Contact person: Mr. Pentti Karhunen, tel.: +358 205 50 2243.

Geological Survey of Finland has published a Gemstone map of Finland. If you click here you will see the map.

Each institute of geology (and mineralogy) in Finland has its own collections. The best collections for minerals, rocks and fossiles are situated in the department of geology and mineralogy, University of Helsinki (P.O.Box 11 / Snellmaninkatu 3, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki).
Now these belong to the Geological Museum of the Finnish Museum of Natural History.
Contact person: Dr. Martti Lehtinen, tel.: +358 9 191 23424.

Geologiska forskningscentralen, Esbo
Bergsmansvägen 5
02150 Esbo

Geologiska forskningscentralen, Kuopio
Neulaniementie 5 (Savilahden tiedepuisto)
70210 Kuopio

Geologiska forskningscentralen, Rovaniemi.
Lähteentie 2
96100 Rovaniemi.

All open for visitors.

Oulun yliopiston geologinen museo: Geological Museum, University of Oulu.

Good collections can be admired further at Åbo Akademi, Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, tel.: +358 2 265 4311 and University of Turku, Department of Geology, Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, tel.: +358 2 333 5489, both in Turku, SW Finland.
The best collection of minerals and rocks of other Finnish universities is at the Helsinki University of Technology, Laboratory of Engineering Geology and Geophysics, P.O.Box 6200, FIN-02015 HUT (location: Espoo near Helsinki), Tel.: +358 9 4511.

Tekniikan Museo (Museum of Technology/mining dept.). Displays of mining history in Finland with also rock and mineral samples. Address: Viikintie 1, FIN-00560 HELSINKI.

Other collections with minerals in Finland (this list is of course not a complete one):

Tankavaara Gold Prospector Museum, Tankavaara, Sodankylä, Finnish Lapland. Address: Gold Prospector Museum, FIN-99695 TANKAVAARA, FINLAND. Tel.: +358 16 626 171. Specialized in gold.

Open: 1.6.-30.9. every day 9.00-18.00
1.10.-31.5. Monday to Friday 10.00-16.00
Other times upon agreement

Kemi Gem Gallery at Kemi, SW Finnish Lapland. For further info (in Finnish only ): or information in English. Kemi Tourist Office (tel.: +358 16 259 465, 259 467) gives further info, too. This gemstone collections include more than 3000 samples.

The Gem Museum of Ylämaa, SE Finland. Address: FIN-54410 YLÄMAA, FINLAND. Contact person: Mr. Esko Hämäläinen (Ylämaa Gem Society), tel.: +358 400 391590. About 2000 samples.

Outokumpu Mining Museum in North Carelia - a special museum for the mining history of this world-famous copper mining area with also a representative collection of local minerals. For further info, please, call: +358 13 555 356 or contact: Outokummun Matkailu Oy, Kiisukatu 6, FIN-83500 OUTOKUMPU, FINLAND. Tel.: +358 13 554 793.

Heureka - The Finnish Science Centre, Tiedepuisto 1, FIN-01300 VANTAA, FINLAND. Tel.: +358 9 857 9288. In the Science Park you can see the bedrock of Finland in small scale. Similar type of fine outdoor stone display is to be seen at Ranua Zoological Park, S Finnish Lapland (Ranua-info, tel.: +358 16 355 1421).

Many local natural history museums etc. have mineral collections. Such can be found e.g. in Kuopio, Jyväskylä, Rovaniemi, Forssa, Kokkola and Seinäjoki.
Small Eräjärvi museum in Orivesi near Tampere has a good collection of pegmatite minerals from the famous Eräjärvi region complex- pegmatites (e.g. Viitaniemi). Further info from tel. +358 40 0605 704, +385 40 5439 603 tai +358 44 9910 216 Eräjärven kivimuseo, in finnish.

Some collections from private persons have been put for public display as e.g. at: Kokkola (Karleby), W Finland: A mineral collection (by Viljo Nissinen) in the assembly hall of the Town Hall. Tel.: +358 6 8289 111.

Stone Gallery own by Pekka Lunnikivi.

Lappajärvi Meteoritcentral / Lappajärvi meteorite museum in Lappajrävi. A 77 million year old crater with a size of 17 km and 150 m deep is the remains of the impact.
For information kontact Pohjanmaan Terveyskylpylä, FIN-62600 Lappajärvi. Phone 0358 (0)6-5615000.

Tampereen kivimuseo - mineral collections of Mr. Paavo Korhonen (at the assembly hall of Tampere town library - Metson. The Address is Tampereen Kivimuseo, Hämeenpuisto 20, Pl. 87, FIN-33211 Tampere. Phone (03) 219 6046. Opening hours Tuesday - Friday 9 - 5 p.m. and Saturday - Sunday 10 - 6 p.m.

Tampere Mineral Museum has on display the fascinating world of rocks and minerals. The 4.000 objects of the exhibition have been collected from 64 countries. Beauty and colourfulness were given preference in the selection of rocks with the intention of generating interest for the mineral kingdom.
The museum displays gemstones in cut and rough form, as well as synthetic stones. Specimens of useful minerals, ores, metals, building- and decorative stones are also on show as well as the envoys from outer space, meteorites. Dinosaur eggs are certainly the most exciting objects in the collection of plant and animal fossils. You can admire also seashells, corals and skilful stone carvings.
The number of Finish rocks and minerals on display is impressive. The more than 400 specimens include the oldest known Finnish rock that has been in existence for 3,136 million years.

  • -a 600-kg amethyst case from Brasil
  • -a group of quartz crystals weighing 500 kg
  • -an antitank-barrier rock from the Karelian Isthmus
  • -a 100-kg smoky quartz crystal from Luumäki
  • -a 300-kg rotating spectrolite ball propelled by water pressure
  • -an orbicular-stone table from kangasala

The collection was compiled, selected, set out and donated by Mr. Paavo Korhonen, M.Sc.(Eng).

Tytyri gruvmuseum, Lohja. Tytyri kalkstensgruva har sina rötter från1897 och är nu öppen för allmänheten som gruvmuseum och öppnades i maj 1988. . Besök hemsidan för mera information. Beträffande privata gruppbesök samt andra arrangemang kontakta: Lojo turistinformation tel. 019-369 1309 eller Lojo Museum tel. 019-369 4203.

Tytyri mine museum, Lohja. Mining has been a source of livelihood in Lohja since the 16 th century, when Gustavus Vasa, King of Sweden and Finland gave his permission to start the first iron mine in this country. Limestone was first excavated in 1897 and industrial mining began in 1911. It became partly subterranean in 1947 when great blocks were droped from the surface quarry to a crushing plant, 110 metres deeper. In 1956 all mining was under the ground. Today the miners work at 350 metres. The network of tunnels crisscrossning under the lake and the town is over 60 kilometres long. A museum demonstrating the work in Tytyri mine was opened on a level 110 metres below the surface, in May 1988. For further information call Lohja Tourist Information, telephone, 019-3691 309 or Lohja Museum telephone, 019-3694 203


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