The Forestry Museum of Lapland illustrates the colourful but exhausting life of lumberjacks, horses, housekeepers, and raftsmen. It is located on the shores of Lake Salmijärvi in Pöykkölä in Rovaniemi.
The Forestry Museum of Lapland focuses on the era of labour intensive forestry in Lapland from the 1870s until the 1960s and 1970s, when the industry became more mechanized. The museum grounds feature genuine lumberjack cabins, forestry tools, log-floating equipment, and forest machinery. Cabins and other buildings have been transferred into the area from various locations in Lapland and each cabin, stable, and sauna has its own interesting story to tell. Each item also has its individual story: one of the most interesting must be that of the Samperi steam locomotive that was used at the first mechanized forestry site in Finland and is now on display in the museum.
Ahmakuusikko cabin dating from the 1950s was transferred from Hirvas in the municipality of Rovaniemi. This double-ended standardised cabin could accommodate fifty men. The cabin also featured separate drying facilities, kitchen, and room for the housekeepers.
The horsemen’s cabin is a typical example of the lumberjack life of the 1910s and 1920s. Up to twenty men stayed over the winter in this crowded and cold cabin that represents the initial stage of such life. The luxuries in the cabin include a glass window and dining table. The cabin had no adjacent sauna or toilet.
The Forestry Museum of Lapland is maintained by Lapin Metsämuseoyhdistys, the Forestry Museum Association of Lapland, which opened the museum in 1968.
Book guided tours from museum in advance.
Contact information:
Metsämuseontie 7, 96460 Rovaniemi
email: lapinmetsamuseo(at)gmail.com
tel. +358 (0)40 53 600 80