Museums in Ostrobothnia

Granösund Fishing Museum

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Did you know...
On the museum area can be seen unusually many types of roof: the shake roof, the birchbark roof, the cane roof, the stave roof and the tin roof.

The Granösund Fishing Museum is an open-air museum situated on a beautiful location in Södra Vallgrund in the Korsholm archipelago. The museum portrays islander life in the time, when the majority of the population gained its livelihood through fishing, seal hunting, farming and handworks.

In the Granösund Fishing Museum one gets an idea about the islander life of old times in Replot. Around ten old buildings from different parts of the Replot archipelago have been relocated on the museum area, for instance a cottage possibly dating back to the 18th century, a boathouse, a fish sauna, a cattle lodge and a loft. The cottage has been furnished with artefacts that have originally been found in similar surroundings. The museum originated from the desire to protect the remaining fish saunas of the outer skerries, that were about to deteriorate when traditional fishing began to lose its meaning. The fish saunas served as the fishermen’s overnighting cottages during the fishing season that lasted from June to September.

The fishers gained most of their income especially through fishing of the Baltic herring. In the boathouse are displayed boats and fishing equipment, that were used for fishing far in the open sea. Here you can see for example a very rare three-sided boat dating back to 1864. The catch was handled in the salting room and preserved in salt. The draught was after that tightly packed in barrels and transported to Vaasa to be sold.

During the winter months both winter fishing and seal hunting were practised. Meat and leather were obtained from the seals, but the main reason for hunting seals was to stop the seal population growing too large in order to keep the seals from eating the fish caught in the nets. In the seal hunting house you can get acquainted with the equipment, that was used by the seal hunters during their several weeks lingering hunting trips on the ice of the Gulf of Bothnia. Here you can see for example a seal boat – the fishermen’s home for the whole trip – which was built to go on the ice as well as in the open water.

There is also a right-of-occupancy cottage from the 19th century on the area, along with a house across the yard containing a food granary and a log shed, a carpenter’s workshop, a cowshed, a beach shed, a loft and an exhibition lounge. One of the oldest items in the museum is the sailor’s trunk from the year 1697. In addition to that the museum has in its collections possibly one of the oldest snowmobiles in the world, but the exact year of its manufacture is not known.

In the summertime various handwork presentations are arranged, usually on Thursday evenings in July. These can be making of red ochre paint, planing of shakes, forging and net weaving. During these evenings coffee and homemade buns are sold, sometimes even broiled or smoked fish. Other summer events are for instance the Island Day arranged together with the museums of Replot and Björköby. Upon request guidances and handwork presentations can also be arranged for groups and school classes.