The Museum of Dolls and Costumes

Doll and costume plays, as you like it...
The mother of the Museum of Dolls and Costumes, Mrs Gunvor Ekroos,née Grahn (1907-1982) opened the museum in her home, in Haihara Mansion in 1966. There she had sheltered family treasures, antiquities, and art belonging to the Finnish upper class lifestyle. Since 1982 the museum has been run by the Haihara museum foundation.
The over five thousand dolls of the museum cover the whole doll universum. There are magical and antique toy dolls, fashionable paper dolls, stone age venuses, pin up barbies, mischievous puppets, Christmas crib and votive wax dolls, dolls' houses with their fragile inhabitants, china services, toys and even tiny Mexican fleas in festive attire.

Germain and French bisque dolls and a stable dollhouse 1910s.

Besides dolls, Mrs Gunvor Ekroos collected old dresses, accessories and textiles. Thousands of costumes, headgear and footwear, jewelry,bags and purses belonging to women, men and children, and home textilesfrom the 1700 century up to the present day have piled up in the museum.

Art Nouveau silk dresses 1910' from Stockholm and evening dress 1930s from London

The museum has found a new home at a beautiful cape of the lake Pyhäjärviin the Hatanpää mansion, surrounded by a rosegarden and an arboretum.The surroundings and the neo-renaissance mansion (*1883) offers a perfect settingfor the annually changing doll- and costume exhibitions and private occasions.

The history of the Hatanpää Mansion is closely linked to the founding of the City of Tampere.In 1775, King Gustav III of Sweden-Finland visited the Mansionwhich was owned by his friend the Paymaster General, Baron Hans Henrik Boije.Gustav III founded Tampere four years later in 1779.

Doll dishes 1880s Germany The Museum of Dolls and Costumes Hatanpää Mansion Hatanpään puistokuja 1 FIN-33900 Tampere Tel.int. +358 3 2226261 Email: nukke-japukumuseo@tampere.fi

EXHIBITIONS:
'Youth - history and rites' 'Doll antiques'.
The museum has a Summer Café in the rosegarden.

Open

22.4. - 1.10.2006 Tue-Sun 11 am - 5 pm

Mon closed

Open also by request

Admission Charge

Adults 5 e

Children 7-16 years 1 e

Students 1 e

Senior citizens 4 e

Groups (min. of 10 ) 4 e

Family, parents and 2-4 children 11 e

Guided tours by appointment 12-25 e

A Parian Doll 1850s.

Directions

The Hatanpää Mansion lies 2,5 km from the city centre. Drive along Hatanpäänvaltatie to Hatanpää Hospital and follow the signs or take bus 3,7 and 21 to the hospital bus stop and walk for 400m. Summer Cafe on site.