In 2017, Vapriikki was named Museum of the Century.
Vapriikki’s birthday will be celebrated together with museum visitors on Sunday 15 November. On this special day, visitors will have the chance to learn about the history of the museum centre through special guided tours and also to take a peek into areas that are usually closed to the public. The day’s programme is included in the Vapriikki admission fee, which, in honour of the anniversary, is just 11 euros for adults.
Vapriikki is housed in Tampella’s former lower workshop, the oldest parts of which date back to the 1880s. The large factory halls were built in the early 20th century. Industrial work continued in the building for decades, until the last lathes fell silent in the early 1990s.
However, Tampella’s industrial history had begun much earlier. In 1844, a small blast furnace was established in the area. In 1856, an engineering workshop and a flax mill were established on the banks of the rapids; these merged in 1861 to form Tampereen Pellava- ja Rautateollisuus Osakeyhtiö. Oy Tampella Ab grew into a diversified company, becoming known for its locomotives, turbines and flax products, amongst other things.
As industrial production moved out of the old buildings, a new kind of complex began to take shape in the Tampella area. The establishment of Vapriikki was part of the transformation of Tampere’s old city centre, where historic factory buildings were given a new lease of life through cultural and museum use. Vapriikki was Finland’s first museum city centre, an exceptionally bold new innovation. Under the leadership of Museum Director Toimi Jaatinen, an attractive concept was developed that brought together the operations and collections of the City of Tampere’s separate museums. Alongside the exhibitions, the museums’ collection, research and conservation activities, as well as visitor services, were developed. The aim was to offer, under one roof, a variety of ways to explore history, artefacts, images and phenomena.
Over the course of three decades, Vapriikki has grown into one of Finland’s largest museums. Over the years, the historic factory halls have hosted numerous exhibitions and a wide variety of events. Local history remains at the heart of Vapriikki, but many people now know the museum centre particularly for its international exhibition collaborations, which have brought such museum gems to Tampere as the Terracotta Army and the Treasures of the Chinese Emperors, Songlines – Australia’s Seven Sisters, and Once Upon a Time, a Story of the Origin of Fairy Tales.
The building’s industrial history remains very much in evidence. This is evident in Vapriikki’s brick walls and spacious factory halls, which have been given a new lease of life as a museum centre. Vapriikki itself has also changed over the decades. The museum centre’s premises have been refurbished, its exhibition activities have expanded, and the public has been offered ever-new ways to experience the museum. Vapriikki’s diverse activities are carried out by a large team of professionals from various fields.
Operating under the same roof are the Pirkanmaa Regional Museum (1998–), the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame Museum (2001–) and the Postal Museum (2014–). From the very beginning, the museum complex has been complemented by Vapriikki’s image archive, museum restaurant and museum shop. The museums’ extensive collections were transferred from Vapriikki to a separate collection centre, the opening of which was celebrated in 2013.
Vapriikki’s 30th anniversary year has brought a varied programme and a range of exhibition experiences to the museum centre. Exhibitions on display during the year have included, amongst others, ‘The World Cup Through the Ages’ and ‘A Bygone World – Tampere in the Early 20th Century’. The year 2027 will kick off with the ‘Poison!’ exhibition, which explores the significance of poisonous animals in nature, whilst the spring will see the opening of a themed exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the much-loved children’s programme ‘Pikku Kakkonen’.
In addition, Vapriikki will feature perennial favourites with the public: the Finnish Game Museum, which was refurbished in the autumn; the Tampere Natural History Museum; and the Mineral Museum, which is set to reopen in November 2027.
The most popular special exhibitions have included:
The Football World Cup Through the Ages 16 April–1 November 2026
Superheroes 29 May 2025–18 January 2026
Songlines, Australian seven sisters 11 October 2024–30 March 2025
The Power of Stone 26 April–4 August 2024
Manserock 9 February 2024–
Once Upon a Time 28 April 2023–10 March 2024
Monkeys – The Story of Primates 25 February–23 October 2022
Knights 20 May–5 December 2021
Ostia – Gateway to Rome 1 November 2019–10 January 2020
Dracula – Vampires at Vapriikki 5 February–18 August 2019
Tampere 1918 26 January 2018–3 September 2023
Lost Beauties 1 December 2017–84 February 2018
Birckala 1017 9 June 2017–173 2019 The
Forbidden City 21 April–1 October 2017 Giants of the
Ice Age 29 January–14 August 2016 The
Terracotta Army and Treasures of the Chinese Emperors 14 June–1 December 2013
Further information:
Director of Museum Services Heidi Gottskalk
040 527 8750
[email protected]
Head of exhibition Maj Meriluoto
040 732 3745
[email protected]
