Exhibitions
The diverse offering of exhibitions in Porvoo Museum showcases events and phenomena in the fields of culture, art and nature. The exhibitions in the Old Town Hall and Holm House take you on a journey through the ages from the ice age to the 1800s.
Temporary exhibitions
Full Service
19.3.2025 – 26.4.2026
Online – Holm House
Full service exhibition is about the business signs used by craftsmen, traders, and shops of Porvoo from the early 1800s until the 1990s, which can be found in Porvoo Museum’s collections
Albert Edelfelt 170
9.6.2024 – 3.5.2026
The Old Town Hall
In 2024 it will be 170 years since the birth of the artist Albert Edelfelt, and Porvoo Museum will mark the occasion with a new exhibition in the main hall of the Old Town Hall.
Silhouette. The Long Outline
9.6.2024 – 3.5.2026
The Old Town Hall
An exhibition about silhouette art opens in the smaller hall in the Old Town Hall.
Porvoo Virtual Art Gallery
Porvoo Virtual Art Gallery will take you from one mood and theme to the next. You can expect the power of colours, life and fantasy, landscapes and portraits, and an ambience beyond reality.
Exhibitions in Holm House
Holm House is a house of a wealthy merchant, built in the 1760s. In the first floor of the building there is the museum shop and a workshop space called Konkkaronkka, which is used from time to time as a gallery for temporary exhibitions.
Full Service
Full service exhibition is about the business signs used by craftsmen, traders, and shops of Porvoo from the early 1800s until the 1990s, which can be found in Porvoo Museum’s collections. In Holm House’s small exhibition, treasures from the sign collection are on display!
Read more. >>
The Merchant’s Home
The second floor of Holm House is furnished to look like the home of a wealthy merchant from the 1700s. The exhibition is like a visit to the 18th century where you get a glimpse of the every day life of the Holm family that built the house.
Exhibitions at the Old Town Hall
The Old Town Hall in Porvoo is the oldest town hall in Finland. The building has three floors of exhibitions showing art, design, cultural history and natural history from the collections of the Porvoo Museum. The exhibitions tell about the history of Porvoo and the people who lived there.
Echoes
The exhibition explores the history of the city and its surrounding area through the lives of eight residents from Porvoo and Eastern Uusimaa, each from different time periods. Visitors will encounter both centuries-old famous figures and lesser-known inhabitants of the city.
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The Story of the Town Hall
The Old Town Hall of Porvoo is one of Finland’s oldest surviving town halls and an important part of the city’s history. The exhibition tells the story of the town hall’s journey from the 18th century to the present day.
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Silhouette. The Long Outline
An exhibition about silhouette art opens in the smaller hall in the Old Town Hall. Before photography became common, silhouettes or shadow pictures were a cheap and easy way of making images, especially profile portraits.
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Albert Edelfelt
Albert Edelfelt is one of the most well-known painters of Finland and also one of the most internationally-successful Finnish artists. The exhibition in Porvoo Museum contains portraits Edelfelt painted of his inner circle as well as landscapes from the areas in and near Porvoo.
Link to the collection. >>
Ville Vallgren
Ville Vallgren, who worked for the most part of his career abroad, is a unique actor on the field of Finnish sculpture. In the exhibition there are statuettes, objects and a few larger sculptures, among them Porvoo’s very own Little-Manta, aka a plaster sketch of the sculpture Havis Amanda, which is in Helsinki.
Link to the collection. >>
Johan Knutson
Scanian Johan Knutson lived in Porvoo for the most part of his life. A selection of his oil paintings from the different decades of the 1800s can be seen in the exhibition.
Link to the collection. >>
AB Iris
AB Iris was a factory that began operations in Porvoo in 1897. It specialized in high-class furniture and interior design. The company was funded specifically to renew the Finnish crafts in the spirit of the English Arts and Crafts movement. The exhibition includes furniture designed by Louis Sparre and an extensive collection of ceramics by A. W. Finch. In 2023 Porvoo Museum will hold a temporary exhibition in the Holm House about the operations and output of the factory.
Link to the collection. >>
Saara Hopea-Untracht
Porvoo-born Saara Hopea-Untracht is one of the most respected designers of Finland. A wide range of examples from the artist’s works are exhibited.
Link to the collection. >>
Life in Porvoo
The permanent exhibition in the third floor of the Old Town Hall is about the history of the city and its people during the 1800s.
Upcoming exhibitions
Fingerpori. Images of Fingerpori
The Old Town Hall
5.6.2026−10.1.2027
Pertti Jarla’s illustrations of a town, its history, and its inhabitants that have appeared in newspapers for 20 years.
Sanna Johansson: The Vanishing Horizon
Holm House
5.6.2026−10.1.2027
In recent years, Johansson has regularly traveled between Helsinki and Porvoo. The landscapes she has encountered along the way have transformed into images in the artist’s mind. The exhibition The Vanishing Horizon is built upon these images shaped during her journeys.
Other exhibitions
Porvoo Museum organizes exhibitions and maintains collections even in other locations.
J. L. Runeberg’s Home Museum
The national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg’s home was made into a museum in 1882. In the museum exhibition there are objects that belonged to the Runeberg family, in their rightful places. The impressive building is full of furniture, artworks, kitchenware, hunting weapons and as a specialty house plants which are grown from cuttings from Fredrika Runeberg’s house plants. A garden and a building in the yard are also part of the museum. J. L. Runeberg’s Home Museum is the oldest home museum in Finland. It is maintained in collaboration with Porvoo Museum and the city of Porvoo. The government of Finland owns the museum and its collection.
The city of Porvoo has responsibility over the public program and supervision of the exhibitions in the Runeberg’s Home.
More information >>
Walter Runeberg’s Sculpture Collection
Walter Runeberg was a pioneering artist on the field of Finnish sculpture. The exhibition includes portraits of artists and scientists, sketches for monuments and grave markers as well as sculptures inspired by ancient mythology.
The city of Porvoo has responsibility over the supervision of the exhibition.
More information >>
The Porvoo Veterans’ Room
The collection exhibition in the Veterans’ Room commemorates the people of Porvoo during the Second World War.
The volunteers from the association Porvoon Sota-ajan muistoyhdistys ry – Krigsminnesföreningen i Borgå rf have responsibility for the supervision of the exhibition.
The shopping mall Lundi, Rauhankatu 26 A.
Inquiries: Raili Korpiluoma 040 550 6331
Porvoo Virtual Art Gallery
Porvoo Virtual Art Gallery will take you from one mood and theme to the next. You can expect the power of colours, life and fantasy, landscapes and portraits, and an ambience beyond reality.
In the art gallery you can learn about the artworks and the artists who lived and worked in the city from the 20th century onwards. The latest artworks are from recent years. On display there are paintings, prints, and sculptures from the collections of the City of Porvoo and Porvoo museum.
You will move around in a realistic 3D modelled art gallery.