Museum is open by agreement
Search
Close this search box.
Meny

The museum Collections

In the museum cottages, storage and archives at Stundars, there are over 10.000 objects from the era 1870-1920. These can be sorted into different collections, depending on their origin and usage. For example, the whole interior of the Printing Museum can be considered as one collection. All the textiles that Stundars own can be considered another collection. At an open-air museum like Stundars, even the buildings are valuable museal objects in themselves, and the 70 houses combined are another collection.

If objects could speak Topp

If objects really could speak, there would be a lot of interesting stories to hear at Stundars. But in silence, they beg us to find out for ourselves. This is where the amanuensis and museum pedagogue at Stundars come into action. In our work, we continuously strive to give the old objects a voice – as well as encourage the visitors to listen.

Most of the objects at Stundars have been in use in the Swedish-speaking parts of Ostrobothnia during the period of 1870 to 1920. They can originate from earlier times but have mainly been in use during the mentioned era. Their purpose is to exhibit the life in a rural village at the end of the 19th century, with its different social classes, professions and interests. When Stundars was greatly expanded in the 1970’s, many of the objects and interiors were familiar to the visitors, and still to this day, an old lady or gentleman may not see Stundars as all that unfamiliar. For them, the power of recognition becomes a strong element of their experience of the museum. But things that are nostalgic and well-known for the oldest generations in the region, might feel almost exotic for younger visitors. That, in turn, demands that the stall always keep in mind that for the young visitors to be able to take it all in, a different approach is needed. Not only are the objects and interiors to be exhibited, but the staff also have to tell their tales, consequently bringing out feelings and arousing curiosity.

In performing this task, the cataloguing of the over 10 000 items is a crucial part. In the cataloguing process we gather as much context and information about the object as possible. Where does it come from? Who donated it? Which stories can be tied to the object in question? Age, purpose, name, description? All information is gathered in a database and the goal is that Stundars cultural heritage in time will be accessible to all, everywhere and all the time, not only to physical visitors. And this is how knowledge will be transferred to the next generation.

Yes, the things at Stundars are lucky. Someone cares for them and gives them a voice of their own. They get to be exhibited, admired and create memories.

Text: Maria Österåker in the book ”Stundars” from 2013

MuseumPlus
The Ostrobothnian farmhouse
The Parish Granary in Solf village
The general store, the post office and the shopkeeper’s home
The village school
The Brass Foundry
Hemmer House
The Printing Museum
The Textile collection
The Art collection