The Suur-Savo Museum

The exhibition rooms of the Suur-Savo Museum are located in downtown Mikkeli. The museum is in a stone granary that was built in 1848 to serve as the parish of Mikkeli’s municipal granary. The building has been used as a museum since 1960. The Museum Unit of the city of Mikkeli is responsible for the Suur-Savo Museum.

The Suur-Savo Museum is rather old. Although its roots stretch back to the 1910s, it has not been open non-stop. The museum was opened in Mikkeli in March 1912, but the exhibition had to be closed down already a month later due to a lack of space. In 1929, the Suur-Savo Museum Association was founded and it reopened the museum in Mikkeli again. From 1930 to 1947, the Suur-Savo Museum was located on Porrassalmenkatu Street, but it once again had to close down due to a lack of space. In 1960, the museum moved to its current location.

The permanent exhibition of the Suur-Savo Museum contains items from the peasant culture in Southern Savo and artefacts that depict the history of the city of Mikkeli. In addition, temporary exhibitions are held, usually in their own facilities, although sometimes they are arranged elsewhere.

In addition to its exhibitions, the Suur-Savo Museum also records and researches the history of both Mikkeli and the region around it.