Riihisaari – Savonlinna Museum

The Savonlinna Museum can be found downtown, on Riihisaari Island, right next to Olavinlinna Castle. The museum is located in a former state granary. The brick building designed by Ernst B. Lohrmann was completed in 1852. The building and the island were the first sites to be listed on the basis of the Act on the Protection of Buildings in 1965.

In its work, the Savonlinna Museum concentrates on the cultural history of South Savo and the sailing history of Lake Saimaa. The museum has been run by the City of Savonlinna since 1983. Prior to that, various associations took care of collecting museum artefacts. The current museum opened up to the public in 1985. It was based on collections from Saint Olaf’s Guild and material collected by Saimaa boat traffic hobbyists. The main exhibition “In the Heart of Lake Saimaa” presents the living conditions on the shores of Lake Saimaa. Prehistory, scale models of ships and information about the Saimaa ringed seal are on display. In addition, the museum organizes changing exhibitions.

Five steam vessels are moored on the Riihisaari museum dock. The steam schooner Salama from 1874 spent the years from 1898 to 1970 at the bottom of the lake in front of Parkonsaari Island in Puumala. The tar steamer Mikko from 1914 is the last surviving example of Saimaa’s large tar steamer fleet. The passenger boat Savonlinna from 1903 was branded the “Saimaa Express”, thanks to its speed. In the summertime, Riihisaari is also the home dock of the steam tugboat Ahkera, built in 1871. This ship is the oldest steam boat on Lake Saimaa, and it is now owned by the S/s Ahkera Perinneyhdistys association. The s/s Saimaa, owned by The Finnish Heritage Association, was built in 1893 and used for inspecting the navigability of routes on Lake Saimaa. The Mikko and the Savonlinna can be chartered for cruises.

There is a museum shop in Riihisaari, and nearby on Linnankatu Street, there are cafés and restaurants.