Text version of the virtual tour of the Packhouse Museum

 

Seafaring room

Seafaring was the most important source of livelihood in Raahe from the early days of the town to the end of the 19th century, and it made our town the largest town of shipowners in Finland between 1867 and 1875.

The models of the ships, most of which depict ships built in Raahe, were made by former sailors. Making miniature models was seen as a sign of professional competence. There are also several ship paintings on the walls that were painted by artists at the request of shipowners or captains. Often, the paintings’ backgrounds were pre-painted and the customer could choose to have the ship depicted in a familiar port or ploughing through the surging waves. A ship was often portrayed from three directions, with the largest and most detailed painting depicting the ship’s parade side.

Careening dock 

Ships had to be repaired from time to time and, unless it was necessary to resort to expensive dry-docking, the ship could be careened by attaching it to the careening dock in Maivaperä.  With the help of a careening tackle, the ship was careened, allowing the bottom to be repaired and tarred or painted. After long sea voyages, it was also important to clean the bottom of the ship because, when sailing in warm waters, the bottom of the ship could, for example, be attacked by shipworms that fed on wood and thus gradually embrittled the bottom. A large amount of parasites and algae stuck on the bottom of the ship also slowed down its passage.

The English attack in May 1854 

As in other coastal towns, preparations were made in Raahe for possible attacks by the English by putting out the fires of lighthouses, clearing the pilot stations of workers and removing seamarks or making them point in the wrong direction.

At the end of May, the lookouts in Raahe could see the Englishmen’s ships with their binoculars: the paddlewheel steam frigates Leopard, Vulture and Odin had arrived. The big ships could not reach the shore, so 14 smaller boats with about 300 men and six cannons went ashore.

When they saw the English rowing towards the wharves, the townspeople went there too. They wanted to make it clear that the town was unarmed.  The English, however, had orders to destroy the ships and other materials needed for shipbuilding. Thus, two completed ships on the shipyard, the pitch shed, the tar stores and about 9,000 barrels of tar were set on fire. The fire spread in an instant, and a black cloud of smoke rose to the heights and was said to have been visible as far as Oulu. When the fire was well lit, the Englishmen went back to their boats and set fire to the 13 ships and boats in the harbour.

Then the English set off for the town and the warehouses on the shore. The Raahe residents were horrified because there was a lot of equipment for ships in the warehouses: sails, ropes, blocks and other materials. It is said that the English also intended to burn the wooden granary next to the current Crown Granary. However, they left the warehouses alone.

The damage caused to Raahe by the Åland War was enormous. After the war, there were hundreds of Raahe residents out of work. The economic losses were huge after the English had destroyed thousands of barrels of tar, 1,500 barrels of pitch, planks, logs and firewood, as well as grain and salt.

After the war, the English had a guilty conscience about the suffering brought upon the common people. The Quakers raised money among themselves and sent it to Raahe with an apology. The money was used to employ Raahe residents in relief work and to restore and extend the road north of the town.

In their anger, the Englishmen also burned their own possessions: some of the timber on the wharf had already been sold to England, and even the money had been received. So the English had to wait for the people of Raahe to build new ships and cut down wood to finally get the paid goods delivered to their destination.

Sailor's home 

In 19th century Raahe, sailors resided in the district of Katinhäntä in homes that usually consisted of a room and a separate kitchen. Families could be very large, so these small homes had nothing but the necessary furniture.

Turtle 

The turtle was another very typical souvenir in the Age of Sail. Sailors found turtles convenient in many ways because they diversified the monotonous diet based on porridge and peas and could also be used to pocket a lot of money. With a particularly large turtle, the sailor could make such a hefty sum in port that he would be able to buy a cow back home in Raahe. Sailors also brought these filled turtles back as souvenirs and often hung them from the roof due to the sailor belief that this would bring good fortune to the house.

The porcelain dogs

The porcelain dogs are originally from Staffordshire, England. Here, such dogs are known as Raahe dogs. The dogs were set up by the window in pairs, serving as a kind of signal. When the master of the house set off on a sea voyage which could take years, the dogs were turned to face the window. When the master was back home, the dogs would sit looking towards the interior of the house. This is how the town dwellers knew whether the head of the household was at home or not.

Goldsmiths workshop 

The complete workshop of Gustav Heinonen, who was once a gold- and silversmith in Raahe. Heinonen’s wife Maria was also allowed to practise the profession of goldsmith alongside her husband. Among other things, the forge contains a workbench, anvils of different sizes and a ring wire draw bench. The display cabinet contains various files, hammers and moulds for making, for example, brooches. Heinonen also worked as an optician, which explains the different lenses and fitting frames in the cabinet.

Pattijoki spirits factory

There was a distillery along Ruonanoja in Raahe as early as the 18th century, but it ceased to operate during the years of famine. When the state banned home distillation of spirits in 1866, Raahe’s enterprising bourgeoisie began to plan a factory producing spirits for the needs of the region. Ludvig Ahlqvist was the first to do so as early as 1867, but the permit issues dragged on. The spirits company founded in 1872, with merchants L. Ahlqvist, J. Aspegren, G.H. Möller and Fr. Sovelius jr. as shareholders, finally received the permission for the distillery from the Provincial Governor of Oulu in 1874. The distillery would be allowed to produce approximately 80,000 litres of spirits a year.

Distillery to Pattijoki

It was decided to build the factory in the village of Pattijoki, on the Joensuu farm. The spirits were made from grain and potatoes obtained from the owners’ own crops and bought from farmers in the surrounding area. The Pattijoki distillery produced spirits and draff, from which those who wanted could make spirits in their homes (it was allowed to make spirits at home from bought draff). Each year, spirits were produced in two batches, in the spring and autumn.

The marketing area was initially the town of Raahe, but after the expansion in 1876, spirits were sold to the entire province. The products were transported to Kalajoki, Kajaani, Kuopio and even Russia in kegs and large transport vats. The consumer was allowed to buy spirits directly from the factory (minimum portion 3 litres) or to enjoy it in the public houses of the town. Old Möller sold spirits in his shop in Brahenkatu in the legendary style that Samuli Paulaharju recorded in Wanha Raahe:

“There is a partition in the barrel; when I turn the tap this way, you get rum, and when I turn it this way, you get cognac.” 

Last days of the distillery

At the end of the 19th century, Raahe was experiencing an economic downturn due to the end of the Age of Sail. The operations of the distillery were also in decline at that time, and it was closed down in 1900. The first auction for the distillery, its buildings, machinery and other movable property was held on 8 September 1900, but no sales were made yet.

A new auction took place five years later, and the sale was successful. The company’s last general meeting was held the same year.

The grand main building of the distillery and its other buildings were purchased by businessman Arthur Lagerlöf, who moved some of the buildings to Ruukki and Raahe to serve as housing for the workers of his companies. Raahen Puutavara Oy’s Virpiperän Pitkäpirtti was one of these buildings.

Church hall   

The church hall contains a stunning treasure: roughly 100 wooden sculptures made by sculptor Mikael Balt for the Old Church of Raahe in the second half of the 17th century.

Balt created, among other things, four evangelists, pictures of the apostles, various memorial plaques and pediments, which were donated by the rich and powerful of the town to decorate their home church. The sculptures also include various symbolic animal figures and many angels.

The Old Church of Raahe was destroyed in a fire in 1908. At least some of the thanks for preserving a valuable and rare collection of sculptures is due to the trend awareness of Raahe residents. After the renovation of the church in the 1880s, Raahe residents thought that the sculptures were too old-fashioned for the renovated church that had very light colours. It was thus decided to store the sculptures in the belfry next to the church, where the church fire did not spread.

Votive ship

Votive ships can be found in churches along the coast. Sailors used to donate these miniature models in return for a successful return home from a difficult voyage or assistance in distress at sea. People have also gathered around votive ships to remember those who have drowned at sea or are away from home.  The votive ship in the museum’s church hall was made according to the 17th-century model.

The pauper statue 

The pauper statue of the Old Church of Raahe raised money for the protection of the poor and needy of the congregation. The age of the pauper statue of Raahe is not known for certain, but it is one of the oldest surviving pauper statues in Finland. The pauper statue was attached to the belfry of the church.

After the church fire, along with the sculptures of Balt, the pauper statue was moved to the museum in 1912.

St. Agatha

St Agatha was a maiden who lived in Sicily in the 200s and decided to dedicate her life to the service of Christ. After repelling the Roman consul's attempts at courtship, the consul undertook to persecute the Christians and tried to persuade Agatha to his will by torturing her. There are many versions of Agatha’s legend, as well as of the saints ’stories anyway, but for Agatha, the different versions almost invariably end in cutting off Agatha’s breasts.

Why was the sculpture of a Catholic saint made almost 150 years after the Reformation in the church of Raahe? The answer lies in the fact that in Finland the transition to Lutheranism took place gradually, and Catholic church art was hardly destroyed in Finnish churches. And the sculpture of Agatha fit well in the wooden city of Raahe, after all, fires were a constant threat. St. Agatha is a patron of fires, among others, but also a patron saint of breastfeeders, watchmakers, jewelers, babysitters, shepherds, weavers and bakers.

Staircase

The former Customs House and Packhouse also featured the Seaman House, which provided work for ships, ensured the payment of the right amount of wages and paid pensions and allowances to disabled and old sailors and their families. When the flag was hoisted onto the pole on the roof of the Packhouse, the townspeople knew that it was possible to sign on to a ship there.

 

Exotic collections   

The exotic objects from the late 19th century collected in this room gave the incentive for establishing this museum. The person who came up with the idea was Carl Robert Ehrström, who came to Raahe in 1854 to assume the position of the District Physician. As he became acquainted with the residents and their homes, Ehrström caught sight of interesting memorabilia brought from all over the world by sailors. In the doctor’s opinion, these objects, detailing the cultures and customs of the countries the sailors had visited, had to be made accessible to everyone.

Ehrström regarded Raahe’s international connections as a major asset, which had the potential to educate the town dwellers. The respected and well-liked doctor was determined in his efforts to establish a museum in his hometown, where memorabilia collected across the seas would be displayed. The project was quite exceptional because there were just a few private collections and museums in Finland at the time and even those few belonged to universities.

Carl Robert Ehrström

A very learned man engaged in great work for light, hope and truth. District Physician in Raahe and the founder of the museum.

Carl Robert Ehrström’s (14 September 1803–19 May 1881) career as a doctor began in the mid-1830s as a temporary assistant at the Helsinki maternity hospital. During his time there, an epidemic of childbed fever broke out at the hospital. With the medicine and methods available at the time, there was no way to fight the disease. Ehrström, however, was perplexed by the condition. When he observed the actions of nurses and other staff, he noticed that the disease seemed to spread through physical contact. The epidemic of childbed fever that had swept over the maternity hospital could be controlled with cleanliness: doctor Ehrström urged everyone to wash their hands when going to patients and after treating them.

In his doctoral dissertation published in 1840, Ehrström supposed that the disease was spread through an “invisible factor”. At that time, nothing was known of bacteria; these invisible factors were given their name only later on. In other words, Ehrström was a pioneer of bacteriology!  Unfortunately, the dissertation published in 1840 did not immediately gain wider recognition. Otherwise, Ehrström’s name could have gone down in medical history as a global pioneer of pathology and bacteriology. The honour of discovering the infection mechanism of childbed fever was granted to the Hungarian Ignaz Philpp Semmelweiss based on his study published in 1861.

District Physician in Raahe

Ehrström took up the post of District Physician in Raahe in 1855, during the Crimean War. Ehrström’s tenure coincided with Raahe’s period of prosperity, when the mental energy of the townspeople was at its best.

The establishment of the museum was not an incidental project for Ehrström; it was part of his almost lifelong activity for the benefit of Finnish culture and the Finns. Some of Ehrström’s goals were to improve the educational level of the nation and enable access to all kinds of information especially for the lower classes. After getting acquainted with Raahe dwellers and exploring the treasures in their homes, Ehrström started a project to establish the museum. In the pamphlet “Museuumit”, signed on 21 October 1862 and published in the newspaper Oulun Wiikkosanomat on 8 November 1862, Ehrström discusses the usefulness and necessity of museums. The declaration is considered the founding document of the Raahe Museum and its date of signature the birthday of our museum. Of course, Ehrström had been active with his project even earlier. A list of contributions had been launched in April, with the aim of collecting funds for the acquisition of cabinets and other equipment.

Considered the first local museum in Finland, the Raahe Museum assembled articles collected extensively across the entire globe in accordance with Ehrström’s declaration. At the time of its establishment, the museum’s activity strongly supported the local identity, which was closely associated with seafaring. The museum highlighted the residents’ contacts with faraway countries. The Raahe Museum differs from today’s local museums with its universal collections.

The museum’s initial site of operation was Ehrström’s own home, and it was later moved to the primary school and the top floor of the Town Hall.

After the museum project, another achievement of Carl Robert Ehrström was the establishment of a reading room at the Raahe Library. The Raahe Library was founded for the working population with privately donated funds in 1847. Ehrström took the initiative of setting up a reading hall in 1873. Back in 1861, Ehrström had been involved in establishing the public library of Nivala (Pidisjärvi at the time).

 

Emperor of Russia Alexander I in Raahe on 2 September 1819 

When the news of the imperial visit reached Raahe, our little town began to prepare for this great honour with the necessary devotion. The registry office ordered, among other things, that all bridges and fences be repaired, the school, packhouse and unpainted private houses be painted without delay and all pigs and bovine animals be removed from the town for the duration of the visit. All the ships in the town harbour had to raise their flags, and the houses of merchant C.F. Frieman and the Palin mamsells had to be decorated with broad-leaved trees, as they were the first houses after the customs gate.  Currently, the blocks of flats on the corner of Palokunnankatu and Brahenkatu are located there. His Majesty was to stay in alderman and merchant Johan Frieman’s house, which was considered the most appropriate one.

Arrival of the Emperor’s party

The imperial party arrived in Raahe on seven horses with its own kitchen. Court Councillor Bergbom’s daughter’s musical instrument purchased in Stockholm was brought to the town gate from the Ollinsaari Manor. The Court Councillor’s daughter, Carin Bergbom, was there to play music to welcome the emperor’s party to our town. Mamsell Carin played the most majestic song that she knew: one that present generations know as the Napoleon March. Considering that Alexander and Napoleon had long been at war some years ago, the choice of song was not good. The people of Raahe listened to the music with their heart in their mouth, waiting for the emperor to react, but fortunately the Grand Duke, exhausted from travel, slept through this musical performance – at least that is what the stories tell – and the daughter of the Court Councillor was spared punishment. Carin Bergbom’s clavier is now on the top floor of the Packhouse Museum, in the corner of the so-called Raahe room.

Frieman house

The emperor’s journey continued inside the town gates along Storgatan, the current Brahenkatu, towards the current Pekkatori Square and the house of merchant and alderman Johan Frieman. After greeting the master, the emperor also wanted to greet the women of the house. Mrs Frieman and her four daughters came in white to curtsy before the Grand Duke. His Excellency kissed the youngest daughter, three-year-old Jannika, on the hair on her forehead. This hair that had received such noble attention was later recovered and woven into a braid, which is displayed in the textile room of the Packhouse Museum.

 In honour of the noble guest, a grand dinner was served in the house of Frieman according to all the rules of the art. However, the Emperor did not enjoy the food but only drank the tea served by the lady of the house.

Admiration in the air

It is said that the emperor was taken by the prettiness of Carin Seraphia, Frieman’s eldest daughter, who certainly did not look down on such a noble admirer. The next day, the emperor continued his journey towards Siikajoki, accompanied by the sailing boats of Fredrik Sovelius and Zachris Franzén. In return for his hospitality, the emperor gave merchant Johan Frieman a diamond ring. With this ring, Carin Seraphia, who was admired by the emperor, scratched her name, the emperor’s monogram and the year of the emperor’s death, 1825, on the window of her home. The window pane in question has been moved from the Frieman house to the display cabinet on the top floor of the Packhouse Museum.

The said Carin Seraphia (3 November 1804–1877) later married notary and alderman Carl Gustaf Swaljung (1797–1855) and had seven children. The fourth of these seven was the famous sea captain Carl August Swaljung, who had nine sons with his wife Catharina Sofia Montin.

 

Sailor Antti Pyy

Antti Pyy started his career as a sailor at the tender age of 13, and his first trip lasted all of four years. Later, Antti travelled the Indonesian archipelago with the bark Johan Lang in July–August 1875. From this trip, Antti brought items of the natives of New Guinea and the “Aratonka Islands”, such as a grass skirt, bracelets made of plant fibre and pearls made of white gastropod shells. He also brought a wild-looking headdress and a large mouth shield made of wood and bone and decorated with pig tusks, seeds, bird of paradise feathers and other ornaments. Apparently, these costumes belonged to a shaman or were used in cult rites or war. The oval nose piece was part of the everyday outfit.

Penny-farthing

The so-called penny-farthing was the first bicycle with pedals. The large, solid front tyre guaranteed a good speed for the fierce young men who dared to ride a bicycle without brakes. It was not appropriate for women to ride bicycles. It would also have been very challenging bearing in mind the hooped skirts women wore at the time. If, however, a maiden did try out cycling, she could lose her reputation and so never be able to marry.

 

Toy room 

Some of the toys in the toy room were brought by fathers who had sailed the seas. Not every boy could bring back such presents; these luxury toys were mainly the toys of the children of captains and shipowners.

Rocking horse

The handsome rocking horse belonged to the nine sons of sea captain Swanljung. According to the stories that remained for posterity, the boys were lively so a sturdy horse was needed for their playing.

Doll’s trunk

The toy display contains, among other things, a charming collection of the contents of a doll’s trunk. The trunk with clothes, accessories and beauty items belonged to Naema Astrid Sovelius. The doll itself was destroyed in an attic fire, but the trunk and its contents survived. There are some signs of the fire in the clothing.

 

Textile room  

The textile room is mainly devoted to women’s crafts. Skill in handicraft used to be the most important quality that a woman could possess. Beauty and an amicable character were certainly useful, but the most important criterion, at least in normal circumstances, was craftsmanship. Girls started working on their skills at a young age. The first skills demonstration was an embroidered sheet made around the age of 10. As the skills grew, the work got harder. The samples of craftsmanship on display were mostly made by women from bourgeois families. They had servants taking care of the household, so they had time for even the most complicated crafts. Of course, even in ordinary homes in Raahe, women spent their little free time on crafts, repairs and making new things. Women were not allowed to be idle, and a woman reading a book was a downright shocking sight for a long time.

Damsels’ lantern

As the ladies and maidens returned from their visits at dusk or in the dark, a maid walked ahead of them carrying a candle lantern with a hinged arm, usually made of tin plate (a so-called ‘damsels’ lantern’).

Cross spear and catching fork 

With a cross spear and catching fork, market police once kept order during busy market times, when things could get wild in the town. With a catching fork, they could catch the troublemakers and transport them to the police cell. A cross spear allowed them to safely catch, for example, the bridle of a runaway horse at the market.

The dish cabinet 

The display cabinet contains treasures of Raahe ladies, including porcelain dishes from abroad. The display cabinet also contains a captain’s so-called salon chest, where fine drinks from different parts of the world were stored to be enjoyed in good company, using beautifully cut glasses.