The Restored Rauma Old Town Hall Opens to the Public on November 6, 2026 – World Heritage and History on Display in New Exhibitions
Uutinen
Rauma Old Town Hall (Kauppakatu 13), which has undergone extensive renovation and restoration, will open to the public on Friday, November 6, 2026. Admission to the museum will be free on opening day from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Throughout the day, visitors can explore the renovated spaces, exhibitions, and museum shop in a festive, historic atmosphere.
The opening speech will be given at 11:50 a.m., after which the ribbon will be cut by the Rauma Museum’s first director, Leena Rautavuori.
Coffee and cake will be served in the courtyard for the first 200 museum visitors. At 1:00 p.m., musician Venla Wallenius will perform at the opening. Free guided tours of the upstairs exhibition will be held at 2:00, 3:00, and 4:00 p.m. Each tour can accommodate 15 people: spots are reserved by picking up a numbered ticket at the museum’s customer service desk starting at 1:00 p.m.
The Old Town Hall now houses the World Heritage Visitor Center
The exhibition at the World Heritage Visitor Center, located on the first floor, showcases both of Rauma’s UNESCO World Heritage sites: Old Rauma and Sammallahdenmäki Bronze Age Burial Site. In addition, the exhibition explains the World Heritage Convention and showcases all of Finland’s World Heritage sites.
The exhibition at the visitor center was written by Juhani Ruohonen. He also produced the videos for the exhibition showcasing both of Rauma’s sites in collaboration with Mediaplane.
Historical Stories of Love for Rauma
The “With Love, Rauma” exhibition, located on the upper floor, tells the story of the city and its residents from the city’s founding to the present day.
– The exhibition speaks particularly to the city’s residents, and its central themes are love and sorrow. It also includes more traditional historical topics: livelihoods, secular administration, and spiritual life, explains Chief Curator Hanna-Leena Salminen.
The texts and most of the visual material in the “With Love, Rauma” exhibition are presented on touchscreens, allowing museum visitors to explore the exhibition’s content at their own pace.
The screens feature a timeline presenting Rauma’s history, as well as thematic texts and information about the objects on display.
According to Salminen, a conscious effort was made while creating the exhibition to highlight the stories of both women and men, as well as historical periods from different eras, in a balanced manner.
– However, the vast majority of the material in the museum’s collections was created before the 1940s. Fortunately, we’ve also received new donations for the exhibition, such as from Fera. We hadn’t previously found any material from that Rauma sports club in our collections, Salminen says happily.
Salminen emphasizes that putting together the exhibition has been truly inspiring.
– The fascinating chapters of Rauma’s history began to weave themselves into the exhibition’s narrative almost without us noticing. Although the exhibition will feature nearly 350 objects, making the final selections was challenging. Fortunately, the design firm Takt Oy assisted us in this work. They also designed the new furnishings for the museum shop and the customer service desk, says Salminen.
Accessibility has been a priority during the restoration
Visitors with disabilities can access the first floor of the Old Town Hall as well as the new building in the courtyard. On the ground floor of the Old Town Hall, visitors can explore the World Heritage Visitor Center and the new museum shop.
The new building in the courtyard houses restrooms accessible to people with mobility impairments, which also serve market visitors as needed. The gates to the Old Town Hall’s courtyard are open during the day, so visitors will be able to freely access the courtyard in the future.
Hours of Operation and Admission Fees
Rauma Old Town Hall will be open starting November 6, 2026, Tuesday through Friday from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM and Saturday through Sunday from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
The standard admission fee is 8.50 euros, and the reduced rate is 5.50 euros. The Museum Card is also accepted as a form of payment. Admission is free for visitors under 18 years of age.
The same admission ticket grants access to the Rauma Art Museum and the Shipowner’s Home Marela. The admission ticket is valid for two days.
The Old Town Hall will be open to the public on Wednesday, November 25, 2026, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., during which time a voluntary admission fee will be charged.
