– 13 March 2022

KORU7

KORU7 is an international contemporary jewellery triennial, which has been organised since 2003. Its purpose is to showcase jewellery art extensively and to show what is currently happening in the sector. The KORU7 exhibition features works by 41 artists or groups of artists from 17 different countries.

– 13 March 2022

Sweet Tooth

The exhibition takes visitors on a trip down memory lane into the world of products made by South Karelian food and beverage companies, from Marianne sweets and salty liquorice pirate coins by Chymos to local brewery and dairy products.

2 April – 2 Oct 2022

Photographic Memories of Soviet Vyborg from the 1940s, 50s and 60s

A photography exhibition focused on Vyborg from the 1940s to the 1960s. Produced by the Vyborg Castle Museum, the exhibition is made up of photographs that have entered the castle’s collections from private archives. The photographs have been taken by professional photographers, architects, restorers, property developers and journalists. They tell stories of everyday life, the restoration of the city and the construction of new buildings. Following the Second World War, Vyborg became the “northern gate of the Soviet Union”. Though the city was able to preserve much of its former image, that image would come to take

on many Soviet aspects. Access to the city was restricted, due to its location in the border region. Because of this, much information about the city’s history was lost, both in Finland and the Soviet Union. In the exhibition, we see Vyborg through the eyes of the people who settled there in the aftermath of the war.

22 Oct 2022 – 6 April 2023

The Museum of Prehistoric Attitudes

Throughout history, people have been treated differently on the basis of their gender. This has forced their stories towards predetermined directions. These prehistoric attitudes have now been put on display, and there are several directions that the stories can take. The exhibition, organised in collaboration with Plan International Finland, uses stories to highlight outdated gender norms, which still seem to have a strong presence both in Finland and across the world.

South Karelia Museum 

Situated in the Fortress of Lappeenranta, the Regional Museum of South Karelia is the centre piece of the town’s Museums Directorate. The museum is housed in the solid grey-stone buildings of the former artillery depot which were completed at the beginning of the 19th century. Founded by the Maakuntaliitto (Regional Municipal Association) in 1963, this museum was the successor to the Town Museum of Lappeenranta. In 1968 the museum was handed over to the town of Lappeenranta. 

The collections of the Museum of Cultural History are drawn from the museums of Lappeenranta, Vyborg and Käkisalmi (Priozersk). The museum’s work of preservation and recording, research and display encompasses not only the present-day region of South Karelia but also the southern part of Karelia which was ceded to Russia, i.e. the Karelian Isthmus.

The old permanent exhibition of the South Karelia Museum has been taken down. The planning of the new permanent exhibition is underway, and it will be opened to audiences in the renovated exhibition space upon completion. The scale model of Viipuri (Vyborg), which represents the most central parts of the town as they were on September 2nd 1939, will be put back on display as part of the new permanent exhibition.

The collections of the South Karelia Museum contain artefacts and photographs from Lappeenranta, the South Karelia region and the Karelian Isthmus, the last of which was ceded to the Soviet Union in 1944. The museum’s collections are regularly on display in exhibitions. In addition to exhibitions, the South Karelia Museum offers guided tours and hosts events and workshops.

Located next to the reception, there is also the museum shop which stocks a selection of books, postcards, jewellery and multiple products from museums collections.


Mailing address:
South Karelia Museum,
P.O.Box 239, 53101 Lappeenranta

Further information :
tel: +358 5 616 2255, +358 5 616 2261
e-mail: museot(at)lappeenranta.fi