Riihimäki: Glass, Art and Cultural History

Riihimäki can be explored through its museums and a signposted cultural route. The themes range from Finnish glass and 20th-century art to the history of hunting. If you’re looking for a hotel for your stay, you can use these themes as a guide: Would you like to focus mainly on glass, view works of art, or explore different aspects of Finnish cultural history?

Glass, Art and Collections

The Finnish Glass Museum has been based in a renovated glassworks building in Riihimäki since 1981. Its exhibitions cover the history of glass over more than 4,000 years and the 300-year history of the Finnish glass industry. The museum thus combines a far-reaching perspective on glass with a specific focus on Finland’s industrial history.

The Finnish Glass Museum’s collections consist mainly of Finnish household, design and art glass from the 18th to the 21st century. The collection includes around 40,000 objects. Its chronological range and variety of glass categories offer visitors several ways to explore it: you can focus on design and art glass, or place household glass in the broader context of glass history.

The Riihimäki Art Museum offers an overview of works by Finnish artists from the first half of the 20th century. Its collection includes almost 2,500 objects and works of art. The museum therefore has a defined focus in terms of both time period and subject, distinct from the long history of glass. When planning your trip, you can consider whether to set aside time specifically for art or combine it with the other cultural attractions.

Hunting History and Local Museum Themes

The Museum of Wilderness Heritage explores Finnish wilderness heritage, past and present. The museum collects, studies, preserves and presents this culture. Its permanent exhibition gives a general overview of the 10,000-year history of Finnish hunting and its development from a means of subsistence to a leisure activity. The collection includes more than 20,000 hunting-related artefacts and almost 170,000 photographs.

The museum’s events programme is also part of its profile: each year, it offers several exhibitions and events for local and national audiences. The Riihimäki Art Museum holds changing exhibitions, lectures, workshops, concerts and other events for visitors of all ages. These activities complement the collection and exhibition themes with a variety of event formats. If you’d like to include a particular event in your trip, plan around its specific date.

Työväentalomuseo is located in the Peltosaari district. It is about 500 metres from Riihimäki railway station and the city centre. This is a useful point of reference if you’re planning to visit the museum: the stated distance is from the railway station and city centre, not from other museums or accommodation.

Explore the Cultural Route on Foot or by Bicycle

The Riihimäki Cultural Route consists of two routes. Both start at Riihimäki railway station and end at the Finnish Glass Museum. The longest route is just over four kilometres long; both routes can be travelled on foot or by bicycle. Signs mark the entire route and also indicate distances. This makes the route an option you can include in your stay without assuming a walking time or difficulty level.

If you’re choosing Riihimäki for its cultural history, it helps to prioritise the collections and the cultural route according to your interests. Teuron työväentalo was moved to its current location in Riihimäki and opened there as a museum on 25 October 1969.

For an overview of the wider travel region: Kanta-Häme.