Helsinki University Museum

The Facilities of Arppeanum

The Arppeanum building was completed in 1869 to house the University´s chemistry laboratory and museum collections. This building, designed by the architect Carl Albert Edelfelt, also accommodated the Mineral Cabinet, the Museum of Ethnography , a music and an art room, the University´s sculpture collection, exhibition facilities, the chemistry professor´s residence, staff quarters and storage space. Over the years, a number of University departments have also been based here, including the Department of Geology, which remained the longest and left the building in 2001.

The most central space in Arppeanum is the four-storey cast-iron staircase with its rich ornaments. The appearance of the building is influenced by the kind of architecture that was prevalent in 19th century Hamburg, where features of Venetian palazzi are evident.

Arppeanum is closely connected to the history of Finnish museums, as it is the oldest building in Finland originally designed for museum use. The Mineral Cabinet has been located in the building from the very beginning, the Museum of Ethnography was housed here until its move to the National Museum in 1912, the University´s collection of classical sculptures was on display on the top floor and the K. E. Kivirikko bird collection could be admired by the public on the second floor for a number of decades.