Museum A-Ö » Wars and wartime » Bjärgas Museum

In the Bjärgas open-air museum can be seen a versatile collection of buildings and exhibitions. Visit the exhibitions, where you can get acquainted for example with women’s desire to flaunt their fancy clothes, with children’s toys and the world of technics. Explore the scale model depicting Larsmo in the 1930s or let the flourishing herbal garden tempt you. Various theme exhibitions and events are also arranged in the area every summer.

There is no certain knowledge of the age of the Bjärgas estate, but the building style points at the late 18th century. It is likely, that the building has been shared by two families: the older and the younger generation. One of the first householders had been to America at an earlier age and gotten acquainted there with the Mormon religion, which through him got footing also in Larsmo already in the 1880s. That happened 60 years earlier than in other parts of the country – the Mormon church was established in Finland only in 1945.

Nowadays there are 22 different kinds of buildings in Bjärgas, out of which the cowshed, the stable, the fodder barn, the granary and the overnighting barn are on their original places. The interior design of the main building depicts the way of life at the turn of the 20th century. The attic bed and the fancy fabrics, the cupboard, the beautiful rag rugs on the floor and the exceptionally elegant tile stoves tell about the home of a wealthy farmer family. There is also a windmill, a smithy, a laundry room and many other buildings, that have all been moved to the area from different parts of Larsmo.

One of the pearls of the museum is the toy exhibition in the attic, which appeals to both adults and children. The toy exhibition is especially suitable for a museum in Larsmo, as it is a municipal with one of the most numerous child population in Finland. The exhibition showcasing women’s flaunting displays fine women’s clothes and hats of all sorts, shoes, laces, jewellery and furs, that the well-dressed women of the region have worn. In the exhibition about wartime life are displayed among the uniforms and artefacts also different kinds of substitutes: coffee and leather substitutes, wooden bicycle tyres etc.

The cultural landscape has changed significantly during the 20th century, which becomes obvious when examining the museum’s scale models of the 1930s yard groups and villages in Larsmo. Another pearl is the museum’s beautiful herbal garden, which has plants offering ingredients for cheeses, pesto, tea and other products prepared and sold by the regional society during the autumn fair. On sale are usually also forged metal works, woven carpets and wood products. In addition to the autumn and Christmas fairs the May Day fair is one of the high points of the year, and a café, a fair and some programme are arranged in Bjärgas then. Other events are the Valentine’s Day café, the singalong event in July, summer exhibitions and evening lectures on different themes, which are held on the first Monday of the month from September to May. In September time travelling is arranged for the sixth graders of the municipal. The newly completed and stately Sandras is well suited for the area, and it can be rented for different occasions.