Customs Museum in Suomenlinna
The Customs Museum is located on Susisaari Island in Suomenlinna, in the Hamilton-Polheim Curtain building (Suomenlinna B 20 D). The museum houses a permanent exhibition on the history of Finnish Customs and an annually changing exhibition on a specific theme. Entrance to the Customs Museum is free.
 The personnel of the Kuokkala customs guard post in 1908 |
CUSTOMS IN CARELIA A new exhibition opened to the public on 22 May 2010. The exhibition demonstrates the lesser-known, colourful history of Customs on the Karelian Isthmus. A large number of previously unseen objects and photographs are on display.Items have also been lent by others to the exhibition. In 1812, the area known as “Old Finland”, i.e. the Province of Vyborg, was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Finland. Simultaneously, the area was separated from Russia by a customs border that had to be supervised. The border traffic near St. Petersburg was heavy, and smuggling was a constant problem. The traffic between Finland and Russia expanded further after the railway was completed in 1870. |
After Finland’s independence, customs control was necessary because smuggling was flourishing on the Karelian Isthmus. When the Soviet Union tightened control on the border, smuggling started to decrease.Border control by Customs ended in 1936, when the control of Finland’s eastern border was transferred to the Finnish Border Guard. The last border customs office was Rajajoki customs house, which was closed down in autumn 1939.
Come and learn about the colourful history of the old border area!
The Customs Museum is open from 12:30 pm to 5:30 pm Tuesday through Sunday. Free admission.
Contact information: e-mail: tullimuseo(at)tulli.fi, tel. +358 20 492 2774 or +358 20 492 2394
More information
| The marine center Forum Marinum » http://www.forum-marinum.fi |
| The International Association of Customs Museums (IACM) » http://www.customsmuseums.org |