Digital materials
The Finnish Heritage Agency’s digital materials contain extensive information on various aspects of Finland’s cultural environment and cultural heritage, dating back thousands of years. Explore the digital materials of the Finnish Heritage Agency, regardless of location and time of day!
The Finnish Heritage Agency’s collections at Finna
The Finnish Heritage Agency and the National Museum of Finland have more than 20 million images and hundreds of thousands of objects in their collections. The Finnish Heritage Agency-Finna allows you to search, browse, explore and, in most cases, use the information in the collections and digitised materials as desired. Only a part of our national collections has been digitised and made available in Finna; so far the information of approximately 350,000 objects or images.
All collections of the Finnish Heritage Agency
JOKA Press Photo Archive
Archaeological Collections
The National Museum of Finland
Archaeological Collections
The archaeological collections contain artefacts from the entire area of present-day Finland as well as from the so-called ceded area. The collections diversely cover the entire prehistoric period, and since 2011, the finds of the historical period have also been catalogued in archaeological collections. In addition, the collections include a foreign, comparative, collection, which mainly includes objects from Russia, but also from other European countries, as well as from Egypt and Palestine, for example.
Archaeological Collections
Learn more about the archaeological collections of the Finnish Heritage Agency
Browse the Archaeological Collections of the Finnish Heritage Agency at the Finna search service
Archaeological objects from the historical period discovered before 2011 have been deposited in the historical collections of the National Museum of Finland
Muinaiskalupäiväkirja (available only in Finnish)
Explore archaeological collections' find lists in Muinaiskalupäiväkirja
Archaeological Picture Collections
The Archives
The archive materials of the Finnish Heritage Agency are mainly related to the cultural environment and heritage, its research, management and control. The largest material entities are related to archaeology, the built environment and ethnology.
The Archive Materials
The archive materials mainly start from 1884, when the Archaeological Commission was established. The archive also contains material older than this date.
Explore the archive materials and directories.
Statements
The Finnish Heritage Agency gives statements on more than a thousand matters every year, including the cultural-historically valuable environment, and the protection of archaeological and building heritage and cultural property.
The Asiat-service contains statements, research reports and other documents since the end of 2017.
Research reports
The cultural environment service window contains research reports in various fields, including archaeology research reports until 2017.
Library
Archaeology, history, ethnology and museology, building protection, restoration, artefacts and art history for everyone interested in cultural heritage.
Library
The Library of the Finnish Heritage Agency is a special scientific library in the field of cultural heritage that is open to all. We provide information on archaeology and history, ethnology and museology, building protection, restoration and conservation, as well as art history and artifact history.
Library material search HELKA
E-journals
The e-journals of the Finnish Heritage Agency are available through the Helka database.
Helka's link provides direct access to the online journal’s website. The majority of e-journals can be read freely online, but some can only be read on the Finnish Heritage Agency’s network. These journals can also be read by library visitors on the machines in the customer premises. A small part of the e-journals is only available for the staff of the Finnish Heritage Agency.
The Finnish Antiquarian Society
The Finnish Antiquarian Society is a scientific society founded in 1870, whose tasks include publishing activities related to the fields of cultural heritage and, in particular, archaeology, ethnology and art history. The Society's library is located in the library of the Finnish Heritage Agency. The Society's publication series also extensively discuss the field and collections of the Finnish Heritage Agency. Most of the Society's publications published by 1945 are available online in the service of the National Library of Finland.
The Cultural Environment
The Finnish Heritage Agency produces and stores information on cultural environments and their protection. Data is available on archaeological sites and built environments, for example.
Cultural Environment Service Window
The information can be accessed in the Cultural Environment service window. For example, would you be interested in what kind of relics can be found near your home? Here you can also report an archaeological site you have found and download the Finnish Heritage Agency’s geographic information materials.
Repair skills
The site contains information on the preservation of renovation construction, instructions for the renovation project of a protected building, examples of successful renovation projects and the vocabulary of the industry. The familiar repair cards of the Finnish Heritage Agency can also now be found on the Korjaustaito.fi website.
Repair skills (in Finnish)
Built well-being
Over 80% of the building stock and infrastructure in Finland has been built in the past 70 years. The materials of the Built well-being project tell us about the built environments related to well-being in our everyday lives.
Built well-being (in Finnish)
Guide to Archaeological Cultural Heritage
The Guide to Archaeological Cultural Heritage explains what archaeological cultural heritage means in Finland, what the sites look like in the terrain and what their history is. What signs indicate a Stone Age residence or ancient clearing, for example?
Guide to Archaeological Cultural Heritage (in Finnish)
Built for the State
On the Valtiollerakennettu.fi website, you can browse information about the state's EUR 4.2 billion real estate assets. On the site, there is information on what the state's building heritage is like and how it should be managed sustainably.
Built for the State (in Finnish)
Picture Collections
The Picture Collections of the Finnish Heritage Agency record, care for, and study cultural and historical, ethnological, architectural historical and journalistic picture materials and make them available for public use.
Browse the Picture Collections
The Picture Collections of Finnish Heritage Agency are an inexhaustible gallery of images. The pictures range from graphic arts from the 1500s to the present day’s digital photography through a variety of different techniques.
Browse the Picture Collections
Press Photo Archive JOKA
Press Photo Archive JOKA takes care of the preservation and availability of the history of Finnish photojournalism. The collection of millions of press photographs consists mostly of original negatives.
View press photographs digitised by JOKA in the Finna search service
3D models
Modern technology makes it possible to view a museum object closely and from different sides, even when the object is protected from changing conditions. What does an old teapot or an old leather shoe look like?
100-year-old Finland through photographs
Old photographs are a great tool for teaching and studying. We chose examples from all decades of the 1900s with themes such as technology, art, the exercise of power and food.
Illustrate the history of 100-year-old Finland through photographs
Digitised ciné film
The Picture Collections of the Finnish Heritage Agency have digitised old ciné film, and also made other moving pictures available for everyone. They include many examples of traditional craft skills.
Articles on photographs
In their work, our staff encounters fascinating glimpses into the past. These photographs are more prominently visible in articles published in magazines and online in the years 2014–2023.
Read what the employees of the Picture Collections write about photographs
Quality controlled digitisation
Technical instructions for digitising two-dimensional cultural heritage materials in the museums have been published as a PDF file and a WIKI website at digitointilaatu.fi
Online publications and current affairs materials
Kulttuurista perinnöksi online publication
The Kulttuurista perinnöksi (“from culture to heritage”) online publication presents cultural heritage from fresh perspectives: cultural heritage from 3D technology to modern documentation, climate change and interesting people in the sector.
Kulttuurista perinnöksi
Cultural Heritage Barometer
You can examine the views of Finnish people on cultural heritage and cultural environment in the Cultural Heritage Barometer (Kulttuuriperintöbarometri).
Kulttuuriperintöbarometri 2021
Sadan vuoden satoa online publication
The Sadan vuoden satoa website tells a hundred stories about the history and achievements of the Finnish Heritage Agency and its predecessor, the National Board of Antiquities, as part of the development of the Finnish society.
Museum Statistics
The museum statistics include statistical data on the finances, personnel and operations of Finland’s professionally managed museums, collected by the Finnish Heritage Agency. Information on the museums’ operations since the year 2007 is accessible to everyone in the Museotilasto.fi online service.
In the online service, you can search and examine information using the statistics search, tables published as open data and annual statistics publications.