Digital stuff
Helsinkiphotos.fi
The Helsinkiphotos.fi service includes tens of thousands of photographs related to Helsinki. The photographs are from the Helsinki City Museum’s collections. The City Museum’s collection has almost one million photographs of Helsinki and the everyday life of its inhabitants from the 1840s until today. New photographs are added to the collection mainly as donations or are taken by photographers commissioned by the museum. The City Museum’s predecessor, the Helsinki Board of Antiquities, began accumulating the collection in 1906. Signe Brander, known for her Helsinki photography, was commissioned to record the changing city in 1907. Brander’s photographs are the foundation of the City Museum’s photography collections. Currently, Helsinkiphotos.fi houses approximately 65,000 images – and more are being digitized and added.
Finna
The photographs of Helsinki City Museum collection are still available in the national Finna service at hkm.finna.fi. In addition to photographs, you can browse the museum’s object collections, from plastic bags to hairdryers and works of art. In Finna you can also find information about the buildings of Helsinki.
Finna information search service
Ask the Museum
We will answer your questions about Helsinki’s history and the museum’s operations. Send your question with or without a photo. You might already find the answer in the Ask the Museum service, so please also see the previously asked questions.