The Mill Museum

Verla’s Groundwood and Board Mill became Finland’s first factory museum in 1972. The museum is located in the village of Verla, in the northern part of the Kymenlaakso region, and is part of the Verla World Heritage site.

come for a tour

The Verla Mill Museum, consisting of the groundwood and board mill, can be visited only as part of a guided tour. Tour guides bring the museum to life with stories about the mill. The museum offers tours in various languages for international guests.

Each summer, approximately 35,000 guests visit the World Heritage site. About 10% of those who tour the museum come from abroad, and each year the museum is visited by guests from 50–60 different countries. The museum is owned and maintained by UPM. 

Ticket sales

Tickets for museum tours can be purchased in advance from the museum’s webstore. Tickets are also sold at the museum’s info desk, which accepts cash and the most common bank and credit cards. 

OPEN 2023:

  • 2 May – 1 October Tuesday to Sunday 11-16
  • 26 June - 15 August daily 10-18
  • The last tour of the day is at 16 or 18.
  • On Midsummer’s Eve the museum is closed.

ADMISSION: 

Adults €12/person
Students, the unemployed and senior citizens €9/person
Groups of more than 20 people €9/person
Children under 18:  Free

The collections

The core of the Verla Mill Museum collection is located in the mill buildings, with other artefacts on display in exhibitions around the site as opportunities permit. The museum’s buildings, artefacts and photographs are catalogued in the Kantapuu database.

Samples of the wallpaper in Verla’s buildings have been catalogued in the wallpaper database of the National Board of Antiquities’ Department of Monuments and Sites.

In December 2008, the professional cultural history museums of Kymenlaakso started to plan for a joint collections management policy. The Verla Mill Museum’s collections policy was completed in the spring of 2012.

Academic theses

The Verla Mill Museum and World Heritage site have been the subject of many academic theses. These theses delve into marketing, restoration, culture and history, among other topics.

Learn about the theses ›

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