The Kaarlela Museum of Local History and Culture, situated in the municipal district of Kirkonmäki, represents the local peasant culture in the 19th century. Time seems to stand still at the museum courtyard, and visitors can sense the atmosphere of the 1800s. The stable, smoke sauna, drying barn and outbuildings stand witness to the peasant culture of their time. The premises of the Kaarlela Museum of Local History and Culture also include a small cottage, a leather tannery, a carding works and an impressive windmill.
The museum has exhibition spaces in a stone building that belongs to the neighbouring Kaarlela vicarage. The building was commissioned in 1775 by Anders Chydenius, who was an economist, a member of the legislative assembly and the local vicar. The actual vicarage was built in 1737 by Vicar Karl Gustav Werander, and it is the only remaining Swedish baroque-style vicarage in Finland. The medieval stone church of Kaarlela is also located nearby, and the oldest parts of the church date back to the 1460s. At the initiative of Anders Chydenius, the church was extended and given a cross-shaped layout at the end of the 18th century. He became the local vicar after his farther in 1770 and held the position until his death in 1803. The Kaarlela Church is a roadside church in July.
Kirkkopolku 4.
Open 2023:
- The Kaarlela Museum of Local History and Culture:
21.6 – 6.8. Wed-Sun at 11 am to 5 pm (Mon, Tue and Midsummer closed). Free entry. - The Kaarlela Church:
4.-28.7. Tue-Thu from 11 am to 3 pm a guide available in church. - Entrance fee for adults 5 €