Armory

The Armory is located on the third floor of the museum and it contains various of weapons from swords to helmets. The weapond collection of th Lahti Historical museum has been created by obtaining other collections, for example. The collection includes weapons of several ages and types. The collection is especially extensive as comes to weapons from the 18th century onwards.

The weapons collection is divided into sub collections

Weapons from the Klaus Holma Commemorative Collection
The collection of antiquities owned by the diplomatic family of Holma, who had antiquities as one of their hobbies, includes works of art and utility articles as well as edged military weapons and protective fittings from the era between the 15th and the 18th century.

Weapons from the collection of Viaborg Historical Museum
Stored in Lahti, the collection is versatile also as comes to weaponry. Weapons were added to the collections of the Viaborg Museum after ethnographic collection trips and as donations, for example. The influence of Russia and the Baltic Sea trade can be seen in the number of eastern and oriental weapons in the collection.

Weapons from the collections of the Lahti Historical Museum
The collection includes, for example, donations from war veterans and other private persons. It entails weapons from various eras, extending from findings made in the Päijät-Häme region to military weapons of types that are still used by the Finnish army.

Furthermore, the collections of the Lahti Historical Museum include a small number of weapons deposited by the Finnish Defence Forces’ War Museum.

What do weapons tell us?

A weapon reflects the engineering skills of blacksmiths working at the time they were manufactured – and also the needs, character and political status of the community or nation that used the weapons. The weapons collection of the Lahti Historical Museum extensively reflects the weaponry used by the Finnish army, civil guards and authorities of the Häme region. In addition, the collection includes some weapons used as decorative items, such as Persian rifles and swords. We also display weapons that are noteworthy based on their character or condition. Examples of these are a Japanese katana-type sword that is also known as the sword used by the samurai, a Mannlichter 1895 rifle that is in excellent condition, a Mauser m/96 pistol and an I series Lahti L-35 pistol.