Museo Eliel

A Region Full of Stories

North Karelian Museum was founded in 1917 to preserve the folk culture of the North Karelia region. Over the decades, the museum has gone through many transformations and several exhibition spaces.

The museum’s first exhibition spaces were opened in 1920 in the Joensuun kaupungintalo (Joensuu City Hall). After its years at City Hall, the museum moved in 1955 to Karjalantalo on Ilosaari Island, where it operated for the next four decades.

At the turn of the millennium, the exhibition spaces relocated to the city centre, to Carelicum by the Market Square, where the museum opened its new exhibition space in 1998. The museum operated under the name North Karelian Museum Hilma until December 2023.

Winds of change began to blow again in 2020, when the Joensuu City Council approved the museum’s move to new premises — back to City Hall, into the former administrative wing. Before the museum’s homecoming, the wing was renovated between 2024 and 2025 to make it suitable for museum use.

In connection with the move to City Hall, Hilma received a new look. From 2025 onward, museum has been known as Museo Eliel. The museum’s new name and visual identity pay tribute to the architect of Joensuu City Hall, Eliel Saarinen, and to the building.

With its renewed brand, Museo Eliel continues the work that the North Karelian Museum has carried out for over a century.

Professor of practice Sami Sykkö served as mentor and inspirer for the museum reform, supporting a broad expert team in developing the museum services during the planning phase. The collaboration aimed to introduce key themes for the opening exhibition, focusing on visual impact, engaging content, broader thematic entities, and cooperation with other actors, as well as planning events related to the opening. The City of Joensuu signed a one-year agreement with Sykkö in autumn 2023.

For visitors, Museo Eliel offers experiences and insights into the history and present day of the North Karelia region. The exhibitions highlight the region’s diverse voices, its picturesque nature, and life throughout the ages.

The exhibitions at Museo Eliel are spread across three floors. The exhibition spaces are accessible by wheelchair, and visitors may choose the order in which they experience them. The cellar and upper-floor exhibitions can be purchased separately, or visitors may buy a single ticket that covers all exhibitions in the museum. The building’s fascinating history and architecture can also be explored through a digital “Saarisen kierros” extending across three floors.

Regional Responsibilities
Since the beginning of 2020, Joensuu Museums (Joensuu Art Museum and The North Karelian Museum) have operated as the museums with regional responsibilities in the North Karelia region. The responsibilities include promoting museum activities in North Karelia regian, coordinating regional art museum work, and serving as an expert authority on the cultural environment within the region.