Västerbotten

Norrbyskärs museum
In the former machine room at what was once the sawmill at Norrbyskär is a museum featuring Norrbyskär's history. Visitors can learn about the rise and fall of the industrial age on Norrbyskär. A large model shows what the islands looked like during the sawmill era. More information is available at http://www.norrbyskar.se/ (in Swedish) and Västerbotten museum, http://www.sevart.se/index_eng.php.

Holmön boat museum
A relatively new boat museum, open during the summer, can be found in Byviken on Holmön. Read more at http://hem.fyristorg.com/batmuseum/ (in Swedish). You can see outstanding pictures of the museum at http://www.algonet.se/~okie/holmnsb.htm (in Swedish).

Kulturum Ratan
At the exhibition in the former Tullgården (tollhouse) you can learn the three reasons why Ratan is considered a site of national interest;

• the land uplift which can clearly be seen in Ratan's harbour,
• the maritime era when Ratan was "the door to northern Sweden" - a customs and staple port for all of northern ports in the Gulf of Bothnia, on both Swedish and the Finnish sides,
• the battle against the Russians on 20 August 1809, the most recent battle on Swedish soil.

Read more at Västerbotten musem, http://www.sevart.se/index_eng.php and http://www.ratan.se (in Swedish)

Ostrobothnia

Klemetsgårdarna
This museum centre is located in Kärklax, Maxmo, and features a complete home from the 1940s, as well as displays of textiles and old motorcycles. The museum also features a Viking trail with Viking-era graves and building foundations. Open daily 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. from June to mid-August. Groups are welcome by appointment year round, (06) 345 0122. Read more at http://www.multi.fi/~klemets/en

Replot hembygdsmuseum (local heritage museum),
Replot. Tel. (06) 352 0316. Open by appointment.

Björkö Museiområde (museum centre)
On Björkö you can visit Mortesgården with its peasant's cottage, engine museum and wool carding and spinning facility. The Bodback fishing port is also part of the museum centre. Open by appointment June-August, 040 744 7461.

Granösunds Fishing Village
Granösund fishing village in Södra Vallgrund shows life in the archipelago during a time when most people depended on fishing, seal hunting, farming and handicrafts for their livelihoods. About ten buildings were moved here from various sites in the Replot archipelago. Open weekends, 1 June -15 August; by appointment during the rest of the year, (06) 352 7823.

Brinkens Hembygdsområde
Community museum with about twenty buildings from eighteenth and nineteenth-century Malax. The museum is built around the Orregården farm on Brinken in Yttermark. Open June-July and by appointment, (06) 365 1913. http://museum.malax.fi/brinken.htm (in Swedish)

Kvarkens Boat Museum
Åminne, Yttermark, has one of the biggest museums for wooden boats and fishing gear in the Nordic region. Open June-July and by appointment, (06) 365 1933. Read more at http://museum.svof.fi/kvarken.htm (in Swedish)

Bergö hembygdsmuseum
This local heritage museum shows a nineteenth century furnished archipelago home in Klockargården. Tours by appointment, (06) 343 0272.

Read more about museums in Ostrobothnia: http://museum.svof.fi/indexeng.htm