The Sovelius House

The Sovelius House is in the immediate proximity of the Packhouse on the other side of Rantakatu. The Sovelius House is the oldest surviving residential building in Raahe. The house, built in the 1780s, is a typical 18th century bourgeois home. It is a two-storey house on a high stone foundation, with exterior walls of vertical timber weatherboarding. The Carolinian floor plan, typical of the period, can still be seen on both floors: behind the wide hall there is a living room with two rooms on each side. The porch on the northern facade was added in the early 20th century.

In 1990, the Raahe Museum rented the Sovelius House from the Sovelius Foundation. After the surfaces were examined, the decision was made to restore the upstairs in the 1890s style and the downstairs in the Art Nouveau style of the early 20th century. The conservator of the museum prepared wallpapers with silk-screen printing, using the old wallpapers that were found on the walls as a model. The museum office is in the Art Nouveau style downstairs premises.

The Shipowner's home
Upstairs in the Sovelius House, there is a restored home of a shipowner. The home offers an overview of the whole panoply of the wealthy home inhabited by a shipowner and a merchant in the 1890s. The home is full of exquisite heirloom furniture, novelties of the period and various other items. Just like his ancestors, the shipowner also worked as a captain on his ships. The walls of his home were adorned with paintings of ships that he had had made in foreign ports.

The living room is a veritable oasis of flourishing plants, beautiful furniture, exquisite upholstery as well as magnificent carpets, tablecloths and curtains. The house plants in the Shipowner’s Home are exactly those that decorated homes in Raahe over a century ago: Norfolk island pine, hibiscus, bush lily, apostle plant and ferny asparagus. The abundant collection of knick-knacks was the pride and joy of the lady of the house – after all, it was the maid who did all the dusting.

Before Christmas, around Anna’s Day, the Shipowner’s Home will be decorated for Christmas with old Christmas customs included on guided tours and antiquated Christmas ornaments on display.