In December, Helsinki’s oldest wooden house – the Burgher's House Museum (Ruiskumestarin talo) – opens its doors for the festive season. This beautifully preserved home museum on the edge of Kruununhaka neighbourhood is open only at select times of the year and makes a wonderfully cosy family outing, complete with seasonal activities. This year the Christmas season runs until 4 January 2026.
Inside, the small wooden house is decorated as it would have been in the mid-nineteenth century. You’ll discover how Christmas was once celebrated: in the kitchen, warmed by the old stove, the air fills with the spicy scents of festive baking; in the chamber, gifts are wrapped into neat little parcels, sealed with lacquer and finished with playful, riddle-like verses.
In the parlour stands a modest Christmas tree trimmed with candles and biscuits. Christmas trees became fashionable among Helsinki’s upper classes in the late 1800s, and many households crafted new decorations each year – helped along by the seasonal DIY tips found in women’s magazines.
The house used to belong to the municipal fire pump master who once lived there, the official responsible for maintaining Helsinki’s early firefighting equipment.
A short walk from the city centre
You’ll find the Burgher's House Museum (Ruiskumestarin talo) at Kristianinkatu 12, just a ten-minute stroll from Senate Square along Kruununhaka’s charming Art Nouveau streets.
The house is open Wednesday to Sunday, from midday until early evening. Free entrance.