Unique tannery museum in Tammela, Finland
Portaan Nahkurinverstas (Porras’ tannery) is known to be the only museum in Finland presenting the leather industry of its own era, the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, and which is located in its original location.
Porras tannery has in its time been mid sized industrial building with its 500 square meters. There are several different machines that have been used in the process, and steam power has been used to run the machinery.
What makes the Porras’ tannery particularly rare and culturally valuable is that, in addition to the building, several tools and other items and materials related to the leather industry of the past have been preserved. The machines and equipment used in leather production are in their original places, as are the tools of shoemakers and saddlers. In total, over 600 objects have been catalogued.
The museum is located in the historic small village of Porras in Tammela, along the centuries-old Häme Oxroad, and in addition to the visiting the museum, you may also want to see the thrill of history on Porras’ idyllic old village road.
Entrance fees
Adults 6 €
Children (7-17 years old) 3 €
Children under 7 yo free entrance
Guided tours including the entrance fee and the guide: check the tour dates and schedules here
Adults 10 €
Children (7-17 years old) 5 €
Children under 7 yo free
Groups (min. 10 people)
6 €/person including the guidance
Guided tours in the museum
In summer seasons there are public guided tours, open for everyone, on Wednesdays at 4 pm and Sundays at 1 pm. More detailed tour days and schedules for summer 2026 will be announced later in the spring.
For groups of min. 10 people, guided tours are available also by request. See the contact information and prices here.
Machinery, Tools and Other Artifacts of the Tannery Museum
On the groud floor of the museum there are, among other things, the tanning vats, the sole leather iron and the steam engine, all in their former places where they used to be during the operations.
Steam engine Voima, manufactured by Oy Vulcan Ab in Turku, Finland, in 1910 has been used to run up to 9 machines in the workshop. In addition, steam has been utilized also for heating of the building.
On the upper floor there are e.g. thinning and polishing machines and an interesting planimeter used to measure the surface area of leather items.
There is also a separate shoemakers’ workshop room upstairs with sewing machines and shoemakers’ tools.
There are some leather items prepared in the workshop as well as boots, harnesses and other objects that have been made there. Some documents related to the operations of the tannery have also been preserved, such as accounting documents and receipts. Thus it’s possible to get acquainted with the entire leather industry process of the past in the museum, from the processing of skins to the manufacture and sales of finished leather products.
Here you can find a more detailed description of the leather processing of the past (in Finnish)
Here you can read more about the leather workers of the Porras’ tannery (in Finnish)