About the exhibition

On the morning of April 6, 1918, Tampere was full of smoky ruins and bodies lying in the streets. Two thousand people had been killed. The war claimed further casualties in the prison camps and in the punitive measures following the occupation of the city. These events were a great tragedy involving bravery, suffering and a desire for vengeance from civilians as well as both parties in the war.

Tampere was the most important city of the Finnish Civil War. The Reds strived to defend their city until the end, while the Whites wanted to conquer it and thereby achieve a decisive victory in the war. To date, the 30000-man struggle is still the biggest urban battle fought in the Nordic countries.

The Tampere 1918 exhibition approaches this difficult topic by shedding light on the chain of events and the viewpoints of different parties of the war. The exhibit approaches this theme through unique items, photographs and contemporary voices. The faithfully digitized exhibit displays original material from the battlefields, collected immediately after the war, with over fifty 3D models of the most compelling objects.

The Tampere 1918 exhibition is part of Museum Centre Vapriikki’s Tampere 1918 Civil War Museum.

Museum

Museokeskus Vapriikki

Theme

History