Suojeluskunta & Lotta Svärd Museum

The Suojeluskunta & Lotta Svärd Museum operates in the headquarters of the South Ostrobothnia Civil Guard, which was designed by Alvar Aalto and completed in 1926. The building was originally used as offices for the Civil Guard of South Ostrobothnia and the Lotta Svärd Association. Towards the end of the Second World War in November 1944, the Finnish Civil Guard and the Lotta Svärd Association were disbanded to meet the conditions of the Moscow Peace Treaty, and the headquarters in Seinäjoki were repurposed for other uses. Previous tenants have included Nuorisoseuraliitto (the federation of Finnish youth associations), a school and a travel agent.

The three-storey main building represents refined classicism and South Ostrobothnian building traditions. Today, it houses the museum information desk, meeting and exhibition rooms and the museum gift shop. The outbuilding has additional exhibition spaces, and the inner yard is home to Pentti Papinaho’s sculpture Suojeluskuntalainen, which is the national monument for the Civil Guards, and a relief depicting a young civil guard and a Lotta woman. The museum welcomes all visitors to explore the history of the Civil Guard, the Lotta Svärd Association and the Jaegers.