Lazaret Museum

The Turku Lazaret Museum was established on October 30th 1974. The efforts of the teaching nurse of the surgical clinic, Maija Jansén, were essential in setting up the museum's activity. The museum began its activity in the old gatekeeper lodge on the Kiinamylly hill in 1975.

In addition to Tyks Main hospital, there are museum collections from the Tyks Loimaa hospital as well as Tyks Vakka-Suomi hospital. The museum activity is overseen by the museum working group of Tyks.

The Turku Lazaret Museum is a member museum of the Varsinais-Suomen museot ry (Society for the museums of Southwest Finland).

Turku University Hospital, originally Turku Lazaret, is the oldest continuously functional hospital in Finland. The Swedish king Adolf Frederick signed the lazaret charter December 17th 1756 and the opening ceremony of the 9-bed curing room of the diseased was held in a festive atmosphere along the shores of the river Aura on June 6th 1759. The first four patients had already been admitted earlier in the springtime.

The hospital has located in several buildings along the river Aura. In 1784, the hospital moved to the log building in the corner of the contemporary Linnankatu and Sairashuoneenkatu. After the mid-19th century the provincial hospital was located for a quarter century in the so called stone garrison near the contemporary Martinsilta. Towards the end of the 19th century, the name of the hospital was established as "Läänin yleinen sairaala" (General Provincial Hospital) and later as "Turun lääninsairaala" (Turku Provincial Hospital).

The Turku Provincial Hospital moved to the Kiinamylly hill in 1881. Most of the buildings built back then are still in use. The hospital became a University Hospital in 1958.

You can get to know the hospital's history better in the Turku Lazaret Museum located along Kiinamyllynkatu in the old gatekeeper lodge (building 13).