The Manuscript Collection

The Manuscript Collection contains the archives of persons and communities related to the history of Finnish educational and cultural history. A considerable number of individual manuscripts from different fields are also found in the collection, the scope of which is approximately 3,000 meters of shelf.

The history of the Manuscript Collection extends back to the collections of the library at Turku Academy. A portion of the library's books and certain valuable manuscripts were rescued from the Great Turku Fire of 1827. Examples from this period include Henrik Gabriel Porthan's manuscript archives and Pehr Kalm's travel diaries from the years 1741-1749. The collection's older materials include papyri, Oriental manuscripts and mediaeval parchment fragments.

Materials related to the histories of Finnish culture, music, education and the University of Helsinki continue to be acquired for the collection.

The Manuscript Collection's materials are studied in the Special Reading Room. Using the material requires compliance with copyright legislation, the regulations governing the use of archived materials and the terms covering the use of the collection.

Collection catalogues and descriptions

Further information: kk-ms(at)helsinki.fi
Eila.Kupias(at)helsinki.fi
Tel. +358 9 191 22712, +358 9 191 22711
Music Archives, Tel. +358 9 191 22716