Aboa Vetus Ars Nova Museum

Aboa Vetus Ars Nova Museum in Turku, Finland, uniquely combines archaeological exhibits of medieval Turku with contemporary art displays. Visitors can explore authentic medieval ruins and artifacts, while also enjoying diverse art exhibitions. The museum also features a museum shop and the café-restaurant Brunndeli, offering a comprehensive cultural experience.

Planning your visit

Aboa Vetus Ars Nova is two museums sharing a building, and the combination came about by accident. When a nineteenth-century mansion in Turku was being converted into an art museum in the 1990s, workers digging in the courtyard hit medieval stone. Excavation revealed streets, cellars and foundations of the medieval town, buried for centuries, and the project changed: the archaeology stayed, and the contemporary art gallery was built around and above it.

Visitors now descend into genuine medieval Turku — Finland's oldest city and its capital under Swedish rule — walking among excavated walls and alleys with the finds displayed alongside: pottery, coins, leather, tools and the everyday debris of a Baltic trading town.

Upstairs, the contemporary programme runs Finnish and international exhibitions, and the juxtaposition is deliberate rather than awkward.

The riverside setting is pleasant, and the cafe-restaurant is well regarded locally.

Bookable options are entry tickets covering both halves. Current availability is listed below.