Rauma Old Town Hall
The Old Town Hall building has been used by the museum since the beginning of the 20th century. It was built in 1776.
The plan for the building which was finally accepted, was drawn by the town architect of Turku, Christian Schröder. Plans had also been drawn by Johan Schytt, a master mason from Turku, who was in charge of the construction work. Preliminary plans were made by Rauma’s own councillors. Designing and building the steep roof and clocktower required experienced church constructors. They were Job Höckert, the parish clerk from Lappi, who was in charge of the roof, and master builder Anders Wahlberg from the Turku area, whose handiwork can be admired in the clocktower. The shape of the tower is similar to the bell towers of the same designer.
The Old Town Hall is mainly baroque-style, but the basic shape of the house, two storeys and a clock tower, was common already in medieval towns. In addition to Rauma, only Porvoo has an 18th century town hall in its original form.
The meeting hall of the town council, offices and archives were located upstairs, while the town jail and a shop were located downstairs.
At the moment The Old Town Hall displays objects related to the town history, shipping and lace making. Lace making demonstrations have also been a museum attraction for decades, although lace makers are not constantly present.
