Ahlström Noormarkku Works

Ahlström ironworks — Noormarkku Works is one of the largest ironworks areas in Finland. Photo: Ahlström Works

Ahlström Works is a unique historical industrial area in Noormarkku, Pori, and it is one of the most significant and best-preserved ironworks in Finland.

The story of A. Ahlström Corporation is a notable part of Finnish industrial, architectural, art, and design history. The area offers cultural tours at the Makkarakoski sawmill museum, the Ahlström Voyage exhibition, and the world-renowned Villa Mairea. In the Ahlström Voyage exhibition, visitors can explore art glass from the Iittala, Karhula, and Riihimäki glass factories that were part of the corporation, as the exhibition showcases a remarkable collection of works by Tapio Wirkkala and Timo Sarpaneva, as well as several unique pieces of the Savoy vase designed by Alvar Aalto. Additionally, there is an impressive scale model of the ironworks area on display. Architects Alvar Aalto and his wife, architect Aino Aalto, had a long and fruitful collaboration with Ahlström, resulting in masterpieces of Finnish architecture and design, which can be explored on the cultural tour “In the Footsteps of Alvar and Aino Aalto.”

Noormarkku Club House is a high-class Rôtisseurs restaurant. Accommodation is available in cozy guesthouses. The spirit of the guesthouse Vainiola, which underwent a renovation designed by architect Alvar Aalto in the 1940s, has been preserved to this day. The air-conditioned rooms in the guesthouse are furnished with Artek furniture, including several unique pieces.

Villa Mairea was built in 1939 in Noormarkku, Pori, as a representative home for Maire (née Ahlström) and Harry Gullichsen. The progressive couple were passionate supporters of the arts and fascinated by the clean lines of modernism. Their close friends, architects Aino and Alvar Aalto, were given the freedom to design boldly and experimentally. The result was a unique total work of art, now recognized as one of the international masterpieces of 20th-century architecture. The interior was designed by Aino Aalto.

Through Maire Gullichsen’s life’s work, Villa Mairea is deeply connected to Finland’s art and design scene. Maire played a key role in founding institutions such as the furniture company Artek and Galerie Artek, the Free Art School, and the Pori Art Museum. Today, Villa Mairea is home to the Mairea Foundation, established by Maire Gullichsen in 1980. The foundation preserves the cultural values of Villa Mairea, manages its collections and archives, and organizes guided tours.

Villa Mairea can only be experienced on guided tours. Tickets for public tours are available through our website, and group tours can be booked via email.

More information:
Ahlström Works
Villa Mairea

The Ahlström Voyage exhibition features several unique pieces of the Savoy vase designed by Alvar Aalto. Photo: Ahlström Works

The Ahlström Voyage exhibition presents an interesting view of the history and present day of the Ahlström companies, the Ahlström family, and the Noormarkku works, spanning over 170 years. Photo: Ahlström Works

The Makkarakoski sawmill is a unique example of the lifecycle of a sawmill. The machinery, acquired in 1875 after a fire destroyed the previous mill, initially operated on water power, then steam power, and finally electric power. A similar sawmill cannot be found elsewhere in Europe. Photo: Ahlström Works

The Noormarkku Club is a Rôtisseurs restaurant. Photo: Ahlström Works

Noormarkku Works is classified by the Finnish Heritage Agency as a nationally significant built cultural environment. Photo: Ahlström Works