The North Karelia Museum (Pohjois-Karjalan museo) covers the history and culture of the region from prehistoric times through the 20th century. The permanent exhibitions deal with the Karelian people — their way of life, folk traditions, Orthodox religious culture and the particular tragedy of the Winter War and Continuation War, after which Finland ceded the Karelian territories to the Soviet Union and around 430,000 Karelians were evacuated westward.
The museum gives meaningful context to understanding North Karelia and its relationship to the lost lands to the east — a story still living in the region's older generation and in the landscape of abandoned farmsteads near the Russian border. Temporary exhibitions run throughout the year. The museum is well labelled in Finnish and in English.