Founded in 1862, the Raahe Museum is the oldest museum of local history in Finland. It is housed in a long, low yellow-painted timber building that was once a customs warehouse and packing house down by the harbour.
The collections cover Raahe's maritime past — sailing ships built locally for the trans-Atlantic and Asian trade — together with bourgeois town life from the 18th and 19th centuries. The diving suit alone is worth the visit, but other highlights include a navigation room with brass instruments and a recreated 19th-century shipping office. Open Tuesday to Sunday in summer; reduced hours in winter.