Since its grand opening in 1990, Finlandia University’s Finnish American Heritage Center has become a community focal point and a national center, offering exhibits, lectures, plays, musical programs and community events each year. The building is a popular stop for tourists and the beautiful Martha Wiljanen Community Hall is available to the public as a rental space. The Heritage Center is also the home of the Finnish American Folk School.
Finnish immigrants dreamed of an institution that would provide religious education, perpetuate the Finnish language and preserve their experience in North America. Suomi College (now Finlandia University) built in 1896, is the realization of that dream, and the only remaining North American institution of higher learning founded by Finnish Americans.
We invite you to explore everything we have to offer, and encourage you to help us fulfill our mission by donating to the Finnish American Heritage Center.
Hours and Location
The Finnish American Heritage Center (FAHC) is open to the general public under the following guidelines:
- Public hours will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday
- The archive is 100 percent appointment-only; masks are required when inside archive reading room and other research areas
- The FAR office is fully open
- The Finlandia University Gallery and Martha Wiljanen Community Hall are open and accessible for self-guided tours; guided art gallery tours provided by Gallery Director Carrie Flaspohler are available upon request
- The Martha Wiljanen Community Hall is accepting rental requests and reservations.
435 Quincy Street
Hancock, MI 49930
906-487-7549
The Finnish American Heritage Center is the primary site of the Finnish American Folk School (FAFS).
Through the creation of an inter-generational, multi-national Finnish folk school at the Heritage Center (and nearby satellite sites) we’re developing a sustainable system through which Finnish cultural traditions are learned by folk school attendees and subsequently taught by those attendees to future generations.
The activities take place at times when the Copper Country traditionally hosts Finnish culturally-themed festivals: Heikinpäivä (January), Juhannus/Midsummer (June), and Ruska (September).