Finnish American Heritage Center
About Finnish American Heritage Center
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.
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.
Locations
Primary Office Location
435 Quincy Street Hancock MI 49930
(906) 487-7549
