Västerbottens Museum

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Västerbottens museum is a county museum in Umeå, Sweden. It preserves the cultural history of Västerbotten County and includes several parts: the Gammlia open‑air museum, a ski exhibition (formerly the Swedish Ski Museum), a Fishing and Maritime exhibition, the Västerbotten Popular Movement Archive, and Sami camps. The museum works across Västerbotten, often doing archaeological work, and it publishes the quarterly journal Västerbotten.

Gammlia is part of Västerbottens museum. It shows historic buildings gathered from across the county and hosts activities to show what life used to be like. Buildings include Helena Elisabeth Church, a manor house, a windmill, an 18th‑century farmhouse, a school, a blacksmith shop, and Sami camps. In summer, native animals such as horses, cows, sheep, pigs and chickens are on display. Visitors can try butter churning, baking tunnbröd bread, and crafts. The farms are open from mid‑June to late August and during the Christmas market. The outdoor area is open all year round.

The name Gammlia comes from Gamli, meaning “the old hillside.” The idea for a museum in Umeå began in 1886. The collection started in a small building, but a great city fire in 1888 destroyed much of the southern collection. The museum moved several times: to a grammar school in 1901, then to a warehouse by the city port in 1911. The Gammlia building was completed in 1939. Between 1921 and 1990 more old Västerbotten buildings were moved to Gammlia to form the open‑air site. In 1981 a large expansion allowed Bildmuseet, the university’s contemporary art museum, to move in. In 2012 Bildmuseet moved to a new building, and Västerbottens museum expanded in its own premises. One notable artifact is the world’s oldest ski.

The museum is located in the Gammlia area of Umeå. The current director is Ulrica Grubbström. The museum’s logo features a bronze link from a thousand‑year‑old Sami burial near the Vindel River.