HENNALA · LAHTI · FINLAND
The Long Road
Home
From first aid at the front to evacuation, field hospitals and recovery — discover how military medicine turned survival into a system.
Museum of Military Medicine · Historic Hennala Garrison
THE HUMAN CHAIN
How was a wounded soldier brought back from the front?
Survival depended on a chain of people and places: immediate first aid, a battalion aid post, an evacuation station, transport and a field hospital.
Every transfer demanded speed, organisation and courage. The museum follows this journey through original equipment, reconstructed environments, photographs and personal stories.
Take a first look at the museum through the guided 360° tour.
A NATION IN MOTION
Hospital trains carried the war away from the front
At the height of the wars, up to ten hospital trains could move 300–400 wounded patients at a time. Altogether, approximately 240,000 Finnish military patients travelled in medical transports by rail.
The trains connected field hospitals with safer treatment centres in the home region — a moving part of a much larger medical network.
FROM FRONT LINE TO RECOVERY
The route of the wounded
MINUTES
First aid
Bleeding was stopped, wounds were bandaged and pain relief was given as close to the fighting as possible.
HOURS
Evacuation station
The patient was checked, stabilised and prepared for the fastest possible onward transport.
DAYS
Field hospital
Surgery, transfusions, fracture treatment and nursing continued under demanding conditions.
WEEKS OR MONTHS
Recovery and return
Treatment continued in military and civilian hospitals, followed by rehabilitation and the long road home.
THE MUSEUM
War leaves wounds. Medicine leaves a chance to survive.
The Museum of Military Medicine is housed in a protected red-brick building in Hennala, a historic garrison area in Lahti.
Its exhibitions connect instruments and systems with the people who used them: medics, nurses, doctors, drivers, patients and families waiting at home.
EXHIBITIONS
What will you discover?
Military medicine
Instruments, equipment, protection, transport and medical practices from war and peacetime.
Winter and Continuation Wars
Field hospitals, medical companies, hospital trains, women’s work and the home front.
Hennala and Lahti
The garrison, the events of 1918 and the changing role of this historic site.
YOUR VISIT
Plan your visit to Hennala
Opening hours 2026
11 July – 6 September 2026
Saturday and Sunday
12:00–16:00
Group visits are available by prior arrangement throughout the year.
Admission
Adults 10 €
Pensioners, students and unemployed visitors 7 €
Children aged 8–17: 5 €
Under 8s and war veterans: free admission
Groups of at least 10 people: 7 € per person
HISTORY WHERE IT HAPPENED
Stand inside the story of care, courage and survival.
Visit the Museum of Military Medicine in Hennala, Lahti.
Plan your visit