Life at Lang’s Merchant House

What kind of man was merchant Johan Lang? Why did the Lang merchant house, its buildings and extensive business pass to a son-in-law – not just once, but twice? What unusual objects did sea captain Janne Byström bring home from his voyages? And what made a good servant in a 19th-century merchant household?

Life at Lang’s Merchant House is a storytelling experience about the people, work, customs and everyday life behind the history of the house.

The story begins in 1811, when the merchant house was built, and continues through the golden age of sailing ships, a time when Raahe was one of Finland’s important maritime and trading towns. Along the way, you will hear about merchants and sea captains, wives and daughters, shop assistants and servants – the people whose lives were connected to the house across generations.

A role guide leads you through stories of everyday routines and celebrations, prosperity and hardship, family life, business, journeys and the changing world outside the merchant house walls.

This is not a traditional guided tour, nor is it a theatre performance or a history lecture. It is an intimate storytelling moment where documented history, personal stories and the atmosphere of the old merchant’s house come together.

The story continues all the way to the present day. More than two centuries after the house was built, business is once again being done within its walls – very differently from the days of Johan Lang.

Or perhaps, in some ways, not so differently after all.

Life at Lang’s Merchant House is ideal for anyone who wants to understand not only what happened here, but what life may have felt like for the people who called this house their home and workplace.