Replot local museum reflects a typical archipelago homestead. Here you can see practical everyday objects, furniture and handmade clothes. Especially characteristic of Replot is painted folk furniture, often with hints of green.
Besides fishing, which was a main industry on the island, sheep farming was an important part of the island residents sustenance, both for their meat and their wool. Many artifacts related to wool and textiles are preserved in the museum.
In the winter the islanders made a living from different crafts and there was many skilled carpenters at Replot.
The proximity to the sea and the sailor's life is visible through items such as compasses, various fishing nets, snowshoes made outof sealskins and corals from the Pacific.
Replot local museum reflects a typical island farm. The collections include both utilitarian objects and furniture from the 1700-1800 centuries and handmade clothing for both large and small.
At Alexandersgatna, in the center of the village, lies the Replot local museum. The museum's collections include all the things that was typical for subsistence in an archipelago before. The cottage is a typical Replot house with furniture and objects from the 1700s and 1800s. Especially characteristic for Replot are painted rustic furniture, often with a element of green. The cabinet which stands in the living room is from 1830, the dining table from 1773 and a butter churn from the 1790th
Besides fishing, which was a main industry on the island, the sheep farming was an important part of the islanders livelihood. The sheep were kept both for their meat and their wool. The sheep grazed out on the islands in the summer and was home again in September or October. Before the autumn slaughter, the sheep were cut from their wool. The museum has preserved the most part related to wool and textiles: everything from carders, spinning wheels, wheelchairs and härvlar to looms and stopping arc. In winter, the craftmanship gave supply to the livelihood and there were many skilled carpenters at Replot.
It was the factor Gustav Liljeström from Vasa in the early 1900s who took the initiative to establish a regional, local museum in Replot. He usually visited tha island in the summertime and he had noted that there was some opposition to the newly established Youth Association. He therefore suggested that it would unite the old with the young by founding a local museum in the village. They began to collect items and 1915 inaugurated the local museum. At first there were museum collections in a room in the local youth association, but in 1929 it was decided to build an ancient cottage. The cottage was built of wood that partly originated from a chapel from the 1600s. The chapel had previously been in use in Replot before the present church was built in 1781. The museum activity is run today by Replot hembygdsförening r.f., a local association.
One of the museum's treasures is the chamber where various textiles, clothing and hats are preserved: both handmade and machine-knitted clothes, exotic hats that sailors had brought from their longtours and even a helmet from World War II. Impressive is also the museum's book collection, which began already in the museum's first year. The proximity to the sea and the sailor's life is visible in the collections, through items such as compass, various nets, shoes of sealskins and corals from the islands far away.
Local museum is a fascinating place to visit even for the little ones in kindergarten or school groups who want to learn more about their home life and "old days".
