Skulls returned to Pälkäne, Finland, for reburial in Ruins Church after 150 years

Today, skulls taken from Pälkäne, Finland, to Sweden in the 1870s will be reburied in the churchyard of the Ruins Church in Pälkäne. A prayer service preceding the burial will be officiated by Bishop Matti Repo and Pälkäne’s parish priest Jari Kemppainen, with a speech delivered by Sari Multala, the Finnish Minister of Science and Culture.

The skulls that will be interred were originally transported to Sweden for racial research purposes. A total of 82 skulls were taken from various locations across Finland. Last April, the Swedish government made the decision to return the skulls held in the collections of the Karolinska Institute back to Finland. The remains arrived in Finland at the end of August.