SEKA Paper Museum exceeds 1 million visitors

KOCAELİ

The SEKA Paper Museum, which highlights Türkiye's industrialization and the paper production process during the Republic period, has welcomed 1,011,787 visitors since its opening on Nov. 6, 2016.

Opened in 1936, the SEKA Paper Factory in the northwestern province of Kocaeli was transformed into a museum after approximately three and a half years of restoration work following its closure.

The museum, covering an area of 12,345 square meters, displays old machines used in paper production and welcomes visitors from both domestic and international locations with 18 halls, 115 display cases, 443 documents and 337 objects.

From its opening in 2016 until the end of October this year, the museum has hosted 1,011,787 visitors.

Handmade paper, paper arts, art and wood workshops also served 45,678 people and hosted 36 temporary exhibitions.

Hüseyin Saban, the museum's coordinator, said that SEKA Paper Museum, an "Industrial Transformation Project" by Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality, has been serving as the world’s largest paper museum for eight years.

Saban explained that the four-story museum with 18 halls provides information on the history of Kocaeli, the stages of paper production and the social, economic and cultural activities SEKA contributed to the city.

Noting that, as of the end of October, 1,011,787 visitors toured the museum, Saban said: "In addition to tours, we have handmade paper, paper arts, art and wood workshops where 45,678 people have participated in activities. In our museum, the industrialization periods of Türkiye up to the present can be seen. We especially aim to convey to future generations Türkiye's industrialization, the stages of paper production, and the value added by the factory to the city. We are also providing services by opening workshops on recycling and zero waste to pass these on to future generations."

Saban noted that the museum, which displays machines from the factory era, explains the stages of paper production and Türkiye’s industrialization process to visitors.

Expressing that the museum attracts interest from both domestic and international visitors, Saban said: "This is an industrial museum. Visitors from Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the U.S. are amazed when they come to our museum. They tell us they have never seen such a large industrial museum before. They examine the machines and ask questions. They express their appreciation for the preservation of the factory in this structure and its transmission to future generations."