A poster for Kinosalonki Sofia, a lovely historical movie theatre in Raahe. This was also done as a school project in Lybecker on the first graphic design course in 2023-2024.
I wanted to go for a punk vibe, because I felt that it was fitting for Sofia (Franzen) Lybecker, since she was a real rebel in her time. If you’re not familiar with her story, I strongly advise you to read about her. The Lybecker school would not exist without her. I wonder if I had ended up studying graphic design then? And what would have happened to the poor girls of 1800’s Raahe if Sofia hadn’t given them the chance of education?
Story of Sofia Franzen and the founding of the Lybecker school
From: langinkauppahuone.fi, Miss Sofia’s Chamber
Sofia was born in a merchant family in 1816 and stayed unmarried till the age of 26 – not that she didn’t have any suitors, quite the opposite. Sofia’s problem was the inheritance left by her mother, over 3,000 silver rubles. During those times, it was the husband who always made decisions on his wife’s wealth, so as long as Sofia remained unmarried, she could decide what to do with her money.
Sofia was an exceptional bourgeois girl. She was worried about the dangers poor girls in Raahe were under. What would happen to the uneducated girls? What does it mean for the whole society and its future if women don’t have an education?
She lost her mother at the age of 10. On her mother’s grave, Sofia promised to found a school for the poor girls in Raahe. Her inheritance would be changed into a trust, and the interest would be used to found the school and pay for the teachers. Sofia planned to be a teacher in the school herself too. The determined daughter developed this idea and decided to remain unmarried till she would meet a suitor who would accept her school plan.
In a certain party, Sofia met baron Georg Henrik Lybecker and fell irreversibly in love with him at first sight. The only thing that was dampening this happiness what the fear if she could ever say “no” to this handsome and elegant baron if he was against the school project. To Sofia’s luck, the bridegroom was happy to accept Sofia’s plan and thus, they signed the founding documents of the Lybecker school on their wedding day on the 14th of February 1843. The school is still running in Raahe.
Fonts used: Punk Kid, Cocaine Sans & Got Heroin? (1001fonts.com)
Picture of Sofia Lybecker: Wikimedia Commons
Leave a Reply