Visitors to the Kahraman Sağra Hazelnut Museum in Ordu, northern Türkiye, can explore the challenging journey of hazelnuts from orchard to table through a variety of exhibits.
The three-story historic Kahraman Sağra Mansion in the Altınordu district was restored in 2018 by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Believed to have been built in the late 19th century, the mansion was allocated by the Ordu Metropolitan Municipality to serve as a hazelnut museum.
Located in the Selimiye neighborhood of Altınordu, the museum opened to visitors in 2020. Its exhibits use visuals and materials to illustrate the history of hazelnuts, from harvesting in the orchards and threshing and drying on the farm to processing and culinary uses. The museum also highlights the crop’s contribution to the regional and urban economy and its imprint on Ordu’s cultural memory.
Ordu Metropolitan Mayor Mehmet Hilmi Güler told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the city is the world’s largest hazelnut producer.
“As a municipality, we wanted to create a museum that reflects this unique feature,” Güler said. “Since opening in 2020, the museum has drawn significant interest, hosting around 60,000 visitors.”
Güler emphasized that it is the first and only museum in Türkiye dedicated to hazelnuts.
“Kahraman Sağra is a very important figure for us. He contributed significantly to the hazelnut sector and established its industry. By opening the Ordu Kahraman Sağra Hazelnut Museum, which embodies these qualities, we aimed to benefit our sector, culture, business community and industry,” he said.
Güler added that visitors explore the museum with great interest. He noted that the museum has inspired initiatives such as chocolate production, the establishment of an active carbon factory and the development of new value-added products, contributing to multiple sectors.
Hazelnuts, he said, are not only a cultural and lifestyle symbol for the region but also “a product of labor transformed into something tangible. That’s why it is so meaningful to us. We describe it as ‘from orchard to table.’ It is a natural resource with high nutritional value and a key ingredient in chocolate. Yet for us, hazelnuts hold an even deeper significance, which the museum conveys by combining historical context with the contributions of past figures. It creates a meaningful museum and an important chain of values that brings it all together.”
Güler also said the municipality is focusing on promoting the museum. “As the number of visitors increases, we expect to see this figure grow significantly among both domestic and international tourists,” he said.
