From the age of the Vikings to the settlers of the New Sweden Colony (1638-1655), to contemporary issues in Scandinavian society, the American Swedish Historical Museum will take you back in time and across the sea to learn the stories of Swedes in America.
Past Exhibitions
In a small exhibition located in the Kalm-Seaborg Gallery on the second floor, ASHM examines Swedish authors whose works have leaped across culture lines to impact the American literary landscape.
All over Scandinavia, December and January are filled with celebrations of good food, good drink, and good company. January – September 2017 learn about traditional holiday drinks such as Christmas beers, aquavit, and glögg. Offer a hearty “Skål!”
The Bishop Hill Colony was a religious community founded in Illinois in 1846 by Eric Janson and his followers. The small Swedish colony survived for only 15 years, but it left a lasting mark on immigration history.
Karl von Rydingsvärd was a Swedish immigrant whose passion for woodcarving made him influential within the Arts and Crafts movement of the late-19th and early-20th centuries. His story is one of Swedish nobility and American success.
Celebrate the spirit of Labor Day by learning more about Joe Hill (born Joel Emmanuel Hägglund), the Swedish-American labor activist, songwriter, cartoonist, and member of the Industrial Workers of the World.
Did you know that a Swedish-American engineered the first American motorcycle? It happened in 1901 when Carl Oscar Hedstrom (1871-1960), a Swedish immigrant and machinist, and George Hendee (1866-1943), an American bicycle racer and builder, founded the “Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company”.
When a red-haired, horse-lifting, freckle-faced, nine-year-old girl leapt from the pages of Pippi Longstocking (Pippi Långstrump) in 1945, she quickly made her way into the hearts of children and adults throughout Sweden. Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002), Pippi’s creator, once said that she wrote for her own inner child, which perhaps speaks to Pippi’s success.
Austrian-born designer and architect Josef Frank (1885–1967) was a leading pioneer of Swedish Modern design, and many of Frank’s timeless textile designs and furnishings remain in production today.