Stockholm City Museum, a journey to the heart of the city's history

Södermalm
Culture and Heritage

To immerse yourself in Stockholm's heritage is to meet prestigious museums that open their doors to us for a complete immersion in the past of the Swedish capital. Well anchored in its time, Stockholm seduces with its must-see museums: the Vasa, Skansen, Moderna Museet of course, but also less frequented cultural places in more secret districts. Located in Slussen, Sodermalm, the Stadsmuseet (or Stockholm City Museum) is a great starting point for a Stockholm adventure. Declining the history of the city from the end of the Middle Ages to the present day, it is a unique museum to discover its evolution through the ages and deepen your knowledge of Swedish culture.

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A living and innovative museum for all audiences

(Old photo) South Town Hall, copper engraving by Willem Swidde from 1691, from Suecia Antiqua and Hodierna

A place traditionally devoted to knowledge, the museum becomes a destination in itself when it makes you want to go and see what is hidden behind its walls. Testimony to the richness of its history, the imposing building that houses the Stadsmuseet inevitably attracts the attention of the curious. The museum's collections are exhibited in the Södra stadshuset, the old town hall in the south of Slussen, designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and completed in 1680. Since then it has been used for various functions: a court, a school, a prison, a tavern and a church. It was not until the 1930s that the city museum was established there and opened its doors to the public in 1942.

Organized in thematic and chronological sections, the experiential tour over 4 floors allows you to discover the changes undergone by this hamlet since 1527 to become a real metropolis over the centuries. The permanent exhibition is spread over 31 rooms and 1,200 m2, transporting visitors from one era to another. Two spaces are reserved for temporary exhibitions, i.e. over 3,400 m2 in total dedicated to preserving the city's cultural heritage, bringing it to life and passing it on to Stockholm residents, tourists and future generations. From the start of the journey, visitors are drawn into a narrative spiral to meet the major events that have profoundly marked and transformed the city we know today.

The objects on display in the museum come from archaeological excavations, left by the inhabitants of Stockholm in the 16 ^th century. At the time, the 8000 inhabitants lived on the island of Stadsholmen mainly.

Indeed, this superb cultural space offers a historical and fun museum adventure thanks to clear and concise explanations (in English) and multimedia devices on a human scale. Each stage of the visit is enriched by films, interactive visual and sound animations that bring the objects to life and contextualize the presentation of the collections. The museum questions the past of the city, invites reflection and allows a deep understanding of its development with photographs, original documents, paintings etc...

A captivating visit

A chronological itinerary of the development of Stockholm

Combining the pleasure of discovery and the acquisition of knowledge about the city and its urban issues, the historical sequences of the route are revealed in major pivotal periods.

The city of the king 1527-1630: Stockholm is only a small maritime and port hamlet which begins to organize itself: it is the epic of tax collectors, soldiers and Russian merchants who offer their goods. The people live in poverty and insalubrity.

The capital 1630-1720: The city becomes bourgeois and attracts town planners, officials and wealthy aristocrats who rub shoulders in the salons of Stockholm. It is also the time of the destitute, refugees and victims of the plague.

The commercial city 1720-1860: the city grows rich with its merchants and becomes a dominant power of the Baltic Sea. The populations mix but poverty still plagues the city.

The industrial city 1860-1921: it is the rural exodus, Sockholm is full of peasants coming from the countryside to work in the factories. They organize themselves in unions to protest against unfair working conditions, to obtain the right to vote or to promote sobriety.

The city beset by epidemics in the 19th ^century

Scenes from the daily life of the inhabitants

A group of young boys in Styrmansgatan (photo Kasper Sahlin 1885)

The modern city 1921-1950: The era of modernity and the roaring twenties. Stockholmers discover jazz, entertainment. The city is transformed and becomes cosmopolitan.

The city shines worldwide 1950 to the present day: Stockholmers enjoy a high standard of living with suburbs served by the metro and equipped with garbage chutes in residential buildings. The rock'n'roll years and youth make it a hotbed of music, party and culture in Europe.

Recreation of a 1950s café in Kungsgatan in central Stockholm, the hub of youth and entertainment

The construction of the city's metro gives people freedom of movement between the islands

In the middle of the 19^th century, many breweries opened in Stockholm with industrialization. How fascinating it is to observe models in the museum and to find the same buildings while walking in the city, like this brewery located on the quays of Sodermalm.

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Emotion, escape and curiosity

The Stockholm Museum houses in its permanent collection historical treasures that form the soul and face of the city: commemorative objects, models, relic objects, simple witnesses and revealers of human life and their values. These objects, illuminated by a chronological and thematic context, find their meaning and tell the story of the city whose unique location, on an archipelago on the edge of the Baltic has shaped history. Each space gives a different atmosphere and brings a new perspective on the collective heritage of Stockholmers.

Superb models allow visitors to visualize the evolution of the city

The museum is free and offers an exciting introduction to the history of the city. The exhibitions give all the clues necessary to locate historic places and rediscover them in the current city! Allow a minimum of two hours to explore all floors. On site you will find a restaurant and a souvenir shop where you should linger, if only to look at old postcards of famous places in the capital.

A shop full of old maps, vintage objects and history books

For history buffs who want to go back in time and learn about the past medieval Stockholm, Stockholms Medeltidsmuseet right next to the Royal Palace features exhibits on the history of the city of 13 ^century to the late Middle Ages (from the reign of King Gustav I Wasa). So the history of Stockholm from the Middle Ages to the present day will no longer hold any secrets for you!

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