Student blogs

This summer I expanded my cultural and “intellectual” side of myself and visited as many museums as I could in Stockholm! Because of the current pandemic, most of the museums have changed to free entrance!

I visited 8 (imagine if it was 10? That would be have been so satisfying…) this summer and below I have listed which museums I visited! I pretty much went to all the largest and most touristy ones. I have added pictures and I will tell shortly about what you can see there 🙂 Let’s start!

1. National Museum

The Nationalmuseum is the national gallery of Sweden. The museum was founded in 1792 as “Royal Museum”. The present building was opened in 1866, when it was renamed the Nationalmuseum.

What can you see: Collections comprise of paintings, sculpture, drawings and prints ranging from the Renaissance until turn of the century 1900. 

General thoughts: The museum is B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. The building itself is incredible and it has an amazing staircase as you walk in. It was inspired by North Italian Renaissance architecture. One of my favourite museums and I definitely recommend this one!

2. The Swedish history museum

The Swedish History Museum is one of the biggest museums in Sweden.

What you can see: Sweden’s foremost gold and silver treasures, medieval art and unique finds from one of the most violent battles of Swedish history – the Battle of Gotland 1361.

General thoughts: It had a smart way of leading the visitor through Swedish history. They had a timeline marked on the floor and you followed it step by step through every year with artefacts and things belonging to that year/decade. It was not my favourite but still worth going to see!

3. The museum of Mediterranean and Near eastern antiques

It is Sweden´s main archaeological museum of Mediterranean cultures. It also has a restaurant called Bagdad Café which offers an amazing view of the Royal Palace. It also has a fantastic Museum shop.

What you can see: This museum includes fascinating collections from Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, the Roman Empire, and the Middle East.

General thoughts: LOVED this museum too! Super beautiful building, good vibes with the cafeteria, interesting history to read about and it is central!

4. Modern Museum

Moderna Museet (“the Museum of Modern Art”) is a state museum for modern and contemporary art located on the island of Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm, opened in 1958. 

What you can see: Collections of modern and contemporary art: Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse, Meret Oppenheim, Andy Warhol etc.

General thoughts: As you enter the museum area, it has funny art installations on the outside. Adds a fun layer to it. I was not super impressed by the museum but I think it depends on your general taste for art as well! 🙂 Worth a visit but other museums were more to my taste!

5. Army museum

The Swedish Army Museum is a museum of military history located in the district of Östermalm in Stockholm. It reopened in 2002 after a long period of closure, and was awarded the title of the best museum of Stockholm in 2005.

What you can see:  Illustrates the military history of Sweden, including its modern policy of neutrality, and of the Swedish army.

General thoughts: I thought it was cool but nothing special to be honest. I guess it depends on your interest again! But it had a huuuge variety of guns from different parts of the world from different decades and that was really cool to see! (e.g. those tiny “james bond” type of weapons that could fit inside your sweater to assassin someone).

6. Nordic Museum

The Nordic Museum is a museum located on Djurgården, an island in central Stockholm, dedicated to the cultural history and ethnography of Sweden from the early modern period to the contemporary period. You need to pay entrance for this one.

What you can see: How people in the Nordic countries lived, ate, dressed and celebrated their traditions from the 16th century onwards.

General thoughts: This museum is HUGE. The building is incredible and beautiful but the content of the museum was not super interesting to me. Probably because I am Swedish myself and already know about all the traditions we have had and still have! But it is one of the most popular museums in Stockholm and rightfully so. They portrayed our traditions very nicely and easy!

7. Sjöhistoriska Museet (Maritime Museum)

The Maritime Museum is a museum for naval history, merchant shipping and shipbuilding. Located in the Gärdet section of the inner-city district Östermalm, the museum offers a panoramic view of the bay Djurgårdsbrunnsviken. 

What you can see: The museum houses about 900,000 photos, 50,000 objects and 45,000 drawings, all related to the sea, coast, ships and boats, past and present.

General thoughts: It is still central but not as central as other museums. It is a 10/15 min bus ride away from city center. I thought it was an interesting museum but not as much to see. Or nothing that really caught my immense interest! It explained how Sweden exported and imported goods through the Sea and it had beautiful handmade boat objects which was very nice!

8. Museum of Technology

The National Museum of Science and Technology, which is Sweden’s biggest museum of technology, has a national charter to preserve our technological and industrial history as part of our cultural heritage.

What you can see: You can experience exhibitions on inventions, energy and the environment along with other areas of topical interest in a fun and inspiring way.

FUN FACT: They have a game at the museum called Mindball. It is created by the Swedish developer Interactive Productline IP AB. The technique is based on EEG methodology and the basic concept is to move a ball with your mind. It was so fun and you could play it for hours!

General thoughts: I think it is a cool museum for sure! It is a bit further away from city central and it is not for free. I would say it is more focused for a younger group age but I still had a lot of fun visiting the place.

Summary (the end)

That’s it! The museums will most likely continue to have free entrance for now. So make sure to seize the opportunity and go see without paying anything! It is a great way to waste your time on a rainy/cloudy day and believe me, many of those days will come during fall.

My next two I that I will be visiting soon is Vasa museum and Museum of natural history. These are also very popular in Sweden, I just have not found the time to go yet! Then I will finally complete my list with 10 museums (so satisfying) // Tina 🙂 Blogger for the Bioentrepreneurship programme.

Cover photo taken by: Mattias Hamrén.