Swedish History Museum
| Historiska museet or Statens historiska museum | |
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The museum in June 2006
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 Location within Stockholm
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| Established | 1866 |
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| Location | , Sweden |
| Coordinates | 59°20′05″N 18°05′25″E / 59.33472°N 18.09028°ECoordinates: 59°20′05″N 18°05′25″E / 59.33472°N 18.09028°E |
| Type | History museum |
| Key holdings |
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| Collections | Mesolithic era and onwards |
| Collection size | 10 million |
| Visitors | 126 344 (2013) |
| Founder | Bror Emil Hildebrand |
| Director | Maria Jansén |
| Website | historiska |
The Swedish History Museum (Swedish: Historiska museet or Statens historiska museum) is a museum located in , Sweden, that covers Swedish archaeology and cultural history from the Mesolithic period to present day. Founded in 1866, it operates as a government agency and is tasked with preserving Swedish historical items as well as making knowledge about history available to the public.
The origin of the museum is the collections of art and historical objects gathered by Swedish monarchs since the 16th century. It has a number of permanent exhibitions and annually hosts special exhibitions tied to current events.
The History Museum is part of a central museum agency called the Statens historiska museer (SHMM) ("National Historical Museums"). Other institutions under the aegis of this agency are the Royal Coin Cabinet, the Tumba Papermill Museum and the Swedish Archaeology Commission (Arkeologiska uppdragsverksamheten or Arkeologerna). The museum is also one of five so called ansvarsmuseum ("museums with responsibilities") in Sweden. It is tasked with coordinating activities between museums, assist other museums and develop contacts between museums and other parts of the Swedish community.
The foundation for what was to become the History Museum and the Nationalmuseum, was King Gustav Vasa's 16th century art collection at Gripsholm Castle. The collection grew through acquisitions, gifts and spoils of war during the time of the Swedish Empire. Some of the collections were lost during the fire in the Tre Kronor castle. During the later part of the 18th century, art and antiquities were bought by ambassadors and members of the royal family and collected at . After the death of King Gustaf III in 1792, the collections were turned over to the Swedish government. That same year the Royal Museum (Kongl. Museum) opened in the palace. It was one of the first public museums in the world. In 1846–47, the museum moved from the palace to the Ridderstolp House at Skeppsbron where it resided until 1865 and the move to Nationalmuseum. Swedish archaeologist Stig Welinder argues that the History Museum was in fact founded with its establishment in the Ridderstolp House in 1847.
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Wikipedia