SWEDISH MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Description

Essentials about the Swedish Museum of Natural History in brief

If you are interested in the flora and fauna of Sweden, you can spend many hours, if not days, at the Naturhistoriska riksmuseet (Swedish Museum of Natural History) in Stockholm. It is not only the largest museum in the country, but also one of the most impressive and informative. From dinosaur skeletons to stuffed wild animals and precious stones, there are plenty of treasures of Swedish nature from thousands of years ago to marvel at.

The history and architecture of the Swedish Museum of Natural History

The foundation stone of the Swedish Museum of Natural History was the zoological collection of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, founded in 1739, which awards the Nobel Prizes for Chemistry and Physics every year. The collection grew rapidly thanks to numerous donations and had to move into its own building by the end of the 18th century. By integrating the private collection of Baron Gustaf von Paykull, the Museum of Natural History was finally established in 1819.

The Swedish Museum of Natural History did not move into its magnificent current museum building until 1916. The neoclassical brick building, which looks like a castle, was built between 1907 and 1918 under the direction of architect Axel Anderberg. Anderberg also designed the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm.

The exhibitions of the Swedish Museum of Natural History

The Swedish Museum of Natural History is home to an impressive collection of around ten million exhibits spread across various exhibitions. From prehistoric dinosaurs and Swedish fauna to the fascinating ecosystems of the Arctic, the museum offers a comprehensive insight into the world of Swedish nature.

The exhibitions are divided into different themed areas. In “The Human Journey”, for example, visitors take a journey through seven million years of human evolution and in “The Human Animal” they can follow the development of the human body from an evolutionary perspective.

Dinosaur fans and fossil lovers will get their money’s worth in the “Fossils and Evolution” area. The “Treasures from the Earth’s Interior” section is aimed at all collectors of minerals. And in the “Polar Regions” section, the challenging nature of the Arctic and Antarctic is presented. Last but not least, “Mission: Climate Earth” is a special area in which the influencing factors and consequences of climate change are presented.

In addition to the exhibition rooms, there is also a planetarium and an IMAX cinema (Cosmonova) in the building.