The task of National Historical Museums is to preserve and promote Sweden’s cultural heritage and provide a perspective on social development and the present.
The collections are among the greatest historical treasures in northern Europe. The collections are constantly expanding through acquisition of objects primarily from archaeological digs, but also through purchases and donations.
Search the Collections
Our collection is digitized, and we are constantly working to enrich the information about our objects and to increase the number of images. You can search among the images and objects already available in our online database. All information is free to use, and most of the media is licensed under open Creative Commons licenses. Some images depict copyright-protected works; through an extended collective license agreement with Bildupphovsrätt in Sweden (BUS), the National Historical Museums have the right to display these images on Search the Collections.
We share the database with the other museums that are part of the National Historical Museums. Therefore, you will find objects from the Economy Museum, the Hallwyl Museum, the Swedish History Museum, the Royal Armoury, Skokloster Castle, the Tumba Paper Mill Museum, and the Swedish Holocaust Museum in the database.
Start searching in our database
Object Images
To request images of objects for marketing purposes, exhibition catalogue etc, please contact
bilder@shm.se.
Borrowing from the collections
The National Historical Museums (SHM) manage a significant number of loans from the collections to exhibitions in Sweden and around the world.
Read more about requesting a loan
Questions about the collections
For any questions regarding our collections, please contact the Registrar,
registrator@shm.se