Swedish Emigrant Institute (Swedish: ''Svenska Emigrantinstitutet'') was a research center and museum designed to preserve records and memorabilia relating to

Swedish-American Swedish Americans ( sv, svenskamerikaner) are Americans of Swedish ancestry. They include the 1.2 million Swedish immigrants during 1865–1915, who formed tight-knit communities, as well as their descendants and more recent immigrants. Today, ...

migration.

Background

The Swedish Emigrant Institute was founded on September 11, 1965. The Swedish Emigrant Institute is located in the House of Emigrants (Swedish: ''Utvandrarnas hus'') located in

Växjö Växjö ( ) is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 70,489 inhabitants (2019) out of a municipal population of 95,995 (2021). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial centre of Kronoberg County ...

Småland Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Its purpose is to collect and register source material dealing with Swedish emigration. This building contains a Research Center with Archives, a Library and Museums all of which focus on the peak period of Swedish Migration to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. The Institute houses a large collection of emigration history including archival materials and library references, provides assistance in genealogical research, sponsors scholarly research and academic conferences, and mounts exhibitions on migration to and from Sweden. The Institute was supported by Swedish author

Vilhelm Moberg Karl Artur Vilhelm Moberg (20 August 1898 – 8 August 1973) was a Swedish journalist, author, playwright, historian, and debater. His literary career, spanning more than 45 years, is associated with his series ''The Emigrants''. The four ...

who donated the complete source material from his famous Emigrant Series which told the saga of Karl Oskar and Kristina’s immigration from Småland to

Chisago County Chisago County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 56,621. Its county seat is Center City. Chisago County is part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul- Bloomington, MN- WI Metropolitan Statistical ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. This unique collection of Moberg memorabilia also includes Axel Olsson's sculpture entitled ''The Emigrants'' which portrays the main characters featured in the novels.The House of Emigrants
visitsweden.com

Museum Exhibitions

*The Dream of America - This museum tells the story of Swedish emigration to America, reflecting the background, cause and result of the mass exodus of Swedes between 1843 - 1930. *The Moberg Room - This museum illustrates the 12 years of work that Vilhelm Moberg spent writing his immortal emigrant novels. On exhibit are Moberg’s original manuscripts, excerpts, notes, photographs and other documents. *The Research Center and Archives - The manuscript collection consists of original documents, microfilms, sound recordings and photographs. The repository consists of thousands of documents, including the Vilhelm Moberg collection. *The Library - This facility contains Sweden's most complete book collection on emigration.

Main Collection

The main collections available in the Swedish Emigrant Institute dealing with emigration research and other source materials are: * Swedish parish records * Swedish passenger lists * Swedish American church archives * America letters and diaries * Passport journals; summary census reports from various parish offices * Emigrant organizational archives of lodges in most sizable Swedish settlements and mutual aid societies * Printed source materials dealing with emigration and Swedish pioneer settlers such as autobiographies, oral history and literature from Swedish emigrant communities

References

External links

Svenska Emigrantinstitutet) Official Website

{{coord, 56.8756, N, 14.8090, E, type:landmark, display=title Museums established in 1965 Art museums and galleries in Sweden Swedish migration to North America Museums in Kronoberg County History museums in Sweden Museums of human migration