is a Swedish association for men, founded in 1862 in Stockholm.

Founding

Sällskapet Idun traces its founding back to 22 November 1862 at the Hotel Fenix in Stockholm, Sweden. Its founders consisted of Edward Bergh and Johan Fredrik Höckert, artists and professors at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts;

Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld (; 18 November 183212 August 1901) was a Finland-Swedish aristocrat, geologist, mineralogist and Arctic explorer. He was a member of the noble Nordenskiöld family of scientists and held the title of a friherre (ba ...

, researcher and professor at the

Swedish Museum of Natural History The Swedish Museum of Natural History (), in Stockholm, is one of two major museums of natural history in Sweden, the other one being located in Gothenburg. The museum was founded in 1819 by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, but goes bac ...

; Axel Key, professor and rector of the

Karolinska Institute The Karolinska Institute (KI; ; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden and one of the foremost medical research institutes globally ...

; Harald Wieselgren, librarian of the

National Library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public library, public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, ...

, and composer Ivar Hallström. Wieselgren, as secretary, was the unifying and driving force for several decades. He is the main character in Zorn's painting ('A Toast in the Idun Society') from 1892.

Activity

The statutes of 1862 stated that the association was for "men living in Stockholm who have their own activities and interests in science, literature and art in various fields." According to the latest revised statutes of 6 December 2000, the organization's mission is "to promote interaction between people active in different cultural fields." meets once a month, except during the summer months, with lectures and art sessions at which artists give insights into their work. The November meeting is devoted to music. The association is governed by an annually elected board, whose chairman is appointed from within the board. The secretary is responsible for the day-to-day running of the association, together with a treasurer and a club master, also appointed at the annual general meeting. New members are elected in the order provided for by the statutes by the committee on the proposal of at least two members. The number of members has been between 550 and 600 for a long time. In 1912, archivist Theodor Westrin wrote about the society's history in .

Similar associations

Corresponding associations for men elsewhere in the country with similar programs are in Örebro (also founded in 1862), , also for women, in Gothenburg (founded in 1878) and the in Malmö (founded in 1891). In Denmark there is a similar society, , and in Norway .

Nya Idun ('New Idun') is a Swedish cultural association for women founded in 1885, originally as a female counterpart to ('the Idun Society'). Its aim was to "gather educated women in the Stockholm area for informal gatherings". Activity was founded ...

is a women's association in Stockholm founded by

Calla Curman Calla Curman (; 12 November 1850 – 2 February 1935) was a Swedish writer, salon-holder and feminist. She was also the founder of Stångehuvud nature reserve and one of the five founders of the women's association Nya Idun. Family Calla Lund ...

in 1885, originally as a female counterpart to .

Asteroid 176 Iduna

The asteroid 176 Iduna was named after the association.

References

Notes

Sources

External links

Sällskapet Idun
– the association's homepage {{DEFAULTSORT:Saellskapet Idun Organizations established in 1862 Clubs and societies in Sweden Men's organizations