Rörstrand Museum

About the museum

Rörstrand was founded in 1726 in Stockholm and is one of Sweden’s oldest porcelain companies. Already during the 1800s the managing director Holdo Stråle af Ekna began to build up a collection, but when the company left Stockholm in 1926 most of it was sold at auction. The dream of showing the company’s history lived on at the factory: older objects were bought and stored, and the retired managing director Knut Almström was commissioned during the 1930s to 1950s to monitor auctions and look for objects for the collection.

Rörstrand Museum opened in 1976, at the company’s 250th anniversary, in newly built premises beside the walls of the old ALP factory, Aktiebolaget Lidköpings Porslinsfabrik (Lidköping Porcelain Factory Ltd), which produced feldspar porcelain from 1912 to 1943 and is one of the reasons Rörstrand established itself in Lidköping in the 1930s. Today the museum is on the ground floor in part of the old porcelain factory at Rörstrand Center.

The collection holds objects from the 1700s to the present, from everyday wares to luxury ceramics, and shows how the factory developed through a constant artistic and technical search for better materials, new methods and new expression. Among the icons are Marianne Westman’s Mon Amie service, vases in moss majolica and miniatures by Gunnar Nylund. The museum also has a café, a shop, a staffed tourist information point (InfoPoint), and organises exhibitions, lectures, guided tours and, together with the porcelain factory in Lidköping, factory tours.

Highlights

• Rörstrand porcelain and ceramics from the 1700s to the present
• Marianne Westman’s Mon Amie service
• Vases in moss majolica and Gunnar Nylund’s miniatures
• The old round kiln from the porcelain factory
• Audio guide in 13 episodes in Swedish, English and German

Permanent exhibition

• Rörstrand Museums samlingar – Objects made at Rörstrand from the 1700s to the present, from everyday wares to luxury ceramics.

Founded

1976

Operated by

Rörstrand Museum AB

Admission & discounts

The Cultural Heritage Card (Kulturarvskortet) gives a 50% discount on admission. Members of Porslinets Vänner i Lidköping (Friends of Porcelain in Lidköping) receive an annual pass free of charge. The museum accepts cards and Swish but is cashless.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum and café are on the ground floor, all entrances have door openers, and it is possible to move around the whole museum with prams, wheelchairs, powered wheelchairs and rollators, except at the far end by the kiln, where there is one step down. Two parking spaces for disabled visitors are about 20 metres from the main entrance. An accessible toilet with a changing table is by the reception, and museum stools can be borrowed at the entrance. There is no induction loop; sound amplifiers are used for guided tours. Exhibition texts are in Swedish and English. Guide dogs and assistance dogs are allowed throughout the museum and café. Thursdays and Fridays are often the quietest.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities
• Playground / play area

Children and young people under 20 have free admission. The café has a children’s menu, a changing table, children’s chairs and a small craft corner, and the museum arranges workshops during the school holidays.

Getting there & parking

Easiest by car via Gasverksgatan, turn left into Rörstrand Center. From the square walk down Torggatan towards Rörstrand Center and through the passage, where the museum is straight ahead. Buses can drop guests off at the main entrance.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Lockers

The museum café serves sandwiches on home-baked bread, pastries and a light lunch made with local ingredients, with outdoor seating in the inner courtyard. Visitor lockers at several heights are by the reception. The museum shop sells locally produced goods and products with Rörstrand motifs. The museum is a staffed tourist information point (InfoPoint).

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties

Up to 35 guests.

The café can be rented for celebrations and memorial gatherings, with room for about 35 people.

Plan your visit