Smålands museum

About the museum

Smålands museum is Sweden’s oldest county museum (länsmuseum). It was founded on 3 February 1867 on the initiative of folk-life researcher Gunnar Olof Hyltén-Cavallius. The collections are older than that and began with a coin donation to the bishop of Växjö, Olof Wallqvist, in 1792. The first museum building, designed by Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander, was completed in 1885, and the museum opened to the public in 1890.

The museum was modernised in 1926 and extended with a functionalist annex that was inaugurated in 1935. It gave Småland glass a place of its own, and the glass collection grew from five objects in 1929 to over 7,000 within a few years. A separate glass museum opened in 1962 and was replaced by a new building in the mid-1990s. Today Sweden’s Glass Museum is shown on two floors of the museum’s 1935 building.

The museum is run by Kulturparken Småland, a joint name for Småland’s cultural heritage, and presents the cultural history of Kronoberg County from ancient times to the present. The same building houses Sweden’s Glass Museum, with more than 45,000 objects in its collections, a museum shop and a restaurant. There are also exhibitions for children and families.

Highlights

• Sweden’s oldest county museum, founded in 1867
• 13,000 years – prehistory close to us, on Kronoberg’s early history
• Sweden’s Glass Museum with Swedish glass from the earliest times to studio glass
• Crime, executioners and blue lights – on crime and punishment through the ages
• LEKfullt – an exhibition for the youngest
• Free admission for children and young people

Permanent exhibitions

• 13 000 år – forntiden nära oss – The exhibition shows how the landscape, climate and people’s lives in Kronoberg have changed since the inland ice melted, from the oldest arrowhead to Viking Age grave finds.
• Brott, bödlar och blåljus – The exhibition depicts crime and punishment in historical times, from witch trials and executioners to the development of the police, in cooperation with the police training programme at Linnéuniversitetet.
• Sveriges glasmuseum – The development of Swedish glass from the earliest times to today’s studio glass, with permanent exhibitions on studio glass and the Småland glass industry, among other things.

Founded

1867

Operated by

Kulturparken Småland (Stiftelsen Smålands museum)

Admission & discounts

The same ticket applies to Smålands museum (including Sweden’s Glass Museum) and Utvandrarnas hus.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Baby changing facilities
• Playground / play area

The exhibition LEKfullt invites play for children up to about 8 years old. During the holidays free activities are arranged, Museiklubben is for children aged 7–12, and the Leta runor activity for 9–12 year olds runs through the summer. There are toilets with baby-changing facilities. Children and young people have free admission.

Getting there & parking

The building is at Södra Järnvägsgatan 2, close to Museiparken.

Amenities & dining

• Restaurant
• Museum shop

Restaurant Kreativ is in the same building (lunch and à la carte in the evening). The museum shop sells glass, home furnishings, books, jewellery, toys and ceramics.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

Conferences at the museum (see the Kulturparken Småland website).

Plan your visit