Tändsticksmuseet

About the museum

The Tändsticksmuseet is located at Tändsticksgränd 27 in Jönköping, in the so-called Tändsticksområdet (Match Area) west of the railway station. The building housed Jönköping’s first match factory from 1848. The brothers Johan and Carl Lundström started production in 1844–45, first with phosphorus matches, and from 1853 safety matches were made according to the invention of the chemist Gustaf Erik Pasch, which Johan Lundström improved. The factory operated from 1846 to 1975 and made Jönköping known as the world’s match town.

The Match Area is the only fully preserved historic built environment from Jönköping’s industrial heyday. At its peak around 2,000 people worked with matches in the town, including those who glued match boxes at home, which was about a third of the town’s population at the time. In the 19th century much of the work was done by children, and the workers risked phosphorus poisoning. In 1892 the engineer Alexander Lagerman invented a complete machine that replaced five other machines, and in 1917 the Swedish factories were brought together in Svenska Tändsticksaktiebolaget under Ivar Kreuger.

The museum’s basic exhibition depicts individual people’s fates at the factory. On floor 1 the exhibition tells of the brothers Lundström and of Lena Törnqvist, a worker who suffered from phosphorus necrosis, and here there is a recreated match workers’ home. In the machine hall on the ground floor, Lagerman’s designs are shown. The museum was renovated and reopened in June 2023 and is run by Jönköping Municipality. Match boxes, labels, posters and books take visitors back to the heyday of the match industry, from the mid-19th century to the present day.

Highlights

• The machine hall with Alexander Lagerman’s designs
• The story of Lena Törnqvist and phosphorus necrosis
• Recreated match workers’ home
• Collection of match boxes, labels, posters and books
• Historic walk through the Match Area with signs and audio stories

Permanent exhibitions

• Bröderna Lundströms tändsticksfabrik och Lena – ett kvinnoöde – The exhibition on floor 1 tells how the Lundström brothers founded the factory and made the match cheap, and of the worker Lena Törnqvist, who suffered from phosphorus necrosis.
• Handens arbete och tändsticksarbetarbostaden – Shows the early hand production and a recreated worker’s home with one room and a kitchen.
• Maskinhallen med Alexander Lagermans konstruktioner – In the machine hall on the ground floor are shown engineer Lagerman’s machines, which contributed greatly to the development of the match industry.

Operated by

Jönköpings kommun

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Free admission in December and during the winter break (sportlov), Easter break (påsklov) and autumn break (höstlov). Also free admission for members of Sveriges museer and ICOM, and with the Pluspolarkort.

Admission for visitors over 19 years: SEK 100. With a Kulturarvskort, a 50% discount applies.

Accessibility

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

The museum entrance is level with the ground; the threshold in the door is just over three centimetres high. The upper floor is reached by stairs or a stair lift (0.78 × 1.0 metres, maximum 200 kilos). An extra wheelchair can be borrowed if your own electric wheelchair is too large, and portable folding chairs are available. The exhibition texts are in English and in Swedish in large print, and an audio-described tour is available as sound files. A large toilet is on the ground floor and a smaller one on the upper floor. Dogs may not be brought in, except guide dogs.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Free admission for children and young people up to and including 19. School programmes, for example for school years F–3, in which pupils fold their own match boxes and colour in labels.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in the Match Area west of the railway station in Jönköping.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

The museum shop sells products bearing the symbol of Stiftelsen Solstickan (the Solstickan Foundation), and part of the proceeds goes to the foundation’s work for children and older people.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit