American Swedish Institute http://www.americanswedishinst.org 2600 Park Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55407 612-871-4907 Hours: Tues., Thurs.–Sat. noon–4pm; Weds. noon–8pm; Sun. 1–5pm; November–December, Sat. 10am–5pm

This historic house, museum and cultural center celebrates Swedish- American and Swedish culture with exhibits, programs and activities. Learn how immigrants made the move from Sweden, travel to the Swedish community they created in Minneapolis, and imagine the immigrant newspaper-publishing family who built this 33-room mansion in 1908. A family-friendly booklet can help you explore the gardens, children’s corners, museum store, coffee shop, and handcrafted stone, plaster and woodwork of the Twin Cities’ only castle.

Exclusive Museum Adventure Pass Offer Visitors may purchase one new annual Individual or Household membership for $25 on day of visit—up to 50% off value. Complete membership information is available at http://www.americanswedishinst.org/member/

Passes are limited to general exhibit admission only. Passes may not be applied towards educational and group tours. Special exhibitions and other attractions may not be covered, and other restrictions may apply.

Please visit http://www.americanswedishinst.org for specific exhibition information.

Learn more about it at your metro public library

All Ages

The American Swedish Institute-Turnblad's Castle

Anne Gillespie Lewis, American Swedish Institute, 1999

Swedes in the Twin Cities

edited by Philip J. Anderson and Dag Blanck, Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2000

Swedes in Minnesota

Anne Gillespie Lewis, Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2004

Nordic Calendar Minnesota

Website listing cultural, social and business events with a Swedish connection or flavor.
Link for Minnesota

So Far Away in the World: Stories from the Swedish Twin Cities

Anne Gillespie Lewis

Of Swedish Ways

Lilly Lorenzen, Crown, 1978

Letters from the Promised Land

H. Arnold Barton

Swedish Emigrant Series: The Emigrants, Unto a Good Land, The Settlers, Last Letter Home

Vilhelm Moberg, Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1995

The Man on the Balcony: The Story of a Crime (and other detective mysteries)

Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, Vintage Books, 1993

The Man Who Smiled: A Kurt Wallander Mystery, (and other detective mysteries)

Henning Mankell, W. W. Norton & Co., 2006

Hannah's Daughters

Marianne Fredriksson, Ballantine Books, 1999

The Emigrants (based on the novel by Vilhelm Moberg)

directed by Jan Troell, Warner, 1971

Pelle the Conqueror

HBO Video, 1988 VHS

My Life as a Dog

directed by Lasse HallstrÞom, Home Vision Entertainment, 2003 DVD

The Seventh Seal and Smiles of a Summer Night

written and directed by Ingmar Berman, Criterion Collection, 1998 DVDs

Swedish Folktales and Legends

Lone Thygesen Blecher, Pantheon Books, 1993

Touring Swedish America: Where to Go and What to See

Alan Winquist, Minnesota Historical Society, 2006

Kids

Festus and Mercury: Ruckus in the Garden

Sven Nordqvist, Carolrhoda Books, 1991

Moominland Midwinter

Tove Jansson, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1992

Pelle's New Suit

Elsa Beskow, Floris Books, 2000

Hanna's Christmas

Melissa Peterson, HarperFestival, 2001

The Tomten

Astrid Lindgren, Coward-McCann, 1961

The Wonderful Adventures of Nils

Selma Lagerlof, Skandisk, 1991

Boo and Baa in Windy Weather

Olof and Lena Landström, R&S Books, 1996

The Long Way Westward

Joan Sandin, HarperTrophy, 1992, (also audio book)

The Swedish Americans

Allyson McGill, Chelsea House Publishers, 1997

Welcome to Kirsten's World 1854: Growing Up in Pioneer America

Susan Sinnott, Pleasant Company American Girl's series, 1999 yes

Kirsten's Promise

Janet Shaw, Pleasant Company American Girl's series, 2003 yes

Land of Dreams

Joan Lowery Nixon, Delacorte Press, 2000

The Long Way to a New Land

Joan Sandin, Harper & Row, 1981

Pippi Longstocking

Astrid Lindgren, various formats: Book, audiobook, videocassette

Tell Us About Your Adventure

If you visited American Swedish Institute, we'd love to hear about your experience.

Tell Us About Your Adventure!

Jul 24

My 2 and 4 years olds loved seeing Queen Silvia's gowns (from a real queeen!) and the "castle" setting of the mansion was very exciting for them. They also enjoyed Tomten's knook and writing notes to him. The beautiful grounds were a perfect place to end our visit with a picnic!

Jul 29

My two girlfriends & I had a great museum day adventure! We had wanted to do this for a 2 years & finally did it! We had a fabulous day of museums! We went to the russian art museum first, Judy got a pass from her library. We are both high school teachers in the area & had never been to this museum, a great display of Russian impressionist paintings & a photography show, both fantastic!Also a great gift store-check it out!The next stop was the Swedish Institute & we saw a fabulous show of the Queen of Sweden's dresses,really fun,perfect show for us!The gowns were gorgeous! Great museum & show for any gal who loves the movie,Princess Dairies! Also great art from Sweden & a nice gift store. The beautiful tile fireplaces are a must see! The Queen's gowns are on display until the end of Sept. Plan a trip-You would love it, especially if you have girls! Thanks much for doing this museum pass program, it is a great savings & blessing! We all want to plan another day soon! Lisa Leon

Jan 12

We only had a little time for our visit so we will be back again soon. The Christmas rooms were delightful. I especially appreciated the 3rd floor exhibit about the Swedish immigrants. Also the artwork displayed, especially the pottery and glasswork, were wonderful!

Nov 23

Loved seeing the castle decorated for Christmas! It really got us in the mood to decorate and bake traditional treats. Astrid Lindgren's Emil books have been the bedtime story choice ever since.

Nov 7

My children were completely swept up in their own adventure (the search for the troll/gnome), so I was able to REALLY enjoy my own adventure. ;) Thank you!

Feb 17

The guides were so friendly. The Swedish Institute was impressive. Our school-aged children certainly learned a lot of history about early Minnesota.

Sep 13

Hi! My aunt and I had a great time at the American Swedish Institute! We liked seeing the history of the Swedish Baptists downstairs. My aunt and I just found out that we were fairly closely related to F.O. Nilsson. He is my 4x great uncle and my aunt's 3x great uncle. We thought that was pretty cool, so we decided to go on a trip to your museum. Again, we thoroughly enjoyed our time there! We hope to come again soon to your smörgåsbord.

Mar 31

I took my son to the MN Zoo. We had a great time and my son loved all of the animals, he was very interested in them and it was a great experience to see my 13 months old paying so much attention an pointing at the animals.

Dec 13

My three Swedish cousins and I had a wonderful time in the beautiful Swedish Museum, especially with all the gorgeous Christmas decorations in place. It is MUCH prettier than I remember it being ten years ago when I last visited.

Dec 1

My Mom, Sister, Aunt, and two daughters all went to the Swedish Museum. We were thrilled with the holiday decorations and the building itself is just fantastic. We were hoping to get a glimpse of a lion chair that we believe was donated to the museum by my Uncle, but we didn't see it. It was a wonderful experience though, and I'm sure we will be back again. My daughter, Emily (7 yrs old), really wanted one of the Dala horses from the gift shop. The larger ones were too expensive, but we found a key chain that was more affordable. My Mom asked her if she would like the key chain to which she enthusiastically replied, "Oh yes! I have a key chain collection." My Mom was surprised and asked her how many key chains she had in her collection. She replied, "This will be my first one!" So now we will have to add key chains from all of th museums we visit!

Sep 29

The employees/volunteers were very welcoming. I wasn't as big a fan of the art/religious floor but really enjoyed the top floor with it's historical displays. I would have like to see more. My son really liked the music room and trying to find all the cherubs in the woodwork.

Aug 8

The most facinating tour I have been on in years! I am of Swedish descnet and just love to know more about the Swedish traditions and all the aritfacts from the beginning eras. I love to teach my children about their ancestrity also. Great time!

Jan 26

My daughter who I do not see all the time and I were able to share a Couple hours of precious time together!! We both love art and history so enjoyed this experience very much! Thanks to all the organizations that make this possible! The Swedish Art Institute was Awesome!! Cheryl =)

Feb 7

My husband, my daughter, and I went to the American Swedish Institute and I remembered that my grandmother had attended nursing school at the Swedish Hospital. We found an alumni book in the Swedish Hospital display and located my grandmother's name in her graduating year. We called her and told her about it while we were there, and she was delighted! It was so neat to see how directly my family is involved with our state's history!

Jul 21

Great place! Very intricate house. We loved the additional displays around the house.