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Swedish National Archives The Swedish National Archives 1 The National Archives (Riksarkivet) constitutes the day. By curating, cataloguing and making available main source for our knowledge of Sweden’s history. official administrative documents, the National Ar- Here are preserved the records of the kingdom from chives acts as a guarantee for civilian security and its beginnings to the present day. We know very lit- for the public administration to make proper deci- tle, however, about the earliest phase of Swedish ar- sions, as well as being a vital source for the retelling chives. The power of the State was loosely organised, of history in the future. The enormous storage re- and it is probable that documents had a fairly rov- positories of the National Archives contain many ing existence and were kept where they might best relics of Swedish history, revealing individual hu- be secure. It was not until the regulation of the Chan- man destinies and the varied fortunes of many or- cellery in 1618, carried out by Axel Oxenstierna, ganisations. that the name Riksarkivet (then known as “rijksens The dramatic technological developments of re- archivum” – the Archive of the Realm) and the em- cent years also leave their mark on the archives. bryo of an organisation became firmly established. Nowadays we invest our energies intensively in this In 1786 the writer and Antiquary of the Realm, field and an increasing number of authorities use the Gudmund Jöran Adlerbeth, delineated in a speech opportunity to deposit their documents in digital at Kungl. Vitterhetsakademien (the Swedish Royal format. This situation places new demands on us, Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities) the es- and the archives are in an exciting phase of develop- sential nature of the archive as “an establishment of ment, though the end is not yet in sight. Neverthe- the utmost importance for the governance of the less, our description for the future will remain the kingdom, history, and the safety of the individual”. same as in 1786. His description is of the greatest relevance even to- tomas lidman The main duty of the National Archives is to receive country, i.e. the design of coats of arms, flags and and preserve the archives of the Swedish Parliament emblems relating to the State. Advice to urban and and the various ministerial departments and central rural districts on heraldic matters also comes under authorities of State, and to supervise archive man- their remit. Assignments include making drafts for agement throughout Sweden. State authorities which new coats of arms, as well as checking applications have ceased operations are obliged to deposit their for registered trademarks containing State symbols archives with the National Archives. Private ar- or other official armorial bearings. Many research chives – from individuals, societies, political parties enquiries, including identification of historic coats and others – are also an important part of the Na- of arms and imprints from seals are also handled. tional Archives’ holdings. These have been deposit- The National Archives is the chief body for the ed on a voluntary basis and sometimes permission is regional archives which are to be found in Härnö- required for their study. The State archives, on the sand, Östersund, Uppsala, Visby, Vadstena, Lund other hand, supported by the Swedish principle of and Gothenburg, whilst the City Archives of Stock- public access to official records, are open to all holm and the Värmland Archives in Karlstad act as users, apart from those records which are in a poor regional archives for the counties of Stockholm and state physically or officially classified as secret for a Värmland respectively. Local and regional archive certain length of time. administration is managed by the regional archives, The National Archives is responsible, through which in principle work in the same way as the Na- the State herald, for the official heraldry of the tional Archives. 2 The National Archives is one of the oldest authori- With Gustavus Vasa’s accession to the throne in ties in Sweden, with roots going back to the Middle 1523 the development of the archives gathered mo- Ages. It was officially established through a Chan- mentum; the Registry of the Realm and account cellery order of 1618. Here – on parchment, paper, books, provincial records and diplomatic treaties microfilm and digital media – are kept holdings tak- were assembled at the National Archives. The pa- ing up almost 300 kilometres of shelving, equiva- pers of the administrative colleges, together with re- lent to the distance from Stockholm to Jönköping. gional records sent in, were compiled into series This wealth of information is well protected in the which included Finnish, Baltic and German archive National Archives’ buildings at Marieberg in central material from all corners of the Swedish Empire Stockholm and Arninge, north of Stockholm, as well during the Great Power Period – including rolls in as at Krigsarkivet (the Military Archives) at Gärdet, Cyrillic alphabet from Novgorod, remnants of the also in the capital. The collections of records, in the Swedish Occupation of 1611–1617. form of both paper documents and digital formats, grow steadily. The earliest document from the tenth century The earliest extant document at the National Ar- chives is a leaf from a missal, written on parch- ment in England at the turn of the eleventh centu- ry. This arrived in Sweden via English missionary activities in Norway. In the sixteenth century Gustavus Vasa confiscated the possessions of churches and monasteries, together with some 20,000 medieval deeds on parchment and paper (many with imprints from seals, a wonderful art collection in miniature). Thousands of leaves from handwritten books, many with Gregorian chants, were used as covers for bailiffs’ accounts. Ratification by czars Ivan and Peter of the Treaty of Kardis, 1661 and that of Pliusa in 1666. Moscow, 6th June, 1683. (From the collection of original tracts in the National Archives.) 5 After this the collections at the National Archives exploded into exuberant diversity: records from the Riksdag, various departments of State, central au- thorities and their predecessors, as well as the re- mains of the royal name stamp which Gustavus III had destroyed after the State coup of 1772; records from the time of Olof Palme and the Bofors Com- missions of Enquiry, the Dala Rebellion of 1743 and the Armfelt treason of 1790, and also the gov- ernmental reform of 1809. Among the Cabinet pa- pers of the various ministries all the governmental decisions, plus background documents from 1840 to the 1980s, are available for study. There is even a textile sample collection from manufactures of the eighteenth century. The National Archives has approximately one hundred thousand maps and drawings, covering all buildings owned by the State from 1697 to 1993. Detail of Karl XII’s letter to General Magnus Stenbock, 1702. The The National Archives’ Military Archives Depart- letter refers to the campaign taking place at the time in Novidze ment has a comprehensive, and in many ways (Poland). On the last page Karl has spilt some ink and comments underneath: ”Wassment, I have just knocked the ink onto the paper, unique, collection of maps, which apart from but I can’t be bothered to rewrite it. You ought, indeed, to be able Swedish historical maps, includes hand drawn for- to read it even so”. Wasement (Dutch): evil smelling odour. eign topographical maps and fortification plans. (Ericsbergsarkivets Autografsamling.) Älvsborg was one of the most important trading routes for export in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Its fortress was constantly vulnerable to Danish attacks and twice occupied, but both times Sweden regained this stronghold after paying large ransoms. (Krigs- arkivet, Stads- och fäst- ningsplaner, Älvsborg, no. 144b). 6 Private archives significant number of national societies and associa- Private archives have arrived at the National Ar- tions, as well as some large company archives. The chives by many routes: in the past via seizure and Press Archives collection contains the archives of confiscation, but nowadays mainly through do- journalists and the press, newspaper posters, regis- nations or deposits. They complement the State ters of signatures, and a large special library. archives with the kind of information that never The National Archives is responsible for allocat- found its way into the official records. The National ing all State funding distributed to the management Archives private archives begin with some splendid of private archives, including sums contributed to seventeenth and eighteenth century material from folk movements, society and business archives. The large estates, such as the Skokloster Collection, and national register of private archives lists private the Sjöholm, Stafsund and Ericsberg archives. They archives throughout the country. The relevant infor- include many of the archives of the high aristocracy, mation is available in the National Archive Data- statesmen, cultural figures and others, and also base (NAD), which can be accessed on www.ra.se. manorial archives like those from Tidö, collections from several of the classic folk movements (temper- ance, non-conformism, missionary activities), and a Letter written to King Oscar II in 1876 by Jenny Lind Goldschmidt. She writes and thanks him for the great distinction bestowed on her husband that year, and is sorry “not to have had the great honour of being able to pay my humble respects to Your Majesty”. She also tells of a pupil, a Miss Larssen from Norway, for whom she knows the king has particular sympathy but who, in Jenny’s opinion, “is not gifted with artistry”. (Sjöholmsarkivet I. Autograph Collection.) 7 Unique documents have their own characteristics as different types form an important beginning for relics of the past and bits of the jigsaw puzzle of his- searches. Data-base updates are also published on tory, and their charm lies in their authenticity.
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