Between 2024 and 2026, a project is underway to digitise unique archival documents that reflect the earliest history of cultural heritage preservation in Sweden. The project, carried out in collaboration with the Swedish National Heritage Board, also includes research based on the digitised material.

The research project focuses on the earliest records of the Swedish National Heritage Board and the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities External link. – from around 1630, when antiquarian Johannes Bureus laid the foundations of today’s cultural heritage preservation, up to the turn of the twentieth century. The Academy, the National Heritage Board, and the National Library share a long and intertwined history, which you can read more about on the National Heritage Board’s website External link..

The collections are in great demand but are also fragile and difficult to access. Digitisation is therefore essential – both to ensure their long-term preservation and to improve accessibility. By also conducting research on the material, the project aims to increase its visibility and highlight its scholarly potential.

Today, the material is mainly stored at the Swedish National Heritage Board and the National Library, which are jointly leading the project. The initiative is largely funded by the Swedish Academy of Sciences, with a grant of SEK 8.4 million.

Research in several subject areas

The research potential of the material is vast, as cultural heritage preservation during this period spanned multiple disciplines. Examples of fields include the history of archaeology, cultural heritage history, runology, numismatics, ethnology/folklore studies, linguistics, emblem studies, and heraldry. It also intersected with areas such as political science, political and economic history, religious history, and the use of history.

This diversity provides extensive opportunities for research on the collections. The material also reflects the development of the Swedish National Heritage Board and the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters during a time when the number of learned societies increased, and the Swedish state apparatus expanded.

The Swedish National Heritage Board was established in the early 1600s, and in the 1780s, the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters assumed responsibility for cultural heritage preservation. This makes the institution and its archival records unique, as several other countries followed a similar path only centuries later.

Project with broad expertise

The project includes image technicians and archivists who are responsible for the digitisation process, a research team of three researchers who carry out a number of smaller research activities on an ongoing basis, and paper conservators who take care of fragile and damaged records.