Ship model in varnished wood. Planking mounted on the upper half of the hull side, with the ribs visible at the bottom. Contemporary original model, probably made around the year 1696 in Karlskrona at the same time as the ship's construction.
Photo: Oliver Lindkvist, The Naval Museum/SMTM. CC-BY

The Collections

The Naval Museum's collection consists of more than 55.000 objects, 20.000 drawings, 250 metres of shelves containing archival documents, 50.,000 photographs, and about 20.000 books.

 

A selection of the collection is displayed in the exhibitions at the museum. Most of the objects are however preserved in the museum storages and archives.

Objects

The Naval Museum's collections include more than 55 000 objects. The main part of these are kept in the museum's storages, but many of them are on display in the exhibitions.

The collections contain large objects such as entire warships, but also small things like buttons from uniforms. The museum also keeps detailed ship models dating back to the 18th century, beautiful compasses, furniture and kitchen utensils that tell the story of life aboard a Swedish warship. The collections also include marine paintings, powerful cannons, well-used tools from the naval shipyards and grand uniforms.

Many of these objects are on display in the museum's exhibitions, but most of them are stored away. New acquisitions are constantly made, which give new perspectives to the Swedish naval history.

Explore the Collection
A stack of old books with two open books in front.

The Library

The Naval Museum Library is a specialised library that houses many unique books on Swedish naval history from the 16th century to the present day.

The Archive and photo archive

The Naval Museum Archives contain over 20,000 drawings, maps and nautical charts, as well as more than 250 shelf metres of various documents. The archives are open to everyone, by appointment.