Grenna Museum - Andréexpeditionen och Polarcenter

At Grenna Museum, you’ll encounter Salomon August Andrée, the Swedish engineer who attempted to reach the North Pole by hydrogen balloon in 1897. The museum’s Polar Centre houses the country’s largest collection of polar historical artefacts, with the crown jewel being the items recovered from Andrée’s ill-fated expedition.

The Polar Centre and the Andrée expedition

The Polar Centre is the collective name for exhibitions on Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. The main focus is the André Expedition. With the scientific aim of mapping the northern polar region, engineer Salomon August Andrée, physicist and photographer Nils Strindberg, and engineer Knut Frænkel set off in the hydrogen balloon Örnen (“The Eagle”). They departed from Danskøya near Svalbard in 1897, hoping to cross the North Pole. Something went terribly wrong. All three men perished and were not discovered until 33 years later on the remote glacial island of Kvitøya.

At Grenna Museum, you can follow the planning and preparations of the expedition. A life-sized, realistic figure of S. A. Andrée welcomes you, and an introductory film tells the story from launch to tragic end. The museum displays photographs and artefacts from the flight, the landing, the trek across the ice, the discovery, and the return home. Another film explores the lives of those left behind: Anna Charlier, Gurli Linder, Nils Ekholm and Vilhelm Swedenborg. What became of them in the shadow of the expedition? A three-dimensional experience presents the theories of physician and author Bea Uusma on what may have happened on Kvitøya.

The Polar Centre also features other historical polar expeditions and insights into modern polar research.

For children

The museum includes a creative corner for children, with large floor puzzles and hands-on artefacts related to the André Expedition. A replica of the expedition’s tent is available to explore, and you might even spot a polar bear or two.
The museum’s introductory film is often appreciated by younger visitors – a captivating and atmospheric account of the expedition’s adventure and fate.

The Gallery

Near the museum’s main entrance is a gallery space for temporary exhibitions, showcasing art, photography and ceramics.

Franckska Gården

On the museum grounds stands Gränna’s oldest building, Franckska Gården, built in the mid-1600s. It houses local history exhibitions across seven small themed rooms. Here you’ll meet Valborg Franck, a teacher who ran a private school in the northern part of her home. One room explores different decades in Gränna’s history, and another introduces Amalia Erikson, the mother of the famous polkagris sweet, along with other confectioners from 1859 to the present day.

Grännaberget Open-Air Museum and Röttle Village

Grenna Museum also operates an open-air museum on Grännaberget, featuring historic dwellings, storehouses and sheds open to visitors during summer. On Thursdays in July, the museum’s carriage house is also open, displaying carriages, sleighs, fire equipment and other large items.

Just outside Gränna lies Röttle Village, where Count Per Brahe the Younger established several industries in the 1600s. Two historic mills remain – Jerusalem Mill from the 13th century and Rasmus Mill from the 17th century – both managed by Grenna Museum. In summer, visitors can see Rasmus Mill in action, grinding grain into flour using water power.

Grenna Museum is centrally located in Gränna, just by the town square, with nearby parking available. The museum offers guided tours for groups, worksheets for school classes, and walking tours in Amalia’s footsteps. Don’t miss the charming museum shop – there’s something for everyone.

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