Tobaks & Tandsticksmuseum - Skansen, Sweden

The History of Tobacco

Columbus was introduced to the use of tobacco when he arrived in America in 1492.  Sailors brought the use back to Europe, and it reached Sweden in the latter half of the 16th century.  Swedes started
to smoke tobacco in pipes, use chewing tobacco, and take dried stuff nasally.
The Museum has a collection of early white clay pipes, and demonstrates how they were manufactured. It has also a collection of snuffboxes of silver, wood, brass and copper and many accessories related to smoking cigars and cigarettes.

The Tobacco Factory

The basement houses the tobacco factory, where historical brands are manufactured on certain days, using authentic machines.  Moist snuff is packed into kardus ( a special type of heavy paper) and the
pipemaker makes clay pipes.

The Ottoman Room

It was fashionable in the 1890s that bourgeois homes had a gentleman's study characterised by an oriental design.  This room could be called the Ottoman room, Turkish room, Gentleman's room or Smoking room. An oriental rug was the centrepiece of the room, which otherwise could have a
mixture of oriental and European furniture and fittings. Ornaments were highly significant, and were there show who lived in the house and what the interests of the owner were.  Souvenirs were popular, as a way  of showing how widely travelled the owner was.

History of the Match

Swedish professor of chemistry Gustaf Pasch invented the safety match in 1844, but it did not become popular until the Lundstrom brothers in Jonkoping improved it.  The safety match came to the public eye when it was awarded a silver medal at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1855.

Gubbhyllan

The Tobacco and Match Museum is housed in " Gubbhyllan", the traditional inn at Skansen. The name Gubbhyllan ( or "Old men's shelf" in English) reflects that the old men of the Establishment would sit
on the veranda (shelf) to drink liquor and smoke cigars

Tobacco cultivation

Our exhibition about tobacco cultivation in Sweden is located on the museum's inner veranda. It is possible to follow how the tobacco at the museum grows through the summer, from planting and flowering to harvest.   Tobacco was being cultivated in Sweden as long ago as the 16 th century.  The final Swedish - cultivated tobacco for commercial use was harvested in Ahus in Skane in 1964.

Open    Oct - April  11 - 16 / Mon closed
             May - Sept  daily  11 - 17

Entry to the Tobacco and Match Museum is included in the entry fee to Skansen

For more information :  T:  +46 8 442 8026

                    Web:         www.tobakochsticksmuseum.se