Museums, collections and archives
Lund University is home to unique museums, collections and archives that reflect both research and history. Here you will find everything from archaeological finds, art and historical documents to biological diversity and type specimens.
Skissernas Museum
Skissernas Museum – the Museum of Artistic Process and Public Art – is a unique art museum focusing on the artistic creative process. It houses the world's largest collection of sketches, models and preparatory works for public art – both Swedish and international.
Historical Museum
The Historical Museum at Lund University is the largest museum in southern Sweden for archaeological finds, coins, ecclesiastical art and cultural history collections. Here you will find many unique objects that illustrate the development of humans and society from the Ice Age to the present day.
Botanical Garden
The heritage-listed Botanical Garden is home to more than 7,000 different plant species. The living collections include plants from around the world and feature both wild species and plants cultivated by humans for a variety of purposes.
Lund University Library
Lund University Library (UB) is one of Sweden's largest research libraries. It is an important resource for learning, research and publishing at Lund University, and also a place where everyone can take part in our shared cultural heritage.
Lund University Library website
University Archives
The University Archives serve as Lund University's central administrative archive. Its collections contain material from administration, education and research dating from 1666 to the present day.
The archives provide documents and information to the University's administration as well as to the public, the media and other organisations in accordance with the principle of public access. The duty archivist (universitetsarkivet [at] legal [dot] lu [dot] se) is available on weekdays for enquiries about the collections.
Folklife Archives
Most aspects of human ways of life, as well as customs and traditions, are documented in the Folklife Archives, the oldest archive of its kind in Sweden. The archives also include the Scania Music Collection, which documents traditional folk music from the region.
Resources for researchers and students
In addition to the University’s public activities, there are also collections and archives that are accessible only to researchers and students – from Lund University or other higher education institutions. These can be used for teaching and research purposes.
The Biological Museum at Lund University holds collections and data spanning more than 250 years and plays a central role in research on biodiversity and the impact of climate change on fauna and flora.
The collections comprise around 13 million specimens, mainly from the Nordic region, and include more than 40,000 type specimens used by researchers worldwide to describe and revise species.
The Lund University Art Collection (LUK), managed by Skissernas Museum, consists of paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints from the 15th century to the present. It places particular emphasis on Swedish art from the 19th and 20th centuries.
The collection is primarily accessible for research and academic teaching, but parts of it have been shown to the public at various times.
There are also smaller collections and archives at faculties and departments, such as the Lund University Archive for Church History (LUKA) at the Faculties of Humanities and Theology. Additional collections exist in fields such as astronomy, physics and medicine.