Stockholm Nobel Prize Museum

In the heart of Stockholm, in the busy Stortorget square in Gamla Stan, you'll find the Nobel Museum, a place to discover the importance of this competition and the origin of the awards.

The museum is located on the first floor of the former Stock Exchange building, which also houses the headquarters of the Swedish Academy, the institution responsible for choosing the annual winners of the Nobel Prizes.

History of the Nobel Prizes

Born in Stockholm in 1833, the renowned inventor Alfred Nobel made his mark as one of the most pioneering engineers in armament technology. Notably, Nobel's most celebrated invention was dynamite.

Recognizing the potential harm his explosive invention could inflict on humanity, Alfred Nobel made a pivotal decision to amend his will. He chose to allocate his entire fortune to establish an institution that would annually bestow prizes upon individuals contributing to the world's advancement in physics, literature, peace, medicine, chemistry, and economics. Thus, the Nobel Prizes came into existence.

The Nobel Prize Museum collection

The Nobel Museum in Stockholm offers a comprehensive journey through the entire history of the prizes, spanning from the life of their creator, Alfred Nobel, to the personal artifacts of eminent laureates. The collection boasts invaluable items like Marie Curie's tools, one of Fleming's initial penicillin samples, and a replica of Nobel's will.

In the museum's central hall, an assortment of videos, images, and objects illustrate the careers of the most significant Nobel laureates and their impactful contributions in various fields. Visitors can explore the stories of these laureates via interactive touch screens, selecting which Nobel laureate's life to explore.

A word of advice

For those especially interested in the Nobel Prizes and the grandeur surrounding this honor, we recommend visiting Stockholm City Hall. This is where the annual banquet is hosted, uniting winners and the jury. While the Nobel Museum appeals to enthusiasts of diverse knowledge domains, some may find the collection not as thorough and concise as possible.