This week in The Commons

We’re happy to present another round of institutions that have joined The Commons this week! Browse through each of their photostreams to see photos they’ve gathered in their efforts to preserve the cultural heritage of Estonia, Sweden and the Swedish community in Finland.

The National Archives of Estonia:

Mehed laeva ehitamas / Men building a ship   Katamaraan rannikumeres / A catamaran in coastal sea

Guido ja Eveline Maydell oma Stony Acresi farmis Connecticutis. Kamina kohal Eveline käärilõige / Guido and Eveline Maydell in their farm Stony Acres in Connecticut   Teismeline Eveline kostümeerituna Schwarzbeckshofi mõisas (Läti) / Teenage Eveline in a historical costume in Schwarzbeckshof manor (Latvia)   Suvitajad rannas piknikut pidamas / Vacationers picnicking on the beach

The National Archives of Estonia is the centre of archival administration in Estonia. The main task of the National Archives is to ensure preservation and usability of society’s written memory, documented cultural heritage for today’s and future generations. On the other hand, the National Archives guarantees the protection of citizens basic rights and duties and the transparency of the democratic state through the holding and preservation of authentic documents.

The National Library of Sweden:

August Strindberg   August Strindberg   August Strindberg

August Strindberg with children   August Strindberg's funeral

The National Library of Sweden has been collecting virtually everything printed in Sweden or in Swedish since 1661. We also collect TV and radio programs, movies and videos distributed in Sweden, Swedish music and multimedia recordings. The National Library is a humanities research library that purchases scholarly publications in several languages.

The Society of Swedish Literature in Finland:

The Swedish Theater in Helsinki   Eira/Ullanlinna (Ulrikasborg), Helsinki

South Harbour, Helsinki   The steamship Arcturus, South Harbor, Helsinki   The Esplanade in Helsinki, 1906

The archives of the Society of Swedish Literature in Finland strive to preserve the central parts of the Swedish cultural heritage in Finland. Finland was a part of Sweden until 1809 and Swedish has been spoken around the coastal areas of Finland for hundreds of years. Swedish is today used in everyday life by about 6 % of the Finnish citizens. In the SLS archive you will find letters, manuscripts, photographs, folk music, dialects and more for anyone who takes an interest in the language, history and traditions of the Finland-Swedish minority.