Modern Swedish history begins with ideas, innovation and technology. Steel processes, hydropower and telephony laid the foundation for industry. Welfare reforms, the contraceptive pill and parental leave reshaped family life and working life. Digital platforms such as Pirate Bay and Spotify transformed the global music industry.
In the exhibition Drömlandet, you follow how a poor agricultural country on the edge of Europe opened up to the world and became a global technology nation. This is the story of how technology transformed society — not only in factories and laboratories, but in politics, trade, culture and everyday life.
In just over 200 years, Sweden has gone from a poor and sparsely populated agricultural country to one of the world’s most connected and innovation-driven societies. This transformation was not driven by machines, factories and companies alone — it was also shaped by people’s visions of a better life and a better society.
Drömlandet does not present technological history as a series of isolated breakthroughs. Instead, it shows how technology reshaped an entire society. From steelworks, railways and hydropower to the welfare state, large-scale housing programs and a society defined by democracy and gender equality. From printing presses and mass media to mobile phones, video games and global streaming platforms.
The exhibition moves through seven eras — from a time of poverty to today’s connected society. At the heart of the museum, in the Machine Hall, you encounter more than one hundred objects and installations.
Here, a Gripen fighter jet hovers above a civil defence shelter. Here stands Sweden’s oldest preserved steam engine. You will also encounter technologies that transformed everyday life: the seatbelt that has saved millions of lives. The station clock that synchronized time across an entire nation. H&M garments that reflect how fashion became mass industry. And the Pirate Bay server, which reminded the world that the internet can also challenge power.
But every technological breakthrough has had its downside. Industrialisation created environmental problems. Globalisation created new economic inequalities. The internet created both free access to knowledge and digital polarisation.
Drömlandet is therefore not only a story of innovation and progress. It is also a story of conflict, compromise and choice. The story of how Sweden became Sweden.
Sweden was a poor country where most people lived off agriculture. At the same time, the first steps towards industrialisation were taken. Steam engines, mechanical workshops and new production methods laid the foundation for a society in transformation.
Railways, telegraphy and new steel processes connected the country and opened Sweden to the world. Industry grew rapidly and new companies emerged. At the same time, more than one million Swedes emigrated in search of a better life.
Technological progress continued while society was marked by political conflict and economic crisis. The suffrage movement reshaped democracy, while new energy systems, industries and communications transformed everyday life.
The Swedish welfare model took shape. The state, industry and research collaborated to build welfare, housing and infrastructure. Electrification and standardisation transformed both work and home life.
Post-war economic growth created new opportunities. Mass car ownership, consumer culture and new household technologies changed everyday life. At the same time, gender equality strengthened and education became a path to social mobility.
The oil crisis, economic downturns and environmental debates brought questions of resources and growth to the forefront. Meanwhile, computers and electronics took the first steps towards a digital society.
The internet transformed how people communicate, work and create culture. Mobile technology, the gaming industry and digital platforms placed Sweden at the centre of global technological development.
Audiovisual installation with music by Christian Gabel
When the lights in the Machine Hall suddenly go out, the space is filled with an audiovisual work where archival images from Swedish history meet specially composed music by Christian Gabel (bob hund). A rhythmic journey through two hundred years of change.
The oversized Electrolux vacuum cleaner
What happens when a classic vacuum cleaner becomes a slide? In Drömlandet, both children and adults can pass through a giant Electrolux vacuum cleaner — a playful encounter between everyday technology and the museum experience.
Gripen above the shelter
In the Machine Hall, a Saab 39–2 Gripen fighter jet hovers above a civil defence shelter. Get up close to one of Sweden’s most advanced aircraft and the engineering expertise behind it.
The Pirate Bay server
A small server that became the symbol of a global conflict over copyright, digital freedom and internet culture. Pirate Bay placed Sweden at the centre of one of the internet’s most high-profile legal battles.
Sweden’s oldest preserved steam engine
For more than 70 years, this beam engine pumped water out of the coal mine in Höganäs. When installed in 1832, steam power symbolised the future and the beginning of Sweden’s industrialisation.
Drömlandet also serves as a starting point for public talks on the museum’s programme stage, Talks & Ideas, where researchers, entrepreneurs, debaters and creators discuss the role of technology in shaping society. Throughout the year, themes such as weapons and welfare, AI and life optimisation, and major political technology issues — migration, education, infrastructure and nation-building — will be explored.
For primary and upper secondary schools, dedicated programmes are developed around innovation, entrepreneurship, social studies and history — connecting past, present and future societal challenges.
It opens on April 29.
For everybody. No really. Drömlandet is for anyone who wants to understand how Sweden became the country we live in today. The exhibition appeals to both young and old, to those interested in technology and culture alike. There is something here for everyone.
The museum’s largest exhibition investment ever has been made possible thanks to generous donations from the exhibition’s principal funders: the Swedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences (Riksbankens Jubileumsfond), the Torsten Söderberg Foundation and the Stora Foundation.
Additional support has been provided by the museum’s partners Ericsson, Saab, Sandvik and NIBE, as well as a special contribution from the Swedish Ministry of Culture.
Last updated 8 May 2026.