History and Cultural Heritage
Karolinska Institutet has been an important actor for Swedish and international medicine and science for 200 years, and the cultural heritage of KI is rich and diverse. Below you will find information about KI history, our historical collections, the Hagströmer Library and the Medical History and Heritage at KI. Welcome!
The Hagstromer Library
The Hagstromer Library has a unique collection of rare books from the history of science and medicine, including classic works of Linneaus and Vesalius as well as rare publications from Nobel laureates and scientists from Karolinska Institutet.
Medical History and Heritage
Medical History and Heritage collects and preserves the cultural heritage of KI, and strives to spread and create new knowledge of KI history.
Jonas Falck - among gravel and horizons - New exhibition at the Hagströmer Library
The Hagströmer Library 10 October 2022 – Spring 2023
The History of Karolinska Institutet
The history of Karolinska Institutet is in many ways the history of medical science in Sweden. KI was the first purely medical university in Sweden and still is today.
Medical History Collections Online
Digitised Images of Sweden's hospitals from Medicinhistoriska Museet Eugenias image collections, and many others at the Hagströmer Library, now available online.
The Hagströmer Lecture 2022
Pandemic Futures, Pandemic Pasts: The 2022 Hagströmer Lecture available online:
Could an appreciation of the history of pandemics have contributed to better responses to Covid-19? The speakers will put recent experiences into historical perspective, while posing questions for the future.
History of Medicine and Science collections
The historical collections of Karolinska Institutet include experimental equipment, documentation, instruments, specimens, books and much more.
The Advisory Board for Culture
The advisory board for culture (Kulturrådet) is an advisory body for the KI president, covering the interactive area between science and culture at KI.
KI and the legacy of Anders and Gustaf Retzius
For more than 200 years Karolinska Institutet (KI) has educated students and conducted research in medicine, the life sciences and public health. The practice of medicine and scientific research interacts with, and is shaped by the values and power relationships of their time.
Academic ceremonies and prizes
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
In his will, Alfred Nobel appointed Karolinska Institutet to award the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Prizes and awards
A number of prizes and awards are presented at Karolinska Institutet every year.
Academic ceremonies
Karolinska Institutet arranges various academic ceremonies each year. Activities include conferring of doctor's degrees, professorial awards and academic prizes.