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!
Photo: Carrie GreenwoodThe 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.
Photo: Scanned image, MHK.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.
Photo: Nicho Södling,Lennart NilssonScience in Art, Art in Science. Lennart Nilsson and Karolinska Institutet
Photographer Lennart Nilsson became famous all over the world for his images of fetuses, virus and cells. The exhibition Science in Art, Art in Science shows unique photographs from Lennart Nilssons career, objects and equipment from his last laboratory at KI and illuminates the importance of imaging techniques for medical science.
Photo: N/AArt and Exhibitions at the Hagströmer Library
Information on our past and current exhibitions programme
Photo: N/AMedical 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.
Photo: Erik G SvenssonThe 2025 Hagströmer fellowship
The 2025 Hagströmer fellowship is to awarded Dr. Lukas J. Meier.
Photo: Eva ÅhrénHistory of Medicine and Science collections
The historical collections of Karolinska Institutet include experimental equipment, documentation, instruments, specimens, books and much more.
Photo: Ulf SirbornThe 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.
Photo: Martin StenmarkHagströmer Lecture 2024 Online
Anita Guerrini, Foreign Bodies: Humans, Animals, and Vaccine Development. Now available on Youtube.
Photo: Ulf SirbornThe 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.
Academic ceremonies and prizes
Photo: NobelstiftelsenThe 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.
Photo: Ulf SirbornAcademic ceremonies
Karolinska Institutet arranges various academic ceremonies each year. Activities include conferring of doctor's degrees, professorial awards and academic prizes.
Photo: Stefan ZimmermanKI 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.