This study of the establishment of heritage preservation in Sweden during the first half of the 20th century focuses upon Sigurd Curman (1879-1966), art historian, restoration architect and Director of Antiquities. Its purpose is to show how an older, more research-oriented form of heritage work grew to become a more socially-conscious vari­ant of cultural preservation. The period of establishment embraces organizational inquiries, government legisla­tion and institutionalization, and as Director of Antiquities between 1923 and 1946, Curman was a main actor. He had already become a key figure in debates on the official organization of preservation activities in Sweden well before this, whose early career dealt chiefly with the restoration of churches. Curman advocated the accentuation of aspects of cultural history. An opinion had been formed among cultural historians and museum curators against what they perceived as the obsolete manner of pursuing heritage efforts conducted by the Royal Swedish Acad­emy of Letters, History and Antiquities and its secretary, the Director of Antiquities, who was also head of Swe­den's main official museum, the Museum of History. Criticism was aimed at all aspects of official heritage preservation efforts, including legislation, restoration policy, the care of ancient ruins and treatment of finds, as well as the lack of understanding on the behalf of the central authority for local and regional interests. The latter referred to the emotive aspects of heritage preservation, which in contemporary verbiage was summarized by the term "piety". The central authority was accussed of not understanding "popular" heritage preservation outside the context of the museum and of displaying a lack of piety toward "the cultural memory of the Fatherland". These feelings were based primarily on two prerequisites: an established perception of a homogeneous national culture with ancient roots in the past, and an apprehension that it was in the interests of society that the government become responsible for the administration of this material cultural heritage. This ambition can be summarized by the term "preservation of cultural heritage" and its foremost exponent was Sigurd Curman. The dissertation fol­lows Curman from his childhood in a wealthy Stockholm family, to his early career in restoration and as lecturer in architectural history at the College of Art. In 1912, Curman was appointed to the first chair in these fields estab­lished at the College, which he held until 1918 when he became advisor in the cultural history of architecture at the new Royal Swedish Board of Public Building. When appointed Director of Antiquities he began concretizing the official organization of heritage preservation. During the 1910s he participated in a comprehensive, dual inquiry into the organization and legislation of the government's heritage preservation policy. When its final report was presented in 1922 it was tabled, but still acted as the basis for Curman's continued efforts. He created a modem bureaucracy out of the council of the Department of Antiquities and contributed to moving the central authority from the ground floor of the National Museum to its own premises in midtown Stockholm. Curman would also work to improve legislation to protect cultural monuments and developed museum activities by creat­ing a countrywide organization of county antiquarians and regional museums. When Sweden's new antiquities law was passed by parliament in 1942, Curman had not only led the inquiry leading up to it, but had formulated the draft of the legislation himself. By the time of his retirement in 1946 he was a legend in antiquarian circles, the very personification of Swedish cultural heritage preservation. The present dissertation shows how Curman achieved this status, though it also details the efforts of numerous other actors participating in the process and sees Curman as a bureaucrat who realized demands for a renewal of heritage preservation in the country. / digitalisering@umu

All Roads Lead to the Snow-Capped Mountains: An Examination of Snow in Norwegian Nation Building During the Late 19th Century. Uppsala University: Dep. of History of Science and Ideas, Bachelor of Art’s thesis, spring term 2024. This essay examines three literary works by Norwegian polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen. The purpose is to explore the ways in which snow played a part in Norwegian nationalism at the end of the 19th century. At the time that Nansen’s books were originally published, Norway had been at the political and cultural mercy of its neighboring nations for the past five centuries. An ambition for complete independence was brewing, and Fridtjof Nansen became part of a group of intellectuals tasked with creating a new national identity, one that was constructed through the creation of cultural borders and visions of a nation aligned with a perceived glorious past. National romanticism had a strong grip on Europe in general during this time, and infusing the national identity with a romanticized nature was commonplace. Norway is no exception to this, but the argument put forth here is that snow played a particular part in creating the new nation, aside from the rest of nature. Fridtjof Nansen personified, through his own activism and resistance to the unions, the Norwegian identity, and became in a sense synonymous with it. Through his personal relationship with snow, snow became personal to the nation.

Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att studera vad som har hänt med diktverket Frithiofs Saga av Esaias Tegnérs, när det har omarbetats till fullängdsoperan Fritiofs Saga av Elfrida Andrée och Selma Lagerlöf, vilken i sin tur komprimerats till ett konsertframträdande på en timme, som gavs i Karlstad av Wermland Opera 2013. Här har det undersökts vilka olika narrativ som har skapats i dessa två bearbetningar, där en huvudfråga har varit att undersöka om representationen av kvinnligt och manligt har förändrats längs med vägen. Undersökningen har skett genom närläsning av Tegnérs diktverk, vilka sedan jämförts med notmaterialet till Fritiofs Saga, samt den direktupptagning som Sveriges radio gjorde av Wermland Operas framförande. Materialet har därefter sammanställts i tabellformat och analyserats enligt Vladimir Propps systematisering för sagor, samt genom Ingrid Åkessons teori om återskapande, omskapande och nyskapande. Undersökningen visar att bearbetningar av ett litterärt material, skapar om inte nya så åtminstone andra typer av berättelser, än den litterära förlagan, samt att representationen av kvinnligt och manligt skiljer sig åt i de tre undersökta materialen.

This essay presents an example of the musical life of a female composer active in Sweden during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through a case study on composer Sara Wennerberg-Reuter (1875-1959), the essay contributes information to her biography, which had been lacking specific details. Wennerberg-Reuter's biography has been discussed regarding traditional roles of women in music, her relationship to her own artistry and other active women composers, and finally the contemporary reception of Wennerberg-Reuter as a legitimate composer. Aesthetical theories prevalent during Wennerberg-Reuter’s life has been applied in these discussions, such as those presented by Citron, Öhrström and Hanson, combined with Citron's additional theories considering masculine/feminine elements in the musical approach. The main conclusions reached regarding the specific conditions enabling a professional status as a composer and woman in Sweden during the given time are; a) the liberal permission by the family to pursue higher education in composing, since this was in opposition to the traditions of the time. b) the access to a network of musically active women, from which a sense of being part of a female community can be created. c) the acceptance from musical institutions such as higher educations, composer's societies and media critics.

This thesis examines the question of the extent to which the concept of a National Style dominated architectural production in Finland between 1890 and 1916. The thesis maintains that National Style ideas should be understood as one of a number of impulses emerging in Finnish architecture in the 1890s. This point is explored through analysis of the writings of the architect, journalist and Finnish nationalist Vilho Penttilä. His writings reveal that alongside the National Style he was also concerned with the general question of architectural reform in Finland. This thinking included new ideas on the role that materials, construction and new technology should play in shaping architectural design. Alongside this ran interest in the development of a new language of architectural ornament capable of expressing the character of the building and the society who used it. International architecture was frequently referred to as a model in relation to the National Style and architectural reform in general. Comparison is made to other writings within the Finnish architectural press. The thesis is tested through the examination of a case study: the buildings of Penttilä for the National Joint-Stock Bank [KOP] and the architecture of financial buildings in general, with further comparison made, where relevant, to the broader architectural field. This allows for the comparison of the work of a large number of architects and prestigious projects throughout the country. The study reveals that, just as was indicated through the analysis of architectural journalism, National Style ideas were explored alongside other concerns related to architectural reform. National Style features began to disappear in the mid-1900s, subsumed within the drive to find new architectural forms to reflect the modern age and Finland's hopes for the future. This was found to be the case even in relation to Penttilä's work for KOP, where both the architect and the institution were committed to the Finnish nationalist movement.

This essay is mainly about the Church of the Goths and about the Russian Orthodox Church, and their conflict. The essay will be focusing about important persons in these two churches. This essay will be tracing back the roots of the Church of the Goths, since it is a church, that is unknown by most people in this world. My research will be making a distinction of the differences between the Church of the Goths and the Russian Orthodox Church. This essay will also be discussing the heritage of the Gothic people and the theories of the Goths.The methods in the essay, is academic sources, information from the Church of the Goths and from the Russian Orthodox Church. The results shows how the information was found, and now it is published for the first time about the Church of the Goths. This means the Church of the Goths has a stronger ground than first expected. The methods were comparing what the different sources says, and if it was possible to connect the Church of the Goths to the Metropolitanate of Gothia, and so on.