# Gammelgården Museum of Scandia

Gammelgården Museum of Scandia is an open-air museum in Scandia, Minnesota, United States. It is devoted to Swedish immigration history. The museum's mission is to preserve, present, and promote Swedish immigrant heritage. The museum receives around 5,000 visitors each year.

## Museum

The museum site is on 11 acres (4.5 ha) of land and consists of six historic buildings that are furnished with artifacts dating back to the 1850s. Two buildings, the Parsonage House, (built in 1868) and the Parsonage Barn (built in 1879) are original to the site. Three others, the oldest Lutheran church building in Minnesota (built in 1856), the Immigrant House, one the first homes in Scandia (built in 1855), the Stuga (built in 1930), were moved to the site. The site also features the Välkommen Hus (Visitor Center).
One-third of the approximately 5,000 visitors to the city's Swedish immigrant heritage museum and surrounding park annually travel from Sweden. This can be attributed, in large part, to "The Emigrants", a book series from the 1950s by Swedish journalist Vilhelm Moberg that depicts a Swedish family's journey to Chisago County. Lynne Blomstrand Moratzka, the former director of the Gammelgården Museum stated that Swedish tourists, "read those books and they figure it's their own family's story, so they want to see Minnesota."

## Programs

The museum offers guided tours that take visitors on a journey back in time to experience what immigrant life was like in the 1850s. Visitors can also explore the museum's exhibits on their own, which include artifacts, photographs, and documents that tell the story of Swedish immigration to Minnesota.
The museum also offers a variety of educational programs and activities, including children's programs, seasonal celebrations, and group tours. Additional museum facilities in a gift shop, picnic areas and playground on site.

### Lucia Dagen ceremony

Traditional Lucia Dagen ceremony at museum features candlelit celebrations in buildings formerly used as a barn and parsonage, a guest house and a residence-turned-granary, as well as The Gammelkyrkan, the oldest Lutheran church building in Minnesota. The girl playing Lucia wears a white dress symbolizing virginity and a red sash for martyrdom, carrying candles on her head to bring light into dark rooms. St. Lucia Day, December 13 tradition marks the start of the Christmas season, connecting immigrants to their heritage and pre-immigrant life.

### Naturalization Ceremonies

The museum also holds naturalization ceremonies for immigrants, where Scandia Elementary fourth-graders are welcomed to observe the ceremonies and lead everyone in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

## History

The inception of the Gammelgården Museum in Scandia dates back to 1971 when the congregation of Elim Lutheran Church discovered the availability of its former pastor's house and barn from the 1850s. Recognized as the oldest Lutheran pastor's house in Minnesota, the church's 1856 log sanctuary, repurposed as a hay barn, was also accessible for relocation and restoration on the 11-acre site.
Several members of the church came together to form a committee, leading to the establishment of Gammelgården in 1972, meaning "old farm" in Swedish. Over the years, additional buildings have been incorporated into the site, including a welcome center that was unveiled in 2002.
On October 6, 2012, the visiting King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf presented his country's prestigious "Order of the Polar Star" on Lynne Moratzka, the then director of the Gammelgården Museum in honor of her contributions to Swedish-American culture and heritage during ceremony at the American Swedish Institute of Minneapolis.