American Swedish Institute

So interesting and their attached restaurant is the best part! A great place to bring the kids and play while remaining a fun place for everyone.

The Swedish Institute is basically a large mansion which is very interesting. The woodwork is fascinating as well as the many tile wood burning stove. The tour is very informative. Other than that they had an art show and a gift shop. cost is $ 10 a person. I felt that they could improve by having more Swedish displays and information.

The American Swedish Institute is a classy way explore Scandinavian history. You will take great interest in the stories behind the enormous mansion. I enjoyed walking around the different rooms which each have interesting designs and displays. The craftsmanship is extremely intricate all throughout the house. There’s plenty of artwork to admire here. I particularly liked the sun room on one of the upper floors. It has a great view and plenty of windows, a nice contrast to the lighting in the interior of the house. It’s pretty cool how they build the newer part of the institute into the older mansion. They transition into one another very nicely. The staff is friendly and can help answer any questions too. Enjoy your visit! I recommend it.

I like ASI so much that I finally became a member. They have a monthly kids event, tons of holiday events and an amazing Scandinavian holiday store which is open only during the holiday season in an adjunct space off of the bookstore. I love stopping in on a cold day just to grab a coffee or lunch at Fika. It remains one of the few public places where you can hang your coat on one of the coat racks and seriously not even worry about it getting nicked. Several parts of the facility would be wonderful for a wedding or other event. I could see a wedding ceremony in the formal mansion followed by a reception in the clean, modern space of the newer addition.

My sister, brother-​in-​law, my niece, and I came here for the holiday festivities. I have to say that the admission seems slightly high, and that would be the only down thing to say. The staff and volunteers were very friendly and nice. We crafted and made trolls, and did a search for the trolls, and got to see the wonderful Swedish Christmas displays. The storytelling for the children was very memorable and wonderfully done. There was an opportunity to learn to dance as well. There was also the Swedish Santa Claus that was neat to see. I’m impressed by all the things to see and do here. The gift shop has plenty of items to purchase as a reminder of your visit.

Love this place its rich in history. Not just the family that lived there. My gosh its beautiful. This place definitely marked my trip here. The staff is incredibly nice. All welcoming. And the place looks better during the holidays. Unfortunately I didnt see it completed. The lower rooms are the most glamorous looking. The outside is beautiful also. I hope I can come back.

Swedish Mansion that will blow your mind!
The American Swedish Institute has done a excellent job preserving and showing off this gem of architectural beauty.
The craftsmanship of design from the attention to detail in wood carvings is incredible.
Whether you’re of Swedish descent or looking for attractions in Minnesota, this is a must-​see!!!

My agency rented the venue for an event — it was the best. A big thanks to Maggie McKenney, I cannot imagine how we would have fared without her help and expertise. The venue was gorgeous; the food was delicious; the staff were professional, efficient and reliable. I especially appreciate Maggie and her staff accommodating our last minute changes due to unforeseen weather. Our event went off without a hitch — everything was fun, elegant and seamless.

Make sure to see Bob one of the retired tour guides. You’ll catch him waiting in the main Foyer to take you through a guided tour. He’s old but be patient and you’ll learn quite a bit of history.

This place is gorgeous! Has easy parking access and was a great addition to our 6-​day trip to MN. I felt rushed with the 1 – 2 hours we had here and could happily have spent more.
It was a nice, quiet self-​guided tour on a saturday afternoon. Definitely not busy or overrun with kids. The mansion is GORGEOUS and we didn’t really get to explore the newer part of the museum. We got a drink and 2 cookies from FIKA that were quite yummy. There’s a good selection of gifts from the giftshop too!
It’s a photographers’ dream… photography is allowed but no flash. You could almost do a portrait session here with so many lovely backdrops!

I went here to eat at Fika, and toured the grounds afterwards.
The bulk of ASI is the Turnblad Mansion. Right off the bat I will tell you, you are not going to be able to spend a whole day here. It’s a pretty small place you can tour in about 1~2 hours. With that said, I thoroughly enjoy the visit.
I love the fact that they have free lockers here for your luggage. They also have a coat hanging area, but it’s not monitored. I guess the mid west is filled with honest people because I couldn’t help but to think these coats in San Francisco will be stolen in an instant.
On a nice day, there are many relaxing spots littered within. The lawn in the middle, the second story balcony right next to the entryway, the second floor sun room in the mansion, and the top floor nook in the mansion. These all make for good photo-​op spots too.
They have a small gift shop filled with cute Swedish themed goods. Everything is very tasteful and good quality.
Finally, do yourself a favor and eat a meal at Fika! It’s absolutely great!

On opening night for the winter exhibit Nobel Creations-​Inspired By The Nobel Prize the American Swedish Institute welcomed guests from Sweden who were part of the creation. The tour of Turnblad Mansion is worth the visit anytime. The massive amount of hand craved rails, the ceramic tile fireplaces. The third (and very chilly) floor has a small area for children’s creative play with wooden blocks from Sweden and play tents with a pretend kitchen.
Helpful volunteers roam the rooms to give you historical references about the bulding and former tenants.

My father was Finish, he died last year. My mother and I are British and visiting Minneapolis. We loved the ASI the Turnblad mansion is beautiful, interesting and decked with examples of Scandinavian design. Mum started to cry «your dad would have loved all of this».
After mum went back to Britain I visited again during their Christmas fair. A chorus of beautiful voices sand Christmas songs in the Turnblad mansion. So beautiful I started to cry.
The staff were amazing, so helpful and polite. As an immigrant in the USA I felt welcomed and closer to home than any other place I’ve yet visited in Minneapolis. My Christmas will now include some of the classic decorations that have always been a part of my parents house and my mum knows I’ll be at home here.

I’ve been coming to the Swedish Institute with my mother for years, starting out volunteering for smorgasbords and taking in the preserved culture of my ancestors. I’m now a card-​carrying member who tries to attend events whenever possible, though admittedly some of the events can be hit or miss. Midsommar celebrations held in the courtyard are fun and lively (though this year’s rain put a «damp“er on that) while Cocktails At the Castle is an awesome concept (and always seems to draw quite a crowd) — but I often tend to leave feeling somewhat disappointed. Tickets are costly, drinks and food aren’t exactly cheap, and there have been times when waiting in line gobbles up half the night.
However, there are still some amazing events that overshadow the negative experiences and remind me of why I should keep coming back. The Kraftskiva celebration was my favorite event this year, but admittedly my mom was kind enough to purchase my ticket which made the whole thing a LOT more affordable… all-​you-​can-​eat crayfish (plus other delicious and complimentary food items), plenty of drinking songs, and an abundance of practicing the appropriate, Swedish «skol» ritual with shots of aquavit… so much fun!
Come to ASI to see the mansion, the expansion, and the exhibits… come BACK to experience an event and decide for yourself!

I really only come here for events but when I do I’m excited. The food is always phenomenal. They aren’t reinventing the wheel and feeding you something super exciting and exotic but who cares?! The food has clean flavors, is always delicious and the service is fantastic. Their thumbprint jam cookies are sooooooooo good. Get some from FIKA downstairs to take home. TRUST ME!

My wife and I were here during a beer festival and we needed a break. We love touring old places, so we paid our $ 5 each for the discounted price.
There was a rug exhibit going on, which didn’t really blow our minds, but we loved the old style architecture.
I would recommend a free or cheap tour of this place, it was pretty cool, but for a half hour walk through, ehh.
It would probably be a lot better with a guided tour.

You know, occasionally I like to celebrate my Swedish heritage by visiting the beautiful American Swedish Institute. Like, the Asian part of Sweden, yaknowwhatImean?
I’ve been to ASI a couple of times now, once for a fantastic Unilocal!event, then to stop for brunch at Fika (a treasure all on its own), and then another time to visit the Papercut! exhibit featuring Karen «Bit» Vejle. I love the calm beauty of the modern ASI center and the grandeur of the attached Turnblad Mansion. All the really good stories are in the mansion, of course, and I have a really great time exploring the different rooms and imagining what it would’ve been like to live in such splendor. The last time I visited there was a really friendly museum employee who told us stories of the Turnblad family and how one of the Turnblads used to live across the street after they gave the mansion over to the ASI.
There’s also a wonderful sun room that does get pretty toasty even during the cloudless winter days, and gorgeous stained glass art as you walk halfway up the grand staircase. I don’t know why I remembered those details particularly well; the rest of the mansion is worth a good tour, and afterwards you can reward yourself with a lovely meal at Fika. I’ll be at the museum shop, brushing up on my Swedish. You know, the Filipino dialect of Swedish.

I went for the Cocktails at the Cabin event and… what fun! There was log rolling, lumberjacking, great food, traditional folk music, modern music… and the castle was open for attendees to tour. All on a warm summer evening.
A feast for the senses! Can’t wait to return to experience more of it.

Cool cool cool.
3 of my favorite things… old, new, food. The front of this lovely place has Fika, which everyone must stop at for a treat, open faced sandwich, glass of wine, whatever. But, this is not the place for that review.
The first ½ish of this place is very modern– has a great gift shop and nice outdoor grounds to wander. But my favorite part is the castle. Can I call it a castle? I think so. Its a maze, an intricate, magical maze.
I am not one to dish out much $$ for a museum, but this place is super cool. So lovely, great staff (usually adorable old people) and they change their exhibits often.
If you can, go to an event here. SUPER fun.

I came here for the Cocktails at the Castle event on European Peace Day. It was a smörgåsbord for the senses — so much to see and do in one place! I have marked on my calendar ASI’s upcoming events (Midsommer Celebration, Crayfish Party), because I had such a good time here.
Like I said, there was so much going on, including: food, drink, art exhibits, demos (ex: woodcarving), games (ex: ping pong, German drinking games), live music, mansion tour, crafts, body painting, fire pit, short films, performers (ex: ballerinas and a stupid f’ing clown), DJ & dancing… My first goal upon arriving at an event is to sniff out the food. I enjoyed what Fika served, though I forget the über Swedish name. But it was tempura calamari, peppers, and polenta, made to order. It was delicious with a cold can of Indeed beer. I also had a good time playing ping pong in the institute, with bizarre-​ass European music videos projected in the background (Needless to say, my opponents got their asses handed to them). The mansion tour was beautiful and sad at the same time. Sad because I do not own anything as ornate as one single object in there. There were diverse mediums of art exhibited throughout the mansion — short films, installations, paper art, artifacts. I definitely wish I had gotten there sooner to have as much time as possible to view and study everything. I watched the live band that was playing outside from the mansion windows, and bobbed my head on the indoor dance floor for like 2 seconds until that damn clown came passing through. I creepily took photos of the young ballerinas. I partook in some fun German drinking games. I kicked back some tequila cocktails. I got belligerent elsewhere by 11pm.
Three thumbs up!

The museum is quite small, but well worth it. Right now they have exhibits on different Nordic Christmas traditions (and Mexico randomly), and while not that education is certainly pretty.
The house is really the main draw, and the café’s food is well worth a try.

I lived in uptown for many years and never knew about the Swedish Institute even though I was only a few miles away. On a recent trip home I went here with my parents and really enjoyed it. According to one of the volunteers there they are trying to get more young people to visit by having music and wine tastings. I hope it works for them because it’s a really great place and an interesting glimpse into Minneapolis history.
So walking into the actual home (not the new part with the restaurant and gift shop) the first thing you realize it that it’s not very Scandinavian. In fact, it’s not Scandinavian at all. The owner was Swedish but that’s pretty much where it ends. So if you’re going because you want to see Swedish influence in design or architecture, sorry! If you’re going because you want to see an amazing mansion, you’ll love it. They do have some Swedish and Scandinavian artifacts in various exhibitions around the mansion but not a ton.
My only disappointment was that only a limited number of the rooms are open to the public. I wanted to see more! Although I guess the kitchen is opening this fall.
If you’re looking for a fun way to spend an afternoon or enjoy touring historic homes, I highly recommend stopping by.