Exhibition highlights centuries of Sweden-Türkiye relations

ISTANBUL

The exhibition “Sweden and Istanbul: Encounters and Interactions Across the Centuries,” organized by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Culture and İBB Heritage, has opened to art enthusiasts at Metrohan.

Prepared to mark the 100th anniversary of the Friendship Agreement signed between the Kingdom of Sweden and Türkiye in 1924, the exhibition features rare portraits, documents and personal narratives spanning from the 17th century to the present day.

Speaking at the opening, Sweden’s Consul General in Istanbul, Karin Hernmarck, said the event highlights the deep-rooted relations between the two countries and reflects the depth and continuity of their shared history.

Hernmarck noted that the exhibition traces Sweden’s historical footprint in Istanbul and sheds light on the common past of the two nations, from their first diplomatic contacts to the years spent by King Charles XII of Sweden in Ottoman lands and the history of the Swedish Palace in Pera.

Anders Ackfeldt, deputy director of the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul, said the exhibited works are based on decades of careful academic study.

“The Swedish Research Institute, which has been present in this city for more than 60 years, serves a simple yet important purpose: Listening, learning, asking the right questions and building a bridge of understanding between Sweden and Türkiye. What you are witnessing this evening is, in a sense, the emergence of this long and quiet effort from the archives into the halls of Metrohan,” he said.

Ali Şafak Özdemir, head of the İBB Libraries and Museums Department, emphasized that the exhibition makes a significant contribution to Istanbul’s cultural memory.

“Istanbul has never been merely a city that hosted civilizations throughout history. It has also been a vast space of memory where different cultures heard, saw, influenced and transformed one another, sometimes leaving behind a trace, a word or a memory. This deep-rooted connection between Sweden and Istanbul is the result of a quiet yet powerful closeness extending from the past to the present,” he said.

The exhibition will remain open to visitors until Aug. 30.