Located in the first elementary school in the Swedish-speaking part of Finland. The school was founded by Anders Svedberg (1832-1889), teacher and Member of Parliament.

• Open in summertime. At other times by appointment.
• Entry fee.
• Guided tours.

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In 1862, Anders Svedberg (1832-1889) had a school house erected in Storsved. Svedberg's school was a pioneering project of the Finnish education system. Being the first elementary school in the Swedish-speaking part of Finland, the school would become of major importance to elementary education in Swedish-speaking Ostrobothnia. Since 1976 the Swedish School Museum of Finland has been housed in the building. The exhibitions and interiors relate the development of elementary school in the Swedish-speaking regions.

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION IN FINLAND

Since the end of the 17th century, clergymen and parish clerks had taught people to read. In the 1840s the foundation of elementary schools was discussed. At this time teaching for ordinary people took place in the home and in travelling schools. The main purpose of the teaching was to provide sufficient reading and writing skills. In 1866 a decree was issued in Finland ordaining that elementary schools should be established in the towns. The rural districts could voluntarily establish schools, and the building of elementary schools now became very common.

Soon the elementary schools became the primary institution for elementary education.

ANDERS SVEDBERG AND HIS SCHOOL

Anders Svedberg was both a teacher and a journalist. He was a self-taught pedagogue. After having worked as a teacher in the travelling school in the parish of Munsala for a few years, he established his own school in Storsved. With the help of government funding the building was erected according to the plans of province architect C.A. Setterberg.

Before the teachers' college in Nykarleby was established in 1873, students from many places came to Svedberg's school in order to be able to work as teachers in village schools.

As a teacher's salary was relatively modest, Svedberg also needed to seek a livelihood elsewhere. His work as a newspaper editor gave him sufficient income to sustain himself and his school. In addition Svedberg also served as an active local politician and Member of Parliament.

GOING TO SCHOOL IN FORMER DAYS

The term began at the beginning of September, as the children needed to help their families with the farming.

Before beginning elementary school, the children were usually taught to read and write by the clergyman or the parish clerk. In elementary school the teaching was done by a teacher trained at a teachers' college, who often lived in the school building.

The school children's duties included the heating of the school building. They had to chop the firewood, carry it inside and light the fire in the stove.

In elementary school new subjects such as geography, biology and history were introduced. Pupils of different ages were usually taught in the same room.