FAQ

You have questions. We (hopefully) have answers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Your question might already be answered below, but if not get in touch through our contact form.

What is Polmanarkivet?

Polmanarkivet is a digital archive and museum related to the Polman, Påhlman, and von Pohlmann family who originated in Germany, Sweden, and Estonia. Polmanarkivet contains an extensive repository of digital collections, interactive exhibits, and research material, including letters, manuscripts, artefacts, maps, photographs & more. It is responsible for the collection and dissemination of items that might be of genealogical or historical value.

Why the Polmans?

One may ask, why focus on the Polmans? How were they so important? However, as they are part of Jake’s direct paternal lineage, it only made sense to delve into their history as far back as possible. While the Polmans may not have the same level of notoriety as their titled noble counterparts like the Koskull, Oxenstierna, or Wrangel families, this actually makes their story all the more intriguing. Much of their history remains inaccessible — buried in archives and written in Swedish or German. Our goal is to bring this information to light and prove that their accomplishments were indeed significant in their time, but have been overlooked or lost in history.

What are your core values?

We want to engage researchers, genealogists, and archivists through discovery and shared knowledge, and to collect, preserve, and educate present and future generations. 

We will do this through our core values:

Accessibility
History must be economically, intellectually, and physically accessible to everyone and we champion providing people across the spectrum of human ability and experience with equitable access to our collections, exhibits, and communications.

Collaboration
We strive to work together to make the whole archive greater than the sum of its parts.

Stewardship
We aim to preserve collections as a tangible link between the past, present and future. 

Why don’t you have your own physical building?

Polmanarkivet is always open and does innovative museum work  — without a physical or permanent building.  Physical spaces are expensive and create barriers for access and we want everyone to be able to access our collections, exhibits, and research. We currently have no collections of our own — our curation relies on the contributions of archives and collections worldwide. 

Who is behind Polmanarkivet?

At the moment, Polmanarkivet consists of two unpaid members, a Museum Director & Curator and Editor & Digital Content Coordinator. We hope to establish more support and an expert counsel with high competence in various subject areas. In the meantime, we are in the process of creating partnerships with other museums, archives, and networks in Sweden and elsewhere. Interested in volunteering? Get in touch. 

How are you funded?

Polmanarvkiet is a not-for-profit archive and museum, funded through self-funds, contributions, and partnerships. We have no fixed grant or operational income.

I found a mistake. How can I correct it?

We would appreciate any help fixing mistakes, whether they are typos or if we’ve got something wrong. Let us know by filling out the contact form here.

I’m getting an error viewing a collection. What can I do?

You might see the error An error occurred while loading this Tainacan component when trying to access a collection or item. This is usually due to a caching issue. Please reload the page (CTRL+SHIFT+R) or empty your browser cache and try again.