Family History

In the winter of 1620, 237 Hungarian ducats disappeared from Albrecht Budde’s room. He spent three years trying to prove who had taken them. The court required a witness. There was none.

The bones had lain hidden for nearly ten years before anyone found them. What followed was six years of court proceedings, a forged witness statement, a deathbed confession — and a captain who was already gone.

History remembers him as a Major who died for the Crown. But in 1635, Jöran Polman was a fugitive selling his wife's morning gift to escape a scandal — and leaving his widow to rewrite his legacy.

Exploring the origins and evolution of the winter holidays in erstwhile Estonia through historical information and reimagined scenes with some of our favourite characters.

The tale of an important guest house in Ryssby and the people who passed through.

In 1623, the field marshal Herman Wrangel commissioned life-sized portraits of his officers, which adorn the walls of the magnificent baroque castle Skokloster. But how did they get there?

Contrary to his image as a steadfast captain, this chapter of Jöran Polman's story catches him red-handed in a drunken brawl.

Jöran Polman served with diligence, and was one of twenty soldiers whose portrait adorns the walls of Skokloster Castle. Explore the story of his portrait and the intricate fashion details of the seventeenth century during Sweden's Great Power era.

For over 50 years, this 17th-century portrait of the family patriarch has remained hidden — until now. Polmanarkivet unearthed this important artwork and invites you to explore its origins and the story of how it was rediscovered.

Peter [Cederström] had achieved all that he could in his home country when he decided to take his trade elsewhere. [...He] landed in Stavanger, a port city in the west of Norway, in 1828.

In the early 17th century, an agitated Jürgen Polman penned a desperate letter to Axel Oxenstierna, the Lord High Chancellor of Sweden, appealing to him and the King for help in a matter regarding his land in Finland.

An unfortunate but feisty princess sought the help of empress Catherine the Great to escape an abusive marriage and flee to Estonia. What could go wrong?