Lindsborg, Kansas

Lindsborg is a city in McPherson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,776. Lindsborg is known for its large Swedish, other Nordic and Scandinavian heritages. It is home to the biennial Svensk Hyllningsfest.

For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America were inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th to the 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau. In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France. In 1803, the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France for 2.83 cents per acre as part of the 828,000 square-mile Louisiana Purchase.

In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized and in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. McPherson County, which included the land for the future Lindsborg, was established in 1867. Lindsborg was settled in the spring of 1869 by a group of immigrants from the Värmland province of Sweden led by Pastor Olof Olsson. In 1879, the same year Lindsborg incorporated as a city, the first railroad came through.

Lindsborg translates as Linden Castle from Swedish to English, referring to a tree name known in Europe for a species of tilia (Swedish: lind). The community is named for four men whose surnames included "Lind", N. P. Linde, S. P. Lindgren, S. A. Lindell, and J. O. Lindh, who had held prominent positions in a Chicago organization of Swedish farmers (Svenska Lantbrukskompaniet or First Swedish Agricultural Company) which was involved in the settling of Lindsborg until 1877.

Thirty percent of the current residents are of Swedish descent. Because the town has retained so much of the heritage of its founders, it has become known as "Little Sweden". The downtown features gift shops that specialize in Swedish souvenirs, including various sizes of Dala horses. Lindsborg has long been noted for the Svensk Hyllningsfest, a biennial celebration held in October of odd-numbered years since 1941, and other efforts to honor its heritage.

Lindsborg is the home of the Swedish Pavilion, which was originally constructed as an international exposition building for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. After the fair, it was purchased by W. W. Thomas, U.S. Minister to Sweden and Norway, and presented to Lindsborg's Bethany College as a memorial to his friend Dr. Rev. Carl Aaron Swensson, the school's recently deceased founder. At Bethany, it was used by the art department as a classroom, library, and museum. It was moved to the Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum, also in Lindsborg, in 1969.

The Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery is located in Lindsborg. Dedicated on October 20, 1957, on the Bethany College campus, it showcases the works of the artist Birger Sandzén who lived in the city. The gallery houses the largest and most extensive collection of his paintings, prints, and drawings found anywhere in the world.

Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf visited Lindsborg in April 1976 during his royal tour of the United States.