BBC TravelJun 29, 2026
New Sweden: The US's long-lost 'secret' colony
It was the smallest, least-populated and shortest-lived colony in the US. But despite being virtually unheard of today, it helped shape the nation's birth 250 years ago. The 125-year-old elevator ...
28 things in this story
- City HallSightTallest municipal building, has observation deck
- City TavernRestaurantFounding Fathers plotted Revolution here
- Carpenters' HallSightColonies united against British here
- Independence HallSightUS Constitution signed here in 1787
- Delaware RiverSightFrom the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for 282 miles (454 km) along the borders of :…
- New NetherlandNeighborhoodThe claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod.
- New Sweden CentreMuseumPromotes Delaware Valley's colonial history
- Fort ChristinaSightFirst permanent European settlement in Delaware Valley
- C A Nothnagle Log HouseSightOldest log cabin in Western hemisphere, built 1638
- Fort ElfsborgSightBastion built along Delaware River
- Fort New GothenburgSightBastion built along Delaware River, last capital
- Tinicum IslandNeighborhoodSite of New Sweden's new capital
- Fort Christina ParkSightSite of Swedes' first fortress
- The RocksSightSwedes' original landing spot
- Kalmar NyckelPlace141ft replica ship offers narrated cruises
- Riverfront neighbourhoodNeighborhoodWilmington's revamped area
- Copeland Maritime Center and MuseumMuseumExplores three storeys of history
- Old Swedes' ChurchSightFirst Lutheran church, oldest in US still used for worship
- Governor Printz ParkSightSite of Fort New Gothenburg and last capital
- American Swedish Historical MuseumMuseumChronicles Swedish and Finnish influence in US
- FDR ParkNeighborhoodLocation of American Swedish Historical Museum
- MidsommarfestFestivalAnnual event at American Swedish Historical Museum
- Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') ChurchSightOldest-surviving brick building in Philadelphia
- Lower Swedish CabinSight1640s log cabin, open April to October
- Trinity "Old Swedes" ChurchSightFirst Swedish church in New Jersey
- SwedesburgNeighborhoodTown with echoes of New Sweden
- Deborah-Jean HoffmanPlace
- Delaware ValleyNeighborhood