Berit Wallenberg

Berit Wallenberg (1902–1995) was a Swedish archaeologist, art historian, photographer and philanthropist. On 19 November 1955 she founded the Berit Wallenberg Foundation with a donation of 406,000 Swedish kronor. Her interest was old mural paintings in churches; she participated in many archaeological excavations in Sweden. She was also passionate with the study of cultural heritage, in Sweden and abroad. She was active in the local heritage association in Lovö (west of Stockholm) and she was involved in the restoration of her parish church at Lovö Island in 1935.

She was the daughter of Oscar Wallenberg (1872–1939) and Beatrice Keiller and cousin with, among others, Raoul Wallenberg.

Archaeological works

Berit travelled to Þingvellir, Iceland in 1930 and took many photos documenting the 1000th anniversary of the national parliament Althing. Many photos are available at the Swedish National Heritage Board; Berit donated many of her photographs to the Heritage Board in the 1980s, hoping they would be of use to future researchers.