Most of the decorations of the museum were selected through a series of competitions.
In 1938, Marklund won the competition for creating the main entrance to the museum.
The doors, called The Gates of History (Historiens Portar), took him thirteen years to make.
They were finished and inaugurated in 1952.
The doors were financed by philanthropist Eva Bonnier's foundation.

The doors are 4.5 m (15 ft) high and weighs about 1 t (2,200 lb) each.
Made of bronze, they were first cast at the Herman Bergman foundry and then chased by Marklund.

Through a series of ten fields, the doors depict the history of Sweden from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages.
The left door represents the Pagan era with Odin as a central figure, while the right door depicts Ansgar and the Christian era.
A noted deviation from the historical theme, is the depiction of a standard, 1950s pilsner bottle on the far right side of the right-hand door.
A common item with the workers who cast the doors and built the museum.
The bottle was chased by Marklund and it is the only part of the bronze surface that has been polished to a shine by people touching it.
Most of the decorations of the museum were selected through a series of competitions. In 1938, Marklund won the competition for creating the main entrance to the museum. The doors, called The Gates of History (Historiens Portar), took him thirteen years to make. They were finished and inaugurated in 1952. The doors were financed by philanthropist Eva Bonnier's foundation.
The doors are 4.5 m (15 ft) high and weighs about 1 t (2,200 lb) each. Made of bronze, they were first cast at the Herman Bergman foundry and then chased by Marklund.
Through a series of ten fields, the doors depict the history of Sweden from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages. The left door represents the Pagan era with Odin as a central figure, while the right door depicts Ansgar and the Christian era. A noted deviation from the historical theme, is the depiction of a standard, 1950s pilsner bottle on the far right side of the right-hand door. A common item with the workers who cast the doors and built the museum. The bottle was chased by Marklund and it is the only part of the bronze surface that has been polished to a shine by people touching it.
Swedish History Museum