Skansen, the world's first open-air museum, was founded in 1891 by Artur
Hazelius to let visitors see how Swedes lived in previous times. Today, around
150 traditional houses, with a staff in period costume, and other exhibits from
all over Sweden
occupy this attractive hill top. It's a spectacular 'Sweden
in miniature' and you could spend all day here. There are 46 buildings from
rural areas around the country, including a Sami camp, complete with reindeer,
farmsteads representing several regions, a manor house and a school.
Stadshuset
The town hall is topped with a golden spire and the symbol of Swedish power,
the three royal crowns. Inside is the beautiful mosaic-lined Gyllene Salen or
Golden Hall, Prins Eugen's fresco re-creation of the lake view from the
gallery, and the immense Blå
Hallen or Blue Hall where the annual
Nobel Prize banquet is held. A trip to the top of the
348-foot tower, most of which can be achieved by elevator, is rewarded by a
breathtaking panorama of the city and Riddarfjärden. Entry with tours
only.
Millesgarden
On the island of Lingingö, northeast of Stockholm, is the former villa and
sculpture garden of Carl Milles, Sweden’s foremost sculptor.
Although it takes time to reach the villa from the center of Stockholm, it is worth the trip.
Some of the artist's most important works are found here, including his
monumental and much-reproduced sculpture Hands of God. Sculptures sit
atop columns on terraces in this garden of almost magical proportions set high
above the harbor and the city landscape. Here figures from myth and legend loom
about in bonze majesty. Milles’ villa contains a unique collection of classical
and medieval art.
The Wasa Museum
On August 10, 1628, the pride of the Swedish fleet, the Wasa, set sail
to teach the Poles a lesson. On a clear, calm day, the top heavy ship almost
immediately capsized and sank before the stunned eyes of the crowds that had
gathered to see her off. More than three hundred years later, the ship was
raised, preserved, and, in 1990, placed in a modern museum. The museum contains
not only the restored ship, but replicas of the Captain’s cabin, the crews’
quarters, a cannon deck, cinemas, computer displays, and hundreds of artifacts
from the formerly sunken ship.