Finally it’s the 24th of December and Christmas Eve. We round off our advent calendar with a Runestone from Södermanland (Sörmland), the region south of Stockholm. Runestones are Viking Age inscriptions on stones, written with runes, the alfabet in Scandinavia of the day. Inscriptions often talked about expeditions, and commemorate kinsmen who died in the […]
Surprise—this is not actually in Sweden. It’s in Hokkaido, Japan, in Tobetsu near Sapporo. Sweden Hills is a neighbourhood that was conceived after the Swedish ambassador to Japan remarked that the landscape reminded of Sweden. In 1987, the municipalities of Tobetsu and Leksand (in Dalarna) became sister cities. See Sweden Hills for yourself with the […]
Just outside Luleå there is a large town which, for the most part of the year, is devoid of people. While eerie, it isn’t abandoned. The red-painted town surrounds Nederluleå (Lower Luleå) church, inaugurated in 1492, funded by regional trade in animal hide (skin) and salmon. Over time, (by 1600 the latest) a town formed […]
The Dala horse is probably one of Sweden’s best recognised souvenirs. The red wooden horses come from the province of Dalarna, northwest of Stockholm. The Dala horse came originally from the village of Nusnäs near Mora (4 hours by train from Stockholm). Originally a by-product of the furniture industry in the area, it started to […]
Kiruna, the northernmost city in Sweden, is about to be relocated. This is because of the large mine adjacent to the city that would harm the city’s geological stability. The iron mine is important for the city’s economy, the ore from which is shipped by train to nearby Narvik, Norway and sold worldwide. The main […]
Well yes, Sweden is a northern country after all, it can get really cold. Although not the Siberian kind of cold, because Sweden (and the rest of Europe) benefits from the Atlantic ocean warm stream. Still… we managed to experience -28°C in the far north of Sweden! Deep in Sámi country (Sápmi, that is). Specifically, […]
Smygehuk is a small village near Trelleborg in Scania, which is the southernmost point of Sweden. At this point, it’s actually nearer to the German capital Berlin (321km) than to the Swedish capital (510km)! Sweden’s northernmost point, Treriksröset (the cairn marking the border tripoint with Norway and Finland), lies 1581km away, even further than to […]
Uppsala, the 4th largest city in Sweden, has a special position of prestige. It is the home of one of the two most prestigious universities in Sweden, the seat of the primate of the Church of Sweden (Archbishop of Uppsala), and the historical religious centre of the Viking Age. Gamla (old) Uppsala just outside of […]
The Gävle goat (Gävlebocken) stands every year in December in the city of Gävle, 1.5 hours by train north of Stockholm. The goat is built by a local merchants organisation every year, and inaugurated on the first day of Advent (usually late November or early December). The goat appeared for the first time in 1966. […]
With 10 days to Christmas, it might be a good idea to look how the advent calendar came about. 19th century German Christians started to develop traditions in timekeeping towards Christmas. In 1851, the first prototype of the Advent calendar appeared—German Protestants started to hang one picture per day on the wall, until Christmas Eve, […]