Svenska Stil I

I finally have time for the post I’m so geeked over I don’t even know what to do with myself! Please excuse me if I gush a Swedish red streak (maybe that only makes sense here), but I was in heaven for my tour of Skansen in Stockholm, and Kulturen in Lund!

Skansen is an open-air museum on Stockholm’s Djurgarden island (along with the Vasa and other amazing museums I mentioned previously). It happens to be the oldest in the world, and represents Swedish (Svenska) culture from various parts of the country throughout history. There are over 150 farms and buildings assembled here, and cultural performances and celebrations take place at key points in the Swedish calendar.

You could easily spend all day looking through the exhibits, visiting shops, exploring houses, and eating handmade goodies, but I made the most of the three hours I had here on the sweet scandi summer afternoon I visited.

For this post I am focusing on my favorite farmstead of the afternoon from the early 1800′s. Note the painted walls and furniture (I also wrote about this in the palace post). I learned that not all farmers and working folk could afford art, so they created their own. Each family was responsible for creating the art displayed in their homes, and it became a source of pride among their neighbors to display the talent within each home.

Artistic handiwork also extended to the elaboration of everyday objects, such as the carved iron on the table below. As I was standing in this doorway looking at the bed against the wall, I noticed the amazing loom and needle work on the bed linens. I asked the guide in this farmhouse about them, and she told me that bed was made up just for the display of the linens as was the custom for guestrooms of that period. It inspired my special souvenir for the day that I intend to display proudly wherever I call home from now on!

After a dreamy few hours in this special place out of time, I strolled past the village market square and spotted a woman selling traditional Swedish textiles. She was an expert in historic stitching and weaving patterns, and was selling pillows, tables runners, place mats and wall hangings she had meticulously made displaying the patterns from different counties in Sweden. Almost all were made from very fine local wool, and a few were made from 100+ year old remnants. After much debate, and an amazingly enjoyable conversation... I chose the one in the middle :)