Sights in Stockholm
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Vasamuseet
The mighty warship Vasa, 69m long, 160ft tall and pride of the Swedish crown, set off on her maiden voyage on 10 August 1628. Within minutes, she and her 100-member crew capsized and sank tragicomically to the bottom of Saltsjön. Painstakingly raised in 1961, the ship and its incredible wooden sculptures were re- assembled like a giant 14,000-piece jigsaw and housed in an amazing purpose-built space. Salvaged objects from the ship, including shoes, cannonballs and pillboxes, provide a vivid glimpse into the lives of 17th-century sailors, but none more so than the forensically reconstructed faces of the ill-fated passengers. Guided tours in English run hourly from 9.30am i…
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Nordiska Museet
With its flouncy turrets and neo-Swedish Renaissance looks, Isak Gustav Clason’s iconic building is hard to miss. Inside is a collection of all things Swedish, from Sami folklore to eclectic exhibitions of Swedish fashion, shoes, interiors and even table settings. The museum owns the largest collection of paintings by August Strindberg and the audio tours (Skr20) are nothing short of satisfying.
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Nationalparkernas Hus
Some of the best hiking and wilderness scenery can be found in the 4900-hectare Tyresta National Park, only 20km southeast of Stockholm. Established in 1993, the park is noted for its two-billion-year-old rocks and virgin forest, which includes 300-year-old pine trees. It’s a beautiful area, with rocky outcrops, small lakes, marshes and a wide variety of birdlife. At the southwestern edge of the park is Nationalparkernas Hus. Here you can discover all of Sweden’s national parks (28 at the time of research) through exhibitions and slide shows, but be sure to check out the centre itself – it’s built in the shape of Sweden, complete with all 41 corners! There are even ‘lakes…
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ABBA: The Museum
Despite the indefinite postponement of its opening (expect a 2010 opening due to construction setbacks; check the website for updates on opening date, hours and prices), Stockholm’s eagerly anticipated, epically hyped ABBA: The Museum is set to become one of Sweden’s major crowd-pullers, with an estimated half-million visitors annually. Housed in a converted customs building on Södermalm, the museum’s three floors will trace the supergroup’s rise to pop immortality in what promises to be an interactive, multimedia extravaganza. A series of linear, interactive ‘scenes’ will have you hanging out in the recreated Polar recording studio, shaking your booty on stage and even…
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Drottningholms Slottsteater & Teatermuseum
Slottsteater was completed in 1766 on the instructions of Queen Lovisa Ulrika. Remarkably untouched from the time of Gustav III’s death (1792) until 1922, it’s now the oldest theatre in the world still in its original state; performances are held here in summer using 18th-century machinery, including ropes, pulleys, wagons and wind machines. Scenes can be changed in less than seven seconds! Illusion was the order of the day here, and accordingly the theatre makes use of fake marble, fake curtains and papier-mâché viewing boxes. Even the stage was designed to create illusions regarding size. The fascinating guided tour takes you into other rooms in the building, where high…
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Stadshuset
Built in the National Romantic style using eight million bricks and completed in 1923, Stockholm’s iconic City Hall is home of the Nobel Banquet, held in the Italianate Blue Hall, which is in fact red. More accurately named is the Golden Hall, a glittering spectacle made with 10kg of gold and 68 million mosaic pieces. Tours of the building are fascinating, while a soulful chill on the waterside terrace (the sculptures are by Carl Eldh) is free. For breathtaking views over Gamla Stan, head to the top of the hulking tower. That the tower is exactly 1m taller than Copenhagen’s slightly older City Hall tower is no coincidence – neighbourly rivalries are hard to quench.
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Urban Outfitters
That the exterior of trendy concept store Urban Outfitters has a certain star quality is no coincidence. The building used to house the Röda Kvarn (Moulin Rouge), a gorgeous vintage picture palace. While the projectors have gone, the heritage features remain, from the decadent chandeliers to the beautiful hardwood details. Where film buffs once sat, House of Holland T-shirts sit beside Dita Von Teese art books and Bad Boyfriend Voodoo Dolls. Fitting rooms line the grand old stage behind a kitschy mock-chateau facade, and the upstairs foyers now premiere the work of new Stockholm artists. A case of clever conservation or consumerist degradation? You be the judge.
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Katarina Kyrka
Designed by Jean de la Vallée and completed in 1695, the sublimely beautiful Katarina Kyrka stands on the 1520 burial site of the Stockholm Bloodbath victims – the betrayed Swedish nobility trapped, beheaded and burnt for opposing King Christian II’s Danish invasion. The church itself caught fire in 1723. After it was restored, history repeated itself in 1990 when fire brought down the cupola. It’s since been painstakingly reconstructed using 17th-century building methods. Assassinated foreign minister Anna Lindh lies buried in its leafy cemetery. Organ music fills the church at noon on Tuesday and Thursday.
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Riddarhuset
Admirers of architecture shouldn’t miss this 17th-century Dutch baroque masterpiece, designed by Simon de la Vallée, Heinrich Wilhelm, Joost Vingboons and Jean de la Vallée. Used by the Swedish parliament between 1641 and 1674, it still hosts the triennial Assembly of Nobles. While the chancellery houses some 300 pieces of heraldic porcelain, the real scene-stealer is the Great Hall, plastered with 2345 coats of arms belonging to Swedish nobility, as well as a precious ivory-carved land-marshall’s chair from 1625 and a beautiful ceiling painting by 17th-century artist David Klöcker Ehenstrahl.
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Hallwylska Museet
Looking as if it’s straight out of an Agatha Christie murder mystery, this kooky fin de siècle palace was once the home of cashed-up Count Walther von Hallwyl and his wife Wilhelmina, a notorious collector who took hoarding to new heights. The mansion’s lavish rooms are packed with the fruits of her labour, from 16th-century tapestries and Flemish paintings to rare silver teapots, oriental guns, vintage toiletries and even her children’s teeth. For in-depth voyeurism, join the one-hour guided tour (in English; Skr40; at 1pm Sunday, and at 1pm daily from late June to mid-August).
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Strindbergsmuseet
Set inside the Blå Tornet apartment where playwright and author August Strindberg spent his final four years, the Strindberg Museum lets you peep into his closet, scan his bookshelves and stumble across his desk, which still bears his pens, spectacles, theatrical program sheets and a copy of his Ockulta Dagboken (The Occult Diary, 1896–1908). The museum organises Strindberg-themed readings and seminars (occasionally in English; contact the museum for information). Those left longing for more should check out Strindberg’s disturbingly dark paintings at the Nordiska Museet.
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Stockholms Stadsmuseum
History gets a multisensory makeover at the brilliant Stockholm City Museum, housed in a building designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and once used as a dungeon. Inside, a time-line exhibition traces Stockholm’s development from fortified port to modern metropolis via plague, fire and good old-fashioned scandal. You can smell medieval potions, peek into an 18th-century tavern and lust at the legendary Lohe Treasure, 20kg of 18th-century silver discovered in 1937. The temporary exhibitions are nothing short of refreshing, from Johan Hagelbäck’s ‘Raisin Art’ to the culture of death in Stockholm.
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Historiska Museet
From Iron Age ice-skates to Renaissance triptychs, Sweden’s prime historical collection spans nearly 14,000 years of Swedish history and culture. The undisputed highlight is the subterranean Gold Room, a brooding chamber gleaming with Viking bling and rare historical jewels. The most astonishing artefact is the 5th-century, seven-ringed gold collar with 458 carved figures, which weighs 823g. Found in Västergötland in the 19th century, it was probably used by pagan priests in ritualistic ceremonies. To use the museum’s fantastic free digital audio guides, bring some ID.
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Millesgården
Well worth the effort to reach it, beautiful Millesgården was the home and studio of sculptor Carl Milles, whose delicate water sprites and other whimsical sculptures dot the city landscape. The grounds include a crisp modern gallery for changing exhibitions of contemporary art, Milles’ elaborately Pompeiian house, and an exquisite outdoor sculpture garden, where items from ancient Greece, Rome, medieval times and the Renaissance intermingle with Milles’ own creations. There’s also a museum shop and a cafe. Take the metro to Ropsten, then bus 207.
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Almgrens Sidenväveri Museum
Knut August Almgren founded this historic weaving factory in 1883 using parts of a Jacquard loom smuggled from France in barrels of cognac. (The art of Jacquard weave looming was a guarded French secret, forcing the crafty Almgren to pose as a Frenchman in order to learn, and steal, the craft.) It’s now an adorable working museum; you can watch the weavers work the original Jacquard looms between 10am and 3pm Monday to Thursday, learn about Sweden’s silk weaving history and swoon over shimmering fabrics. The museum shop is Stockholm’s best bet for hand-woven products.
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Storkyrkan
One-time venue of royal weddings and coronations, Stockholm’s 700-year-old cathedral is also its oldest parish church. The Gothic-cum- baroque interior includes extravagant royal-box pews designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger and the famous Parhelion Painting, a 1630 copy of the earlier original depicting Stockholm during an eerie display of atmospheric optics in 1535. The star attraction, however, is German Berndt Notke’s dramatic Gothic sculpture St George and the Dragon, commissioned by Sten Sture the Elder to commemorate his victory over the Danes in 1471.
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Maria Magdalena Kyrka
Consecrated in 1643, Södermalm’s oldest church stands on the site of a 14th-century chapel, torn down by serial church trasher Gustav Vasa after the Reformation of 1527. Although fire destroyed much of the current building in 1759, it was faithfully rebuilt, including the transept designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and a beautiful stone entrance portal by Tessin the Younger. Pop inside to see the Adoration of the Shepherds altarpiece painting (dating from around 1800) and the richly rococo-style pulpit. Come at 12.15pm on Thursday for free organ music.
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Tensta Konsthall
Giving outer-suburban Tensta some serious artistic cred, glocal art gallery Tensta Konsthall features a Day of the Triffids –style foyer by design divas Front and a must-see/hear design shop stocked with fresh new talent. Oh, and then there’s the art – four to six major annual exhibitions marrying mixed media with themes like local identity, culture clash and sexuality. Easy to miss, the gallery sits on the bottom level of the Tensta Centrum shopping centre, right beside the Tensta Tunnelbana station. Enter via the car park.
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Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde
Dubbed ‘the painter prince’, Prins Eugens (1865–1947) once lived at this waterside villa, designed by Ferdinand Boberg, creator of the NK department store. The property now houses the late prince’s superlative collection of Nordic art, including works by Anders Zorn, Carl Larsson and Isaac Grünewald, as well as landscape paintings by the reclusive royal himself. The terraced garden boasts sculptures by Carl Milles and Auguste Rodin, sublimely matched by cool water views and an 18th-century windmill.
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Ulriksdal Slott
The 17th-century royal pad Ulriksdal Slott was home to King Gustaf VI Adolf and his family until 1973. Several of their exquisite apartments, including the drawing room, dating from 1923, are open to the public. The stables house Queen Kristina’s magnificent 17th-century coronation carriage (call ahead for access), while the Orangery (noon-4pm Tue-Sun Jun-Aug) contains Swedish sculpture and Mediterranean flora. Head to T-Bergshamra metro stop, then take bus 503.
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Thielska Galleriet
Scandi art fans come here for Anders Zorn’s portraits and nudes, Carl Larsson’s portraits, Bruno Liljefors’ precisely rendered wildlife paintings, August Strindberg’s wild landscapes, and Edvard Munch’s paintings and sketches, which include an enormous portrait of Strindberg and one of the collection’s former owner, tycoon Ernest Thiel. Originally Thiel’s home, this island mansion was designed by Ferdinand Boberg, designer of Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde.
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Vin & Sprithistoriska Museet
Looking at history through a snaps glass, this engrossing ode to grog explores the often turbulent relationship between Swedes and their beloved brännvin (akvavit) and punsch (a liqueur). Step inside a 19th-century wine merchant’s distillery and happily sniff your way through 57 akvavit spices at the smelling organ. The wine bar hosts regular wine-tasting evenings (Skr350, book two weeks ahead), though you’ll need a group of eight to knock back in English.
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Kina Slott
At the far end of the gardens is Kina Slott, a lavishly decorated Chinese pavilion built by King Adolf Fredrik as a birthday surprise for Queen Lovisa Ulrika (1753). Restored between 1989 and 1996, it boasts one of the finest rococo chinoiserie interiors in Europe. There’s a cafe on the premises serving good waffles, and the admission price includes guided tours, which run at 11am, 1pm and 3pm daily from June to August (the schedule is reduced in May and September).
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Fotografins Hus
Currently under renovation, but set to reopen by press time, this is one of Stockholm’s best sites for photographic art. Decked out in furniture designed by Konstfack graduates, its six annual exhibitions showcase local and international talent, with past exhibitors including Hasselblad prize-winner David Goldblatt, Susan Heiselas and J H Engström, Sweden’s Wolfgang Tillmans. You’ll find their signatures on the foyer wall, behind which awaits a cosy little cafe.
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Tekniska Museet
The biggest drawcard at the vast and vibrant Museum of Science and Technology is CINO4, Sweden’s first 4-D cinema. Once you’ve been shaken, stirred and possibly squirted, check out the rest of this dazzling multimedia complex, which includes chatty Japanese robots, Sweden’s first motor car (from 1897), an artificial mine, a retro telephone collection and the Teknorama Science Centre, with its interactive displays on topics such as the basic principles of physics.
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