Sweden, Europe - City of Museums

Sweden, which occupies the eastern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, is the fourth-largest country in Europe and is one-tenth larger than California. As the lonely planet guide  mentions "From berserker Vikings to Nobel Prize in just a few centuries - Sweden really has earned its reputation as a model for progressive society. Throw in its gorgeous people, high standard of living, clean-lined design and magically archipelagic capital, Stockholm, and you're onto a very good thing.

Gothenburg and Malm beckon with urban delights, and away from the cities, Sweden takes in vast areas of scenic coastline and idyllic islands. The wilderness areas of Norrland have the legendary midnight sun in summer, Arctic Scandinavia's highest mountain and marvellous hiking trails".

The great majority of the nation's population speaks Swedish and is descended from Scandinavian tribes; there is a sizable Finnish-speaking minority and a small Lapp-speaking minority. About 12% of the population is foreign born. The educational and cultural level in Sweden is high, and the school system is outstanding. Sweden is a highly industrialized country and has one of the highest living standards in the world. Since 1940 there has been a great movement of workers from farms to cities; nevertheless, agricultural output has increased considerably with the application of scientific farming methods. Transportation, communication, and trade are also important. Sweden is one of the world's leading producers of iron ore. Sweden carries on a large foreign trade, and the value of exports usually slightly exceeds that of imports.

The earliest historical mention of Sweden is found in Tacitus's Germania, where reference is made to the powerful king and strong fleet of the Sviones. In the 11th century, Olaf Sk?ttkonung became the first Swedish king to be baptized as a Christian. Around 1400, an attempt was made to unite Sweden, Norway, and Denmark into one kingdom, but this led to bitter strife between the Danes and the Swedes.

Do you know that Sweden was voted the best country to be a mother in, way to go! In May of this year Save the Children, a U.S.-based independent global humanitarian organization, released its ninth annual Mothers' Index that ranks the best - and worst - places to be a mother and a child.

 "The top-10 countries, in general, have very high scores for mothers' and children's health, educational and economic status, while the 10 bottom-ranked countries are a reverse image, performing poorly on all indicators.Conditions for mothers and their children in countries at the bottom of the Index are bleak. On average, 1 in 21 mothers will die in her lifetime from pregnancy-related causes. More than 1 child in 6 dies before her fifth birthday, and roughly 1 in 3 suffers from malnutrition, and only 3 girls for every 4 boys are enrolled in primary". For example they mention that 1 child in 4 does not reach his or her fifth birthday in Afghanistan, Angola, Niger and Sierra Leone. In Sweden, only 1 child in 333 dies before age 5.

Major attractions:

Stockholm Old Town: There are a lot of unique things to see when visiting the old town in Stockholm. The old town is the original Stockholm. The town was set up during the 1300 century. It is a collection of well-preserved historic buildings lining cobbled streets. Its main streets, Osterlanggatan and Vasterlanggatan, are pedestrian precincts with a host of boutiques, handicrafts and antique shops. If you can spare a few hours take the time to walk about the old town. The dominant building in the old city is the king's castle.

Nordic Museum: Nordic museum, Sweden's largest museum of cultural history, was founded by Arthur Hazelius. The Nordic Museum is in the Danish Renaissance style and looks much like a palace. The Nordic Museum is spread out on four floors, with the exhibit from Sami (Lapp) being one of the most interesting and unusual. The other areas of the Nordic Museum feature Swedish folk costumes, fashions, table settings, and other elements of Swedish cultural history.

Waldemarsudde House: Waldermarsudde is a part of the island of Djurgarden and was once owned by Prince Eugen of Sweden. Waldemarsudde now comprises the palace, a museum, the Old House, an art gallery, fantastic gardens, restaurant, cafeand a linseed mill.The various collection of art includes paintings, sculptures. The art gallery and museum put on many exhibitions, events and showings and just a walk in the serene gardens is worth coming here for. 

 

Historical Museum: The Museum of National Antiquities is packed with history spanning thousands of years, from as far back into prehistory as we can go, via the Viking era to the Middle Ages. Encounter the most fantastic artefacts and lose yourself in stories about the past and the people who lived before us.  

National Museum: This is Sweden's largest art museum, with a collection that dates back to the 16th and 20th centuries. The collection has been gradually built through purchases, gifts and spoils of war, during the country's era as a military power in the 17th century. It includes fantastic paintings and sculptures by Rembrandt, Rubens, Boucher, Renoir, Degas and Gauguin and the Swedish masters Anders Zorn and Carl Larsson. There are also significant collections of drawings, engravings and crafts.

Vasa Museum: The Vasamuseet in Stockholm is one of Sweden's major tourist attractions, and with good reason: The museum houses the Vasa, a wooden warship that sank in Stockholm Harbor during her maiden voyage in 1628. The Vasa is the world's only surviving 17th-century ship and one of the foremost tourist sights in the world. The ship is displayed in a purpose-built museum in Stockholm. The Vasa Museum collection consists of the Vasa itself and all of the objects that were found with the ship. There are several thousand objects that either belong to the ship or were on-board.

Skansen open-air folk museum: Skansen is the oldest open-air museum in the world, founded in 1891. Skansen is also a zoological park. It is located on the island of Djurgarden, a royal park near the centre of Stockholm. Skansen is a 75-acre park, with over 150 buildings that showcase the homes, shops, schools, farms, and churches of Sweden. Skansen also has folk artists demonstrating their crafts such as glassblowing, pottery making, and weaving. One of the best ways to get an overview of Skansen is to ride the tram around the huge park. Skansen is open every day of the year, except Christmas Eve.

Gothenburg: Sweden's second largest city. Gothenburg is a gateway to the Western Archipelago, with its peerless isles and barren grey skerries and they are easily accessible by boat from the city. The old buildings have their origins from our wiking-age. The oldest part of Gothenburg is probably Gamlestan. Gamlestan where known as New Lodose. The archipelago just outside the city is just gorgeus through out summer. You've got thousands of beaches to enjoy.

Malmohus Castle: This is the largest museum in southern Sweden, with extensive collections including those of textiles and photography. The museum exhibitions showcase the history of the region from various aspects dating from the Stone Age to modern times. The castle is the oldest remaining renaissance castle in Scandinavia and was originally built as a citadel in 1434 by Eric of Pomerania.  

St Petri Church: The Street between the Governor's Residence and the Malm Town Hall leads to St Peter's Church (St. Petri), an imposing 14th century brick building modeled on St Mary's Church in Lubeck. Notable features of the interior are the pulpit (1599) and the Baroque altarpiece (1611). To the left of the entrance is the baptismal chapel, with Late Gothic wall paintings of flowers and animals and a font of 1601.  

Konsthallen: Konsthallen (the Art Hall) was inaugurated in 1923, in connection with the Jubileumsutst ningen (Jubilee Exhibition) celebration of Gothenburg's 300-year anniversary. That year saw a lot of construction activity around the city, and Gotaplatsen was beginning to look as it does today. Konsthallen used to be run by the Gothenburg Art Museum, but has for a few years now been run as an independent unit. Several exhibitions of contemporary and modern art are put on here each year.

Lummelunda Caves: They are quite famous for the dripstones you can see. This cave has its own artwork with fossils, stalactites, and large cave rooms. Special guided tours are available for further exploration through alleys and lakes. Close to the cave are excellent walking opportunities.

Oresund Bridge: The Oresund Bridge is composed of a high bridge and two approach bridges. The high bridge has the longest cable-stayed main span in the world for both road and rail traffic. The bridge two-level superstructure is fabricated from steel and concrete. The steel girder supports the upper deck, which accommodates the motorway, and the lower deck where the railway is located.

The tracks are placed in a concrete trough along the approach bridges, which changes to a steel deck on the high bridge. The Oresund Bridge is the world's longest single bridge carrying both road and railway traffic. In the design full advantage was taken of repetition by composing the major part of the bridge of identical spans. The high bridge with its record-breaking cable-stayed span of 490m is designed to harmonize both structurally and aesthetically with the approach bridges. In the construction phase the on-site activities were completed in just 2 1/2 years due to an extensive use of prefabrication and erection of large units.

Sarek National Park: Sweden is a ‘dream landscape' for hiking and trekking, from the untamed wilderness of Sarek National Park in the far north, to the enchanted forest and lakes of the south. Sarek National Park is quite simply an unspoiled wilderness in the North of Sweden, 50 kilometers from the Norwegian border. Covering 197,000 hectares, Sarek is by far the most remotely beautiful place in all of Europe. Home to some 200 mountains, Alpine peaks and a number of Glaciers Sarek is not a terrain to be conquered by the beginner. It holds a world all its own with a wealth of challenging terrain to conquer, an expanse of inspiring scenery to experience and a wealth of nature such as bears, lynx and elks to witness.

Royal Palace: The Royal Palace is one of the main attractions in Stockholm's Old Town (Gamla Stan). The Royal Palace, ornately decorated in the new Rococco style, dates from 1754. The site has been occupied by a fortress since the 10th century and a castle since the 1300s. The Royal Palace holds Sweden's stash of royal crowns, jewels, scepters, and swords.

Tyresta National Park: Only 20 kilometres from the centre of Stockholm lies one of the most unspoilt areas of natural beauty in central Sweden - Tyresta National Park and Nature Reserve. The area is characterised by a rift valley landscape which is typical for central Sweden but unique in an international perspective. A typical feature of primeval woodland is the great number of plant and animal species. Up to 8,000 species of animals can be found here which is four times as many as in exploited forests! Many species are also completely dependent on primeval woodland for their habitats, indeed for their very survival! You can reach Tyresta through bus or train from your nearest station.

Transportation in Sweden by car is an organized endeavor. Budget car rental in Sweden is easy to locate in the larger cities such as Stockholm, Malmo and Gothenburg. Sweden transportation is also available through the Swedish rail network that runs through the country. Swedish rail moves between the major cities of Malmo, Helsingborg, Gothenburg and Stockholm every hour throughout the day, Mondays through Fridays. Sweden rail is meant to be affordable, and is a great way to get around the country. Another way to get around within Sweden is via the car ferry. The country of Sweden has many lakes, rivers and inlets, and there are some ferries connecting the major cities that service travelers with cars quite well.

Sweden has a beautiful summer, and the ideal time to visit it would be during the months of June and August. All visitors defines Sweden can be summed up in one word and that is simply " Beautiful". Have a great time in Sweden.

(Sources: old-town-stockholm.com, cruises.about.com, visitsweden.com, infoplease.com, historiska.se, travel.yahoo.com, vasamuseet.se, skansen.se, malmo.se, planetware.com, roadtraffic-technology.com, bridgepros.com, swedentravelnet.com, destination360.com)