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skansen stockholm sweden sverige

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Most cities and countries have them but very few deliver as well as Skansen; in fact the word commonly used as a European noun that means outdoor museum. Its creator, Artur Hazelius, was observant enough to see that the industrial revolution of the 1800’s was to the detriment of rural life and as such there was a need for cultural preservation of the traditions of Sweden and hence the concept of Skansen was born.

A highlight of any tour of Sweden (Sverige) is to visit the very beautiful city of Stockholm and a visiting the famous open air museum is a great way to get an insight into the culture and history of the Swedish people.  It is especially helpful if one is to tour other areas of Sweden (Sverige) like Gotland, Sundsvall, and other areas in north and western Sweden.

The open-air museum on Djurgården, one of the many islands that make up Stockholm (the capital of Sweden), is an excellent display and preservation of tradition 19th century Swedish life. Traditional dressed craftsmen and residents occupy their period surroundings with great authenticity. It is one of those places that all people have fond memories of and is such an integral and ongoing part of Swedish life even being one of the hubs of televised summer concerts.

Early in the 19th century, before the open-air museum, Djurgården was just a wooded island and merchant by the name John Burgman built himself a summerhouse and beautiful garden at the top of the hill that afforded spectacular views of Stockholm. The place was given the name Skansen as it was next to a little fortress; in Swedish known as a ‘Skans”.

A 'not-to-miss' experience for all. For More information Skansen Website.

Sweden has a reputation for very beautiful ladies and one that certain measures up the this typecast is its capital Stockholm; one of the most beautiful capital in all of Europe. Whether it is highlighting the beautiful building designs and colours in summer or creating sensational winter scenes of snow covered streets illuminated by street lights, it is a city to behold.

There are many clichés about Sweden (meatballs, herring, Vikings and Volvos and ABBA) and when one visits Sverige some clichés are so welcoming; the smell of pine forests, picking berries and even Knäckebröd (crisp bread) will others Surströmming (fermented fish) are not so initially enticing to the non-swedish.

The very beautiful Nordic country of Sweden lies to the north of continental Europe on the Scandinavian Peninsular (with Norway and Finland being the other two countries occupying the peninsular. Sweden, a constitutional monarchy, is the 3rd largest country of the EU and with only 9+ million people means it has one of the lowest population densities with about 85% of its population living in urban areas.

Around 30% of Stockholm is greenways and parklands and these provide a natural beauty that belies its size. There is plenty to offer like Gamla Stan (The Old City), Södermalm, Skansen, and wonderful villages like Vaxholm.

A walk around Stockholm soon reveals the secret to its layout in that it is made of a series of islands which in turn is part of the large archipelago (skärgård) which are numbered at 24,000.