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Stockholm is made up of 14 islands, connected by 57 bridges. Gamla Stan (Old Town), which has French influence from the 1700s, is the only medieval city left in Europe that was not attacked during a war. The first painting ever made of Stockholm is in the church in the Medieval City. That church was established by St. George V in 1480 as a warning for the Danes (this was not elaborated upon). Christianity came to Sweden in the 12th century. Interesting/Fun Fact: Sweden was the first country in Scandinavia to give women the right to vote.
Sweden has compulsory schooling from ages 7 to 16, and students are able to do upper secondary schooling after age 16. A majority of people go to upper secondary school, which is 3 years long, and then they can study at University afterwards. The two oldest universities in Sweden date back to the 1500s.
Vikings came from the area that is now Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. They have been referred to as Norse and other names, but it should be noted that they did not call themselves Vikings. They were referred to by that name in writings by Christians and Muslims, and was a term mostly used in the West. Some of the Vikings settled in Iceland after being banished from Norway. In 1066, Vikings started making themselves known and had very good ships and were good fighters, so they would surprise people with this; however, they were not organized. Therefore, they hired people from the North to come down and fight in their armies. They communicated using rocks on which they would put messages, such as making a dedication to someone who had died. Half of all children died before age 10, and most women died before age 30 (usually in childbirth), while most men died before age 50 (usually from starvation). Everyone (including children) had to work in order to survive, and sometimes it was just too much for the children. The rocks generally had pictures drawn on them, which was helpful for people who did not read or write (which was most people back then). It was said that the messages on these rocks were “whispered to them,” which (according to our guide) is the meaning of the word “ruin” (whisper or secret).
The Vikings’ main trading commodity was people (slaves) from Slavic countries, and they would get fur, jewelry, and new ideas in return. They traveled to areas in the North, South, East, and West, now identified as Iceland, Mediterranean, the Caspian Sea, and North America.
Back around 1600, the king of Sweden wanted something that people would know him for. He decided on a ship that would be big enough to frighten enemies, and he wanted it to have a lot of emblems, including the Roman Emperor’s emblem, and the Lion of the North, which was the symbol of the king. As a result, the Vasa warship was born. Vasa was the name of a dynasty, and the ship was completed in 1628. The population of Stockholm was 10,000 at the time. 300 people worked on it, including people from Germany and Holland, making it the second largest work site in Sweden. It took 2 years and thousands of oak trees to build, making it 1210 tonnes and 69m (226ft) long. Interesting/Fun Fact: This ship was so big that I had to go to the 6th floor of the museum to get a full length photo, and even then, I couldn’t get the full effect!
Thousands of people lined the streets after church on August 10 so they could witness the maiden voyage. The ship was pulled 100 meters and then put into the water to set sail. As it started to sail, it started heading the wrong direction and then listed towards shore and they could not correct it and it essentially fell over on its side into the sea and sank in a matter of minutes. It turns out that the gundecks (64 guns) were too heavy, making it impossible to float. They used this information as guidance for the length and width when they built the sister ship, which was used successfully for 30 years. 100 of the 130 people on board the Vasa were saved by the rowing boats that had lined the water to watch the maiden voyage from the water, and others survived by climbing out onto the 52m high mast and swimming the 100m to shore (The tour guide told us 100m; an online source said 1300m. Regardless, suffice it to say that this ship didn’t get very far!!). Unfortunately, one man got stuck under one of the cannons. This was a sad day for the king’s men, as they had to let the king know that the ship had sunk, and that the cannons (some of which weighed 1200kg) were at the bottom of the sea. He wasn’t present for the launch because he was leading the army in Poland, as they were at war with each other. It took 2 weeks for him to receive the message. In 1665, divers went down and retrieved 60 of the cannons and brought them to the surface. The cannons were sold in Germany, but there are a few originals in the Vasa Museum. The museum is appealing to anyone who knows where the originals are to send them back.
In 1961, 300 years after it sank, 98% of the Vasa was recovered. It was sprayed with a polyethylene + water mixture for 6 years, and then dried for 10 years. It was pretty well preserved under the sea, and had not been eaten by sea worms because of the material it was made with, which is pretty remarkable when considering it was built so long ago!
Dala Horse – The Dala Horse is an ancient work of Swedish folk art, mostly done in the district of Dalarna, which is where it got its name. Horses used to be highly valued property and a symbol of status. The Dala Horses started being made by the Nisser family in 1860, and became famous at the World Expo in NY in1939. The Dala Horse museum is in Gamla Stan (Medieval City) in Stockholm. The horses are painted different colors, and there is meaning attached with each color.
City Hall – This building was built 1911-1923, with meeting rooms for politicians and civil servants, and is still used for that purpose today. 300 events take place yearly, both city events and private events. It is also the place where the Nobel banquet is held (after the prize is given) every year on the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, at his request. 1300 guests are invited, but they only get 58cm for themselves (the guest of honor gets 5cm more). Guests of honor (i.e., the royal family, Nobel winners) walk along the balcony and down the stairs to dinner. This is held in the Blue Room, which is not blue. It was supposed to be painted blue but the artist changed his mind. Because of the original anticipation of having it painted blue, it is still called the blue room. The outer bricks were put in by hand, and then there are inner courtyards and Romeo and Juliet balconies. They wanted the Blue Hall to be like an Italian Piazza, but it has a roof because of the weather in Sweden. The artist then painted a sky on top of the ceiling. The ceiling is now white so they can project images onto it. There are marble floors, stairs, and balcony, which are from South of Stockholm in Sweden. It took 8 million bricks to build City Hall.
As previously mentioned, the tour guide in Norway did not know why Alfred Nobel wanted the Peace Prize given out in Norway. Our Swedish guide said it was because Sweden and Norway used to work together but stopped, so, Nobel wanted Norway to have the Peace Prize. Not sure if that really clears it up, but that’s what we were told.
Politicians are elected every 4 years. They have a mayor, but that person does not have any ruling power. There are 101 members in Council Chambers (to avoid a tie; currently, 50 men and 51 women), and only 15 of the members are full time, including the President and the VP. All of the other members have full time jobs. The Council makes decisions about local issues (e.g., child care). The parties are left and right leaning, and it is split the same way in the Chamber. They meet every 3rd Monday, and those meetings are open to the public. 200 people can sit and watch in the balcony. The meetings can also be watched on TV and online. The ceiling in the Chamber room is blue, representing the sharing of decisions with the rest of the population.
There is a room just outside of the Chamber that is used for weddings. People from Stockholm can get married in that room for free, and others have to pay 60EUR. There are two options for the ceremony: 1.5 minutes or 3 minutes (no, that is not a typo). There is a 6 month waiting list, and up to 60 couples can be married in one day.
The Golden Hall is 24K real gold. It was designed by a 28yo young man, who thought he had 7 years to finish it. He had 2. He melted gold on the glass to get it to stay. It was finished in 1923, in time for the previously determined opening date. The total weight of the gold was 11kg. It was supposed to be the primary banquet hall, but can only hold 700 people, so they now use it for the dance after the Nobel dinner. Interesting Note/Fun Fact: During the Nobel dinner, servers have 8 minutes to serve the food.
On the walls in the Golden Hall, the figure on the wall at the far end of the room is Queen Malar, who is surrounded by Stockholm’s Lake Malar. In the drawing, she has City Hall in her lap, the Eastern world in one hand, and the Western world in the other. This symbolized that Stockholm could be a meeting point for the east and west during the war, but that didn’t happen. She is sitting under the midnight sun, and her hair is the waves of the lake. The rest of the walls reflect Swedish authors and Swedish history.
