Skansen is a Stockholm attraction that was founded to capture life in rural Sweden prior to the country’s industrialization (which mostly began in the late 19th Century). If this description sounds familiar, you might have seen something in a previous page about the Nordic Museum, which can also be found on the Stockholm island called Djurgården. Skansen was opened in 1891, not long after the Nordic Museum (1873), and was founded by the same person, Artur Hazelius.

During travels in the 19th Century, Hazelius noted that Swedish folk culture was being diminished by the forces of modernity, and founded these institutions in order to preserve a long-established but fading way of life for future generations. But while the Nordic Museum mainly preserved handicrafts, Skansen was more ambitious, eventually occupying 75 acres with actual 18th and 19th Century structures rescued from various locations within Sweden and populating them with people (in period clothing) who could explain different facets of life in pre-industrial Sweden to visitors, and who could demonstrate the basics of some of the vital trades that occupied the Swedes of the time. Hazelius's idea turned out to be popular, as well as educational – more than 1.3 million people visit Skansen each year. This doesn’t make it the most-visited attraction in Stockholm, however – its numbers are exceeded by the Vasa Museum (1.5 million), but not by much.

Getting to Skansen isn’t difficult - it has its own stop on tram line number 7. It’s also within easy walking distance of other popular attractions, including a museum devoted to the ABBA musical group and a small amusement park called Gröna Lund. But we didn’t get a chance to visit these places, heading directly for the Skansen entrance on the opposite side of the tracks.

Just inside the gate, there are some shops and some displays introducing visitors to the park. One of these displays is a small scale model of the grounds.

First we headed up to a small village, reconstructed from buildings relocated from various points in Sweden. The buildings are configured as shops or work establishments from the 19th Century. It’s possible to buy products from the shops (e.g. hammers from the hardware store or pastries from the bakery).




We continued uphill and passed some interesting structures along the way.


At the top of the hill we found an amphitheater, which wasn’t in use at the time. From the area of the amphitheater, we had a nice view of the harbor.


Continuing our way through the park, we found the following small, temporary-looking building. A sign described this as a Story Cottage, explaining that visitor stories and memories were collected here. This was apparently a one-year-only thing, and it didn't seem to be open.

Along the pathway, we found a signpost pointing to Skogaholm Manor (among other attractions). Skogaholm Manor is a large manor house from Skogaholm, a place in central Sweden to the west of Stockholm. The main building dates from 1680, but acquired its present appearance during a remodel in the 1790s. The manor was situated on a sizeable farm, and included a number of utility buildings. All of this required a substantial workforce, which would have lived nearby.


Just outside the Skogaholm grounds is another windmill, this one from the Främmestad parish, over near Sweden’s west coast, in the vicinity of Gothenburg. The Främmestad windmill was built in 1750, and was moved to Skansen in 1900. It was used to grind corn.

Past the windmill there was an early 20th Century schoolhouse, called the Väla School. The building also served as the home of the teacher’s family. Teachers were not paid particularly well, and supplemented their income (and diet) with fruits and vegetables grown on the school grounds, plus honey from beehives kept in the garden. The schoolhouse also came from the Gothenburg area.


Near the schoolhouse we found a wooden tower called the Hällestad Belfry. At 40.5 meters, this is the tallest wooden belfry in Sweden. It was built in the 1730s, and was donated to Skansen when the church it belonged to burned down. It comes from Hällestad, about 80 miles southwest of Stockholm.

Moving in the opposite direction from the belfry, we found the Hornborga Cottage, also from the vicinity of Gothenburg. This cottage was a typical home of a landless owner. It’s L-shaped and provides shelter for both a small family (one person in this case) and its meager livestock (a cow and two sheep when last populated). The cottage’s roof is made of thatch and turf. Its last owner eked out a living by fishing and mending shoes.

Just beyond the cottage, we came across the Seglora Church, also from near Gothenburg. The church was first built in 1730, and was slated for demolition at the time it was rescued in 1916. It’s still a popular place for weddings.

Near the church there’s a small market street, where snacks and souvenirs can be purchased.

Just past the church is the Kyrkhult Farmhouse, from the far southern part of the country. The farmhouse has multiple rooms, and was used for storage of grain, in addition to living quarters. It dates back to the beginning of the 19th Century, and was acquired for Skansen in 1891. We also had a good look at a peacock which was loitering nearby.


Continuing up the road, it was impossible to miss the 98-foot tall Bredablick Tower, built on top of a 150-foot hill. The tower was built of brick on its present site between 1874 and 1876 by a Doctor F.A. Wästfelt, who also planned a sanitorium on the site, which he felt to have healthful properties. But apparently not financially healthful, as the tower was acquired by Skansen in 1891 (at least one structure that didn’t have to be imported). During our visit, the tower was covered in scaffolding, but apparently it’s normally used as a café and (of course) a viewpoint, while providing a certain amount of office space.

At this point, we started making our way back toward the exit. On the way, we noted some of the animal life to be seen in Skansen. There is a small children’s zoo, in addition to a number of ponds which are frequented by some of the local waterfowl.

As it was late spring, colorful flowers were also to be found throughout the park.

We left the park and returned to the tram stop at which we’d arrived earlier, where we waited for a tram headed back in the opposite direction. This took us back off Djurgården to the mainland, on the way passing the Blue Gate near the bridge.

We returned to the hotel, finding some lunch on the way, and spent the rest of the day resting and doing a little laundry and being generally uninteresting (even less interesting than usual!), but we had plans to make up for our lack of activity the following day, which would be our last in Sweden. We would be starting with a return to the Royal Palace and a visit to the Royal Armoury.