Visiting Stockholm | Nordiska museet (Nordic Museum) ❄️
The first museum I visited in Stockholm (I am a museum enthusiast) is the Nordiska Museum, also known as the Nordic Museum, located in Djurgården, an island in central Stockholm. This museum mainly displays the traditions and lifestyle of Scandinavians from the 16th century. It has over one and a half million pieces! The exterior of the museum is fascinating. It was designed in the Dutch-Danish Renaissance style by Isak Gustaf Clason. Founded in the late 19th century by Artur Hazelius, a Swedish scholar and museum director, who also founded the Skansen open-air museum in Stockholm.
💰Free admission with Go City Pass
Regular admission: SEK 170 by 2024 and free admission for children
Opening Time: Almost open every day, even on Christmas from 10:00–17:00
Once you enter the museum, get your tickets with your Go City Pass and you will see an enormous sculpture of King Gustav Vasa. Gustav Vasa (born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family, also called Gustav I) was King of Sweden from 1523 to 1560 and the founding father of Sweden. He brought Protestantism to Sweden and outmaneuvered the power of the Catholic Church. Every year on the 6th of June, Gustav’s name day, is celebrated as the Swedish national day to honor the electron of King Gustav Vasa.
Besides the sculpture, there are multiple exhibitions you can explore in the museum including:
The Arctic (Arctic Traces: Nature and Culture in Motion), exhibits the tools used in the Arctic and how people have lived in the Arctic through the years. It also brings up the topic of climate change and global warming. Notably, this exhibition is based on 3 years of research under Lotten Gustafsson Reinius, a visiting professor at Stockholm University.
On the right side of the lobby, you can see another exhibition: Strinderg vs. Youssef. It was created by an artist Daniel Youssef with inspiration from August Strindbuerg’s autobiographical novel Inferno. Inferno was written in French from 1896 to 1897. The book talks a lot about Strindberg’s obsession, e.g. occultism, alchemy, and shows signs of paranoia. The story behind the exhibition is interesting, but I am not going to lie, I indeed find the exhibition confusing and hard to interpret the display.
Worth mentioning that there are audio guides available in multiple languages for free!
Another exhibition is called British — Ever So Nordic. It displays the Nordic fashion, clothes style, and lifestyle that was influenced by Britain. One exhibition that I found quite interesting is the “Traditions” located on Level 3. The exhibition constructs the scenes and details of how Nordics celebrate Midsummer, Christmas, and Easter, and the history behind it. Next to this exhibition is the “Table Settings”. Basically, this exhibition shows the interiors and the table setting from the 16th century to circa 1950, including coffee and tea parties, tables for aperitifs, aquavit, and banquets. (You can also see a “Swan” in the exhibition).
The last exhibition that I went to was on Level 2 (Lobby) right next to the Children’s Playhouse. It demonstrates the setting of a traditional Nordic family and most of the displays there are interactive. However, I did not see any description on the official website, but it is worth taking a look!
Before leaving the museum, go to the museum shop and see if there is anything that you want to get as a souvenir and maybe have a real Swedish “fika” in the cafe on level 2.
Recommendation: 🌟🌟🌟/ 5
A must for those who love Nordic history!
