Visiting Stockholm | Skansen 🎄
This week we go back to Stockholm and talk about the Skansen, which is the oldest open-air museum and zoo in Sweden just near the Nordic Museum. I went there on Christmas Day, which was, unfortunately, the Christmas Market there was closed, but I still got to try the “chicken pocket wrap”, “beef pocket wrap” (Not sure if it is the official name) and the mulled wine as well. Unlike most of the Christmas market, Skansen gave me the impression that it is more like a small village and it is open all year long.
Skansen:
Opening Hours: open every day, all year round; 10:00–16:00 (Opening times may vary on different dates)
Entry price:
Ranging from SEK 200 to SEK 245 (Free with GoCity Pass!)
Location: Djurgårdsslätten 49–51 115 21 Stockholm
Transportation: Tram line 7 from T-Centralen to DjurgĂĄrden
Interestingly, this place was founded by Artur Hazelius, who also founded the Nordic Museum (Please read the previous article about the Nordic Museum). Hazelius was inspired by the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, which is an open-air museum founded by King Oscar II in Kristiania in 1881. Indeed, Skansen was originally part of the Nordic Museum and became independent in 1963. The open-air museum includes The Printer’s Workshop, the Ironmonger’s Apartment, the Furniture Factory, and the garden. I did not have a chance to see that during winter, but I went into those small shops along the street, like the Hardware store, to take a look. All the shops there are vintage, not only as an exhibition in the open-air museum, but you can actually buy some items there for souvenirs (I guess it is more like a museum shop).
Besides the museum, there is also a zoo and a Baltic Sea Science Center. The zoo includes a variety of animals, from domestic pets like rabbits and cats, farm animals like the Gute sheep and Gotland pony, to wild animals like Arctic fox, otter, lynx, and moose.
There are some tours or hands-on activities that you can book, like glass blowing, book-printing, and other walking tours.
Different events are hosted in different seasons of the year, in spring, the Easter market is opened to sell decorative eggs, Easter feathers, and sweets. It is also free entry for children dressed as Easter witches or wizards. Other than that, Walpurgis Night is celebrated with bonfires to mark the end of the winter. On that night, students are visited to sing to welcome the spring, and the traditional springtime speech is given.
The Midsummer is an important celebration in Northern Europe. As the Midsummer weekend unfolds, Skansen’s folk dancers raise the traditional maypole, initiating a series of ring-dancing activities that continue until Sunday. With the raising of the maypole, summer is officially ushered in, marking the commencement of a diverse lineup of concerts on the Solliden Stage, featuring events such as Sing-along at Skansen and various musical performances. As Autumn comes, the autumn market is held every year on the last weekend in September and there are some seasonal activities that take place, like baking bread, harvesting, fishing, and so on.
Sadly, I did not get to explore Skansen more because the opening hours on Christmas Day were short. However, I would like to visit that again in a different season and explore more!
Recommendation: 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
