Skansen open-air museum in Stockholm was the world’s first open-air museum. It is a living, working Sweden of the 1900s and hosts events, festivals and celebrations across a large area dotted with farm building, mills, ‘olde worlde’ shops and a stunning wooden church. There are some 160 buildings here that have been brought in from various part of the country to form a society of the times. Skansen also has a zoo that features elk, wolves, lynx and brown bears.
Vasa Museum in Stockholm is built around the Vasa, the world’s only surviving 17th century ship and the story of her rescue is as dramatic as her sinking; all captured in stunning detail at this finest of museums. The museum tells the story of how she was built, how and why she sunk and how she was lifted from the murky depths of Lake Mälaren in Stockholm and then perfectly preserved for future generations to admire. Not to be missed.
The Moderna Museet collection of contemporary and pop art is impressive, even by European standards. For example, 2008 sees the return of Andy Warhol works to the museum, bringing together the famous pop artist’s works with his films from the 1960s, including ‘Sleep’ and ‘Empire’. Works by Picasso, Dali and Rauschenberg are also on permanent display.
On your way to Moderna, just before the bridge that links Skeppsholmen to this part of Stockholm is the Nationalmuseum. Huge it is not, but it has a fine collection of works by artists such as Rembrandt, Rubens, Goya, Renoir, Degas and Gauguin, and Swedish artists Carl Larsson, Ernst Josephson, C F Hill and Anders Zorn. And many more. Do visit the Atrium restaurant and café at Nationalmuseum when you take a breather between visiting the collections.
The Naturhistoriska Museet is the mother of all Stockholm’s museums. It is housed in an imposing building out by the University of Stockholm and its mission is to: “offer knowledge about nature and man's surroundings. We wish to make it as exciting as possible. We want to add to your knowledge by providing experiences”. This it does superbly well through its eight permanent exhibitions, starting with “4 1/2 billion years – the history of Earth and Life”, through to: “Treasure of the earth’s interior.” The museum also presents satellite exhibitions events and experiences around these. Your children will never forgive you if you come to Stockholm and they miss out on Cosmonova, which is part of Naturhistoriska. What happens is that you sit back on your seat and it tilts in synch with giant film images that are projected on to a projection dome high above you. The effect is amazing and gives a heightened dimension of brightness, realism and sharpness. The films include “Dinosaurs Alive”, “Mummies” and “Cosmic Voyage”. Don’t say we didn’t tell you.
While you are in Stockholm also look out for the Vaxholm Fortress Museum, the Museum of Ethnography, the Hallwyll Museum and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.