Dear Friends,
The history of Stockholm begins with a legend from the era of the Vikings. It's said that Agne, a warrior king of the Ynglinga dynasty, married a chieftain's daughter named Skjalf after overcoming her father and fleeing with his friends. Stopping to celebrate, he and his friends drank too much and Skjalf freed herself. Help arrived and Agne was captured nd hanged, supposedly at the place which is known as Stockholm. Legend aside, it is known that a castle and church were built here in the 13th century. The church was dedicated to St. Nicholas, the Patron Saint of shipping and is referred to today as the Great Church. In the 18th century Stockholm attracted many scientists and scholars. It became a cultural, musical and dramatic capital. During the last 100 years of Stockholm's history, the city has become industrialized, and the government has changed from a monarchy to a full parliamentary democracy. Stockholm is built on fourteen small islands. This 700-year old capital is one of the world's most attractive. A green city, nearly a third of the Swedish capital is park land. The name refers to the town beween the bridges. Early homes were wooden buildings. It was a crowded city, and after a few fires, combustible building materials were abandoned. Styles remained much the same though, so old city's narrow streets and high buildings are still medieval in tone. The city offers amusement parks, shopping, museums and fine architecture. The layout of the city has been carefully protected by tthe town fathers, keeping thte town full of tree-lined streets, parks, lively squares, boulevards and playgrounds.
The beautiful water approach to Stockholm passes through the beautiful archipelago that lines the Swedish coast. More than 24,000 islands and islets, the chain stretches for miles along he Swedish seaboard. Some of the islands are no more than cragy rocks jutting above the surface of the sea, while others are just large enough for a single cottage. It really was a beautiful sail in and sail out. I am sending a few photos of the archipelago.
We took a ship's tour that was to the Vasa Museum and then a bit around the old city with a stop on a high overlook. Since it was a morning tour, we stayed in town at the end of it rather than going back to the ship. We were dropped off at the castle just prior to the changing of the guard. This was a really beautiful ceremony that lasted an hour. There were guards on foot, guards on horseback, and a band on horseback. I am sending a few photos of that also. After the ceremony, we started walking back to the center of Old Town. Unfortunately it began to pour rain. We decided to go into the Grand Hotel which was nearby and "the" hotel in Stockholm. They had a beautiful sidewalk restaurant that was glass enclosed so we got a table right next to the sidewalk. It also overlooked the harbor. There were 8 cruise ships in Stockholm that day. One was anchored right downtown in the harbor, a few others were able to dock downtown, and the rest were at docks a couple miles away (as were we). No problem though since they provide shuttle service from the ship to the town. It rained off and on the rest of the afternoon. After our lunch, it was time to go back to the ship so we walked over to the shuttle bus and got back to the ship. A great city!!!
On 10 August 1628 the "unsinkable" Royal warship Vasa set sail on her maiden voyage and sank in the Stockholm harbor. The most expensive and perhaps most lavishly decorated naval vessel Sweden had ever built, King Gustavus Adolphus' pride and joy, was to be the mightiest naval ship of the day. Unfortunately, pride and a rush to get the ship afloat seems to have led to the disaster. (Many of you may remember that our daughter, Kristin, went to Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota. Yes, it was named after this king as I recall.) Maritime and engineering knowledge were simply limited at the time. The experience with the Vasa was a lesson that led to better subsequent design. It was later learned that the engineers and others in the know had warned the King that it was not built correctly and was not seaworthy, but he wanted it and by a certain date, so he said GO. Oops!!! It had a way to tall stern castle and with all the wooden carved statues around it was way too top heavy!!! Also, there were two rows of cannon ports that were open. So, when it got out in the harbor and was hit by a big wind that rolled it on its side, the water rushed in the first row of cannon ports and filled the ship. In 1956 Anders Franzen discovered the ancient ship and initiated one of Sweden's largest historical undertakings in marine archaeology. It had been under the sea there in the harbor for 333 years but since the water was brackish it was preserved. The Vasa was found almost completely intact on the seabed. The antique is one of the world's best preserved ships from that period. The reconstructed vessel, 95 percent original, is splendidly adorned with hundreds of carved sculptures. They even found sails in bags that have been taken out and are on display. This was a really fascinating exhibit that we really enjoyed!! As you can see from the photos, the ship is inside a building. The mast tops are outside on display but we didn't see them. I have a photo from afar. The only thing on the ship inside are the lower sections of the masts.
Enjoy!!
Jan and Dick
Hey, what a wonderful trip you´re having.
ReplyDeleteI dream to visit Scandinavia, hope I´ll be in these same places soon.