A Celebration of the Scandinavian Life Style

An excursion through Stockholm’s marvelous museums, many of which feature great outdoor exhibitions for spring and summer strolling, yields a fascinating glimpse into Stockholm’s historical and cultural heritage, and offers opportunities to buy some of the city’s most unusual souvenirs.

Begin with a visit to Skansen, the world’s oldest open-air museum, on Djurgarden, one of Stockholm’s 14 islands. The museum was founded in the late 1800s by Arthur Hazelius, whose aim was to collect old buildings from all parts of Sweden and, by preserving them, show the kind of life that was once lived in them. Skansen is a wonderful celebration of the Swedish life style throughout history.

In all, 150 buildings from the 16th Century to the 1900s have been brought to Skansen, including rustic Lapp huts from the north, elegant half-timbered houses from Skane in the south and several entire farming complexes.

Best of all for shoppers, one area of the 75-acre museum is filled with town houses and shops. This section, the Stadskvarteret, looks like an old town and features workshops in which craftsmen make traditional items in the traditional ways. Their goods are sold in Stadskvarteret’s shops.

The Apothecary, for example, sells dried lavender ($3 per packet), lavender water in old-fashioned bottles ($12), room scenters ($5) and scents (50 cents), juniper and other spices for flavoring brandy ($8) and old-fashioned herbal candies ($17 per gift pack).

These and other non-medicinal supplies are stocked in medicinal drawers that were salvaged from a pharmacy active in Koping from 1742 to 1786, and dispensed over a 1790s counter that came from the pharmacy at Drottningholm, the queen’s summer palace.

A Real Treat

Skansen’s Engraver’s Workshop is a treat for visitors who use an ancient room-size press to etch silver jewelry ($21 to $60; pewter for $3) from plates that replicate 11th-Century rune stones. Each piece comes with a translation of the rune. Master engraver Hans Hilmer, who runs the atelier, says he’s 148 years old and still going strong.

The Bondegatan Building houses the Bookbindery, preserved from H. W. Palmer’s Stockholm workshop, with a complete set of tools for binding, cutting, cover making and gilt lettering.

Buy lovely black-and-white Christmas and greeting cards ($2.50), cartoons and religious texts ($5 to $8) printed from antique blocks.

In the same building, the Old Store offers hand-dipped wax candles ($5 per pair), old-fashioned paper dolls ($3), candied rose petals ($3) and other sweets ($2), decals and stickers ($2), piggy banks ($4), hand-woven baskets ($7) and an old-recipe mosquito repellent ($6) that works.

Glimmering Things

The Glassworks, built in 1936 after 1834 drawings of the Johannesholm Glassworks in Dalarna, features glass blowers at work and sells the lovely things they make. There are flasks ($18), pitchers ($10), swans ($11 and up) and other domestic creatures seen around Skansen’s grounds, candle cups ($8) and elaborate glass music clefs ($5).

The Pottery, preserved from turn-of-the-century Sodermanland, has ceramists working their wheels, throwing lovely pots, plates and spice containers. These are glazed, fired in the burning shed and sold in the Pottery shop. The work has a pale gray background with a blue floral pattern.

There are pitchers ($9 and $19), crocks ($35), candleholders ($10 a pair) and souvenir mugs with the names Sven, Ake, Gustav and Lena written on them ($9; other names can be special ordered and items mailed within two weeks).

Skansen’s delightful gift shop has handcrafted items from around Sweden. There are straw dolls ($28), angel dolls ($3) and doll-shaped candleholders ($25 a pair), guest books made of wood and brass ($16), quilted tea cozies shaped like cottages ($40) and a variety of textiles as well as cards that can be mailed from Skansen’s 19th-Century post office.

Near Skansen on Djurgarden, the Wasavarvet is another fascinating museum. It houses the Wasa, a Swedish warship that sank in 1628 on its maiden voyage, before even leaving Stockholm’s waterways. The wreck was discovered in 1956, and after more than three centuries underwater the Wasa was raised in 1961. The ship’s wooden hull and elaborate carvings, linen sails and personal belongings of the crew are preserved in the museum.

Marvelous Sketchbooks

The Wasa’s gift shop sells books, including marvelous sketchbooks ($15 and $48) for model builders. The shop’s reproductions of the ship’s decorative details and items found aboard it include carved lion’s masks ($16), grotesque heads ($16), winged heads ($13), anchors ($19 and $25), bronze candlesticks ($50), drinking glasses ($10 each; $34 for four), earthenware dishes ($10), square-shaped copper coins ($30), pewter bottles ($438) and models of the Wasa’s 24-pound cannons ($53 to $950).

Also on Djurgarden is Prinz Eugene Waldermasudde, a palatial estate built in 1905 and once Prince Eugene’s royal residence. Prince Eugene, highly regarded as a landscape painter and art collector, bequeathed his mansion, his paintings and collection (including the works of Edvard Munch and other greats) to Stockholm. It is a museum and gallery surrounded by a magnificent sculpture garden with views of Stockholm and the harbor.

The museum shop features a good selection of art books, including some about Prince Eugene, and exceptional prints and cards from the collection. Most special, however, are reproductions of the flowerpots found throughout Waldermasudde. These lovely white octagonal pots were designed by Prince Eugene in 1915. About 40,000 of them are made annually in Gustavsberg. They are sold exclusively at Waldermasudde in five sizes, priced from $13 to $52.

Kungliga Slottet (in Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s Old Town) is a 650-room Royal Palace rebuilt in 1754, after a fire destroyed the original building. The royal family occupies about 20 rooms. Many of the other rooms, including those used for official state functions, are open for public viewing. Decorations date from the 1600s, and include magnificently carved wooden doors, Gobelin tapestries, ebony furniture, painted ceilings, antique Delft porcelain ordered by Queen Christina in 1650, and jewels received as state gifts through the ages.

Royal Replicas

The Palace Gift Shop sells replicas of items in the royal collections: flasks ($53) with Gustav III’s (1772-1792) royal seal, Queen Christina’s brass carafes ($125), miniature porcelain stoves ($78) and tin soldiers ($17 to $156), and other items.

Aprons ($15), table linens ($5 and up) and cooking mitts ($6) are made of fabrics in the palace’s traditionally pattern. Items favored by Swedish royalty include chocolates, leather portfolios ($54), enameled cufflinks ($35), crystal vases from Orrefors ($360), silver cups ($200), note pads ($4) and paper ($6), and pieces of Rorstrand’s blue and white china used in the royal household.

A beautiful old palatial mansion at Fredsgatan 2 has been converted into the Medelhavsmuseet, with an impressive collection of artifacts from ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Persia and Mesopotamia.

The museum shop offers few Swedish goods, but some wonderful curiosities from other civilizations. These include copies of elaborate silver jewelry from Cyprus circa 400 BC, earrings ($44), rings ($33) and armbands ($130), copies of Roman glass bottles and vials made by a Venetian glass blower ($44 to $158), Greek flasks (about $10), a rich variety of Middle Eastern spices, oils and olive soap ($2.50), and colorful scarfs and ethnic clothing.

Prices quoted in this article reflect currency exchange rates at the time of writing .