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Skansen in Stockholm is a kind of cultural and historic museum offering environments from different parts of Sweden. Every single building is authentic. The founder, Artur Hazelius (1833-1901) travelled all over Sweden in order to buy houses and buildings that were typical for different regions. Every piece of wood was sent to Stockholm to be put together again, now as part of the huge open-air installations at Skansen. The oldest house dates back to the 13th century.

An interesting fact is that all the environments that were built up at Skansen remains practically the same today, more than 100 years later.

The name Skansen means "fortification" in Swedish. Now this wasn:%$acute;t a fortification in a traditional meaning since it was built by the Swedish King Karl XIV Johan (1763-1844) as a playground for his son (Oscar I)...

Skansen recreates traditional Swedish surroundings

But Skansen is not only buildings and houses. The idea that Hazelius had was to recreate complete surroundings, thus you:%$acute;ll find the corresponding gardens, crop fields, and town streets. In order to complete this authentic picture, these surroundings are alive with craftsmen, bakers and silversmiths in traditional dresses giving you the opportunity to study the way of life in old Sweden.

Zoo with Scandinavian animals like bear

There is also an open-air zoo containing typical Scandinavian animals like bear, wolf and elk. Even though these animals are kept in captivity, their surroundings are in deed spacious recreations of their natural habitat. Skansen has aimed to be authentic since the very beginning.

Events

Skansen plays a central role in several events that takes place through the year. The Swedish Television broadcasts from Skansen every New Years Eve.

The National Day of Sweden (6th of June) also uses Skansen for several events, often inviting royal guests to the celebrations.

Skansen Winter market

The annual winter market at Skansen:%$acute;s Bolln:%$auml;s Square is a very popular event that attracts more than 20,000 visitors each weekend. The market has been held every year since 1903. Since December is a pretty cold month, you shoul buy Gl:%$ouml;gg, hot wine punch, a drink which practically all Swedes taste before Christmas.