Skansen Open Air Museum


This is the Skansen Open Air Museum in Stockholm, Sweden! It was the first open air museum of its kind. Its end goal is to preserve the folk culture of Sweden. It started with just houses that showed how people of the past lived. From there it added other things such as a Glass blower house, pottery, bakeries, markets, a book printer, concerts, and folk dancing! It shows the many different eras of Swedish history, not just one. We also walked around the zoo which was so fun. My favorite animal was probably the seals. We also tried to see the folk dancing, but couldn’t find it. I did eat a donut at the market and it was the most delicious thing that I had ever had. I liked how they included a market because this was a tradition of the past that they mixed with the present. That is the whole idea of this park.


This open air museum is very culturally important because it is essentially preserving many different time periods of Swedish culture at once. This helps visitors to get a better grasp of the traditions, occupations, dance, food, art, dress, and lifestyle of Stockholm that have existed over many years. New culture is also presented here through concerts, activities and plays. Historically this is key as well because it keeps a living record of the life of the past. It was really fun to see people dressing up in old Swedish dress and I felt that this park helped to not only present the Stockholm Swedish culture but to help people actively participate in it as well.


That is exactly what cultural capitals do, they provide access to culture and help people have a reaction or a viable connection with it. This helps to keep the beautiful cultural life of the past still a part of the country’s identity. If past identity is forgotten, it is easy in this modern world to assimilate to the wide spread “modernism” that is essentially the same across countries. It  just doesn’t allow for cultural identity and flavor! This is why cities must hold on to the traditions of the past. This is a huge part of what makes a place a cultural capital. 

Comments

  1. Meg KiehlJune 14, 2024 at 2:22 PM

    Anna, great post! I love how you pointed out that a cultural capital tries to connect its visitors with the unique culture of the city. The Open Air Museum definitely does that. Learning about how the Swedish people lived, what they loved and celebrated, really helps people connect with Stockholm as a cultural capital of the world.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

Image
After the Berlin wall came down, there was a big debate on how to remember Germany’s  horrible role in the murdering of just about six million Jews. A British architect came up with the structure for this memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe using undulating hills and rigid blocks of varied heights. At first it seems small and shallow, but as you walk in, you find yourself surrounded with towering blocks of concrete. It created a thought provoking landscape that is unique to the individual. This was the aim of the British architect. He wanted people to come here and get what they needed out of the experience. It essentially provides a space to think and a landscape for us to project on. So what was my reaction? To me the blocks of concrete represented both Nazi ideals or institutions, and secondly the staggering, resultant deaths of millions caused by the Nazi regime. It was almost like they visually showed the weight and consequence of that time. It felt oppressive as you walke...
Read more

Marie Popelin

Image
  This is me in front of Brussels’ Palais de Justice where the infamous Popelin affair took place. This was where Marie Popelin tried to sue/challenge the Belgium legal system. To give some background,  Marie Popelin was a woman born in the mid 1800s right outside of Brussels. She and her sister were educated uncommonly well and became teachers. She had a progressive mentor and she went on to run an all girls school but then later left. She felt that she needed a change and went to school to become a lawyer. Her application to the bar was refused on the basis of gender despite there being no laws against women being lawyers. She tried to sue Belgium, lost, appealed, and then lost again. This was known as the Popelin affair. From there she recognized that the legal system had problems that needed to be solved first. She became an influential suffragist.       Her contributions were important because she showed the flaws in the Belgium justice system, she cre...
Read more

Reichstag!

Image
  This is me at the Reichstag! This is where the German parliament meets. The choice of building is very symbolic because it has a long history. On January 18th 187, the new German Empire was formed and this building was the seat of parliament for the state. After the First World War the monarchy was done away with and Germany proudly flew their red gold and black colors, symbolizing their full democracy! After the war though, Germany faced some real repercussions from the treaty of Versailles and the people were struggling. This crisis allowed the Nazi party to rise. Hitler hated the democratic symbol of the Reichstag and a fire was started under mysterious circumstances and burned parliament down. Hitler claimed it was a communist attack and used it to claim emergency power. They essentially torched the symbol of democracy. After the war, Germany was divided and the wall went up, this became a museum. Once the wall fell, Germany sought to be unified once more under a democratic g...
Read more