Skansen Open-Air Museum, Stockholm

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Skogaholm Manor

This manor house from Central Sweden was built in the late 18th Century. The house, its wings, and its outbuildings are displayed in a landscaped setting that resembles a country estate.

The house has two separate wings that were brought from Gullaskruv in Småland. The kitchen and housekeepers' accommodations are in the eastern wing; the western wing is used for a library, a china pantry, and guest rooms.

At the front corners of the grounds are two small pavilions. One is a 17th Century summerhouse from Söderköping, while the other is a modern copy. During my visit, a painter was applying a fresh coat of creamy yellow paint to the older of the two pavilions.

In this photo, a costumed Skansen employee walks past Skogaholm Manor. During the manor's heyday, the estate would have had a large staff of farmers, gardeners, dairymaids, gardeners, stable boys, carpenters, and other workers--among them, indentured laborers who lived on the estate with their families.

Främmestadskvarnen

The Främmestad Windmill is just east of Skogaholm Manor. It was built in 1750 and renovated in 1828.

Allotment Hut

Skansen's two kolonistugorna, or allotment huts, are from Stockholm. They were built around 1920 by working-class families who used them as storage sheds and tiny summer cottages on their garden plots. (The city-owned garden plots were introduced during World War I to alleviate shortages of potatoes and other vegetables.)

Children's Zoo

Skansen has a children's zoo called Lill-Skansen where children can mingle with goats, lambs, chickens, rabbits, and other animals. One popular display is an enclosure where toddlers can leave their pacifiers for the kittens when they're ready to give them up. (The kittens are supplied by a feline adoption agency, and lucky children can trade their dummies for pets.)

The park also has a more conventional zoo with wolves, wolverines, elk, deer, seals, otters, European bison, brown bears, and other Swedish wildlife.

Markets

Markets and other events take place at Skansen throughout the year. During my visit, vendors were displaying vegetables, including a sign made of produce and a potato obelisk.

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Skansen open-air museum

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Stockholm Travel Guide