Skansen (; "the

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") is the oldest open-air museum and zoo in Sweden located on the island Djurgården in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. It was opened on 11 October 1891 by Artur Hazelius (1833–1901) to show the way of life in the different parts of Sweden before the industrial era. The name has also been used as a noun to refer to other open-air museums and collections of historic structures, particularly in

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and Eastern Europe, but also in the United States, e.g.

Old World Wisconsin Old World Wisconsin is an open-air museum located near Eagle, in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It depicts housing and the daily life of settlers in 19th-century Wisconsin, with separate areas representing the traditions of different ...

and

Fairplay, Colorado The historic Town of Fairplay is the Statutory Town that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Park County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 724 at the 2020 United States Census. Fairplay is located in Sout ...

History

The 19th century was a period of great change throughout Europe, and Sweden was no exception. Its rural way of life was rapidly giving way to an industrialised society and many feared that the country's many traditional customs and occupations might be lost to history. Artur Hazelius, who had previously founded the

Nordic Museum The Nordic Museum ( sv, Nordiska museet) is a museum located on Djurgården, an island in central Stockholm, Sweden, dedicated to the cultural history and ethnography of Sweden from the early modern period (in Swedish history, it is said to be ...

on the island of Djurgården near the centre of Stockholm, was inspired by the open-air museum, founded by King Oscar II in Kristiania in 1881, when he created his open-air museum on the hill that dominates the island. Skansen became the model for other early open-air museums in Scandinavia and later ones elsewhere. Skansen was originally a part of the Nordic Museum, but became an independent organisation in 1963. The objects within the Skansen buildings are still the property of the Nordic Museum. After extensive travelling, Hazelius bought around 150 houses from all over the country (as well as one structure from Telemark in Norway) and had them shipped piece by piece to the museum, where they were rebuilt to provide a unique picture of traditional Sweden. Only three of the buildings in the museum are not original, and were painstakingly copied from examples he had found. All of the buildings are open to visitors and show the full range of Swedish life from the Skogaholm Manor house built in 1680, to the 16th century Älvros farmhouses.

The open-air museum

Skansen attracts more than 1.3 million visitors each year. The many exhibits over the 75

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(300,000 m²) site include a full replica of an average 19th-century town, in which craftsmen in traditional dress such as tanners, shoemakers, silversmiths, bakers and glass-blowers demonstrate their skills in period surroundings. There is even a small patch growing tobacco used for the making of

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...

s. There is also an open-air zoo containing a wide range of Scandinavian animals including the brown bear, moose, grey seal,

lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, Ontar ...

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

, reindeer, harbour seal, Eurasian eagle owl, great grey owl and wolverine, as well as some non-Scandinavian animals. There are also farmsteads where rare breeds of

farm animals Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals wh ...

can be seen. In early December the site's central Bollnäs square is host to a popular Christmas market that has been held since 1903, attracting around 25,000 visitors each weekend. In the summer there are displays of folk dancing and concerts.

Funicular railway

Since 1897, Skansen has been served by the Skansens Bergbana, a funicular railway on the northwest side of the Skansen hill. The funicular is 196.4 meters long, with a total rise of 34.57 meters. Skansen is also served by trams on line 7.

Keepers of Skansen

Gallery

File:Skogaholm_Manor.jpg, Skogaholm Manor File:Skansen-SkogaholmHerrgard-westwing-MathewDodson.jpg, The west wing of Skogaholm Manor in early summer. It contains a library, china pantry and five guest rooms. File:Allsang pa Skansen 2004-07-20.jpg, '' Allsång på Skansen'' ("Sing-along at Skansen") is a popular annual event. File:Largest cigar.jpg, World's largest cigar at the Tobacco and Matchstick Museum File:Скансенс.jpg, Skansen on a winter afternoon File:Swedenborgs lusthus Skansen 2005-07-29 02.jpg, Summerhouse of Swedenborg File:Skansens bergbana 050701 06.JPG, The funicular railway File:Kåta 050701.JPG, A Sami hut File:Seglora church 050701.JPG, Seglora Church File:Grinning Bear.jpg, A brown bear at Skansen File:Kyrkhyltstugan skansen.JPG, House from Blekinge County now at Skansen File:Skansen spinner.jpg, A docent demonstrating spinning at Skansen File:Eingang Skansen.jpg, Entrance Building

References

External links

*
Andy Carvin's Skansen Gallery

Skansen-akvariet

Panoramic virtual tour of brown bear enclosure at Skansen

The Skansen Funicular Railway
{{authority control Museums in Stockholm Zoos in Sweden Open-air museums in Sweden Living museums Folk museums in Sweden 1891 establishments in Sweden Zoos established in 1891 Cultural heritage of Sweden