STOCKHOLM (dpa) – The central part of Sweden between Uppsala and Stockholm is the heart of the country. It is here, where the mainland pushes a cheeky curve into the Baltic Sea, that its fortunes have always been decided.
To the east lies the Baltic Sea, gateway to the world. To the south and west are a myriad of ragged lakes fed by rivers, connecting the interior of the country with the outside world.
The natural landscape in this region is a history lesson for visitors. The best place to experience this is Birka, a former trading centre on the picturesque island of Bjorko in one of the many arms of Lake Malar.
In the first century A.D. this was where the Vikings began their voyages over the Baltic and the rivers of Russia to the Black Sea. Goods from all over the world were traded in Birka at that time. The reconstructed settlement here is a living Viking Museum. You can reach it by boat from the Swedish capital Stockholm.
Lake Malar originates some 60 kilometres further north in the foothills of Uppsala. This was always desirable territory for settlers, and excavated graves show that warring princes settled here as early as 500 A.D.
This is the cradle of Sweden. It was from Uppsala that the Svea dynasty reached their empire that existed centuries before Olaf Skotkonung, king of Sweden 990-1022, was converted to Christianity around the year 1000. In the next decades the Christians and the Aesir Svea rulers fought battles in the surrounding regions.
The victorious Christians made Uppsala a bishopric and erected the largest cathedral in northern Europe. The Gothic cathedral, which took more than a century to build, has twin steeples both 119 metres high, exactly the same length as the nave.
It was completed in 1435. In 1447 Scandinavia’s first university opened in Uppsala, and today nearly 20,000 of the 100,000 inhabitants of the industrial and administrative centre are students. Their bars and restaurants dominate the city.
Sigtuna, half way between Uppsala and Stockholm on the banks of Lake Malar, is a lot smaller. It was founded by Erik the Victorious in 980 A.D, making it one of the oldest towns in Sweden and was once Uppsala’s competitive neighbour.
Today just 5,000 people live here, but even if it lost the historical battle for supremacy, signs of its great past remain everywhere. The archaeological museum has an excellent collection of Viking artefacts, nearby are the remains of Sigtuna Cathedral, built around 1000 A.D.
The roads between Uppsala and Stockholm are lined with castles, at Uppsala, Venngarn, Steninge, Rosersberg, Gripsholm, made famous by Kurt Tucholsky’s story, and the royal castle of Rottingholm at the gate to Stockholm. Each one seems to out-do the last.
At the end of this castle road you reach Stockholm, often called the Venice of the north. The city spreads out between the Baltic Sea and Lake Malar over 14 islands, connected by 40 bridges.
It was founded in 1254, and first flourished as a trading centre with close ties to the Hanseatic League of trading cities. But it only became a capital city after the rebel king Gustav Wasa defeated the Kalmar Union, ending the Danish rule of Sweden.
Today Stockholm is the political and economic centre of the country with 700,000 inhabitants. It has modern glass facades and fine shopping streets, but in the old town, a seemingly remote island amid the metropolitan hustle and bustle, you feel time has stood still amid the crooked little cobbled streets and relaxed atmosphere.
Opposite this island on Djurgarden is the Wasa Museum, which documents the rise and fall of Sweden as a great power. Its prize exhibit is a flagship belonging to Gustav II Adolf, restored down to the last detail.
The ship was meant to underline Sweden’s claim to a leading role in Europe, but on its maiden voyage on August 10, 1628, it capsized in a storm before it even left the harbour. It was only recovered from the depths in 1961.
Anyone who visits Stockholm in summer should follow the local inhabitants and take a boat trip to the city’s watery front garden, a throng of some 20,000 craggy rocks protruding from the sea. On weekends and holidays half the city is out here, sunbathing, barbecuing, fishing, and drinking.
This is where the usually so cool Swedes let their hair down, so much so that they sometimes miss their boat back to the city. But descendants of the Vikings do not seem to mind. They are happy to carry on celebrating all night until the next boat arrives in the morning.
