A brief description of Skansen—a 75-acre open-air museum with historic buildings and a zoo—doesn’t convey just how much fun it is. You can easily spend a happy half-day here, looking at wolves, reindeer, moose, seals, and other Nordic creatures, then popping into old buildings that have been brought here from all over Scandinavia and reassembled. In some you can talk to people in costume who are playing the roles of the original inhabitants. Elsewhere you can watch glassblowers at work and visit old-fashioned stores. Open since 1891, it remains one of Sweden’s top tourist draws.
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History Alfresco
Skansen is the world’s oldest open-air museum. It was founded in 1891 to preserve and spotlight Swedish culture—from traditional artisans at work and period Nordic lifestyles to barns with farm animals and a zoo with Nordic wildlife such as reindeer, lynx, wolves, and moose.
Skansen Outdoor Swedish History Museum
This museum reminded me a lot of the Renaissance Faire we go to with school in the fall. There were many outdoor exhibits displaying different time periods of Swedish history. We bought cloudberry jam to bring home from one of the stores in the museum. There is also a zoo, with reindeer, elk, and other animals native to Sweden. The day we were there, there was even a wedding going on at the old church in the museum! We had lunch at an outdoor restaurant, and there were peacocks walking around the tables! We were here the last day of our European cruise trip, so we really made the most of our time here and it was definitely worth the time!
