Swedish Army Museum, Stockholm, Sweden

The Swedish Army Museum, was awarded the title of the best museum of Stockholm in 2005. Its displays illustrate the military history of Sweden, including its modern policy of neutrality, and of the Swedish Army. The building was erected in the 17th century as an arsenal for the production and storage of artillery weapons.

The exhibition includes life-size figures of soldiers of past centuries, as well as scenes of the great battles of Swedish forces, weapons, military clothes and other attributes of war. The trophies and flags of armies defeated by Sweden in the 17th and 18th centuries are displayed in a special room at the Armémuseum. The museum had an Enigma machine on display in its Spies temporary exhibition.

References:

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User Reviews

Katarína Holešová (33 days ago)
This was a very good museum. We loved that we could use some of the guns, hold them and see how heavy they were or how they were used.

Eoghan O'Reilly (3 months ago)
I am by no means a big fan of museum's. They're often quite boring and poorly laid out however I found this to be well thought out and designed through the ages of war. It was fantastic.

Kaje Annihilatrix (3 months ago)
Museum is free, and its a great way to spend an hour or two. The layout is well done and there are a lot of exhibits. Great for kids as well as adults.

Emily Raison (3 months ago)
One of the most enjoyable museums I went to in Stockholm. It was larger than anticipated and had a guided tour which you could download in your phone for free in English. The exhibits were also dual language with very good English descriptions. Also free entry! Recommended :)

Graeme Lane (5 months ago)
We were lucky rough to visit on parade day..really enjoyed the pomp and.ceremony. The museum was interesting l it room about an hour to tour. The military history was of interesting. Displays have good explanations. Entry was free.

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Eketorp Fort

Eketorp is an Iron Age fort in southeastern Öland, which was extensively reconstructed and enlarged in the Middle Ages. Throughout the ages the fortification has served a variety of somewhat differing uses: from defensive ringfort, to medieval safe haven and thence a cavalry garrison. In the 20th century it was further reconstructed to become a heavily visited tourist site and a location for re-enactment of medieval battles. Eketorp is the only one of the 19 known prehistoric fortifications on Öland that has been completely excavated, yielding a total of over 24,000 individual artifacts. The entirety of southern Öland has been designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The Eketorp fortification is often referred to as Eketorp Castle.

The indigenous peoples of the Iron Age constructed the original fortification about 400 AD, a period known to have engendered contact between Öland natives with Romans and other Europeans. The ringfort in that era is thought to have been a gathering place for religious ceremonies and also a place of refuge for the local agricultural community when an outside enemy appeared. The circular design was believed to be chosen because the terrain is so level that attack from any side was equally likely. The original diameter of this circular stone fortification was about 57 metres. In the next century the stone was moved outward to construct a new circular structure of about 80 metres in diameter. At this juncture there were known to be about fifty individual cells or small structures within the fort as a whole. Some of these cells were in the center of the fortified ring, and some were actually built into the wall itself.

In the late 600s AD the ringfort was mysteriously abandoned, and it remained unused until the early 11th century. This 11th century work generally built upon the earlier fort, except that stone interior cells were replaced with timber structures, and a second outer defensive wall was erected.

Presently the fort is used as a tourist site for visitors to Öland to experience a medieval fortification for this region. A museum within the castle walls displays a few of the large number of artefacts retrieved by the National Heritage Board during the major decade long excavation ending in 1974. Inside the fort visitors are greeted by actors in medieval costumes who assume the roles of period artisans and merchants who might have lived there nine centuries earlier. There are also re-enactment scenes of skirmishes and other dramatic events of daily life from the Middle Ages.

Eketorp lies a few kilometers west of Route 136. There is an ample unpaved parking area situated approximately two kilometers west of the paved Öland perimeter highway. There is also a gift shop on site. During peak summer visitation, there are guided tours available. Visitors are assessed an admission charge.

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