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:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Katarína Holešová (3 years 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 years 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 years 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 years 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 (3 years 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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Glimmingehus is the best preserved medieval stronghold in Scandinavia. It was built 1499-1506, during an era when Scania formed a vital part of Denmark, and contains many defensive arrangements of the era, such as parapets, false doors and dead-end corridors, 'murder-holes' for pouring boiling pitch over the attackers, moats, drawbridges and various other forms of death traps to surprise trespassers and protect the nobles against peasant uprisings. The lower part of the castle's stone walls are 2.4 meters (94 inches) thick and the upper part 1.8 meters (71 inches).

Construction was started in 1499 by the Danish knight Jens Holgersen Ulfstand and stone-cutter-mason and architect Adam van Düren, a North German master who also worked on Lund Cathedral. Construction was completed in 1506.

Ulfstand was a councillor, nobleman and admiral serving under John I of Denmark and many objects have been uncovered during archeological excavations that demonstrate the extravagant lifestyle of the knight's family at Glimmingehus up until Ulfstand's death in 1523. Some of the most expensive objects for sale in Europe during this period, such as Venetian glass, painted glass from the Rhine district and Spanish ceramics have been found here. Evidence of the family's wealth can also be seen inside the stone fortress, where everyday comforts for the knight's family included hot air channels in the walls and bench seats in the window recesses. Although considered comfortable for its period, it has also been argued that Glimmingehus was an expression of "Knighthood nostalgia" and not considered opulent or progressive enough even to the knight's contemporaries and especially not to later generations of the Scanian nobility. Glimmingehus is thought to have served as a residential castle for only a few generations before being transformed into a storage facility for grain.

An order from Charles XI to the administrators of the Swedish dominion of Scania in 1676 to demolish the castle, in order to ensure that it would not fall into the hands of the Danish king during the Scanian War, could not be executed. A first attempt, in which 20 Scanian farmers were ordered to assist, proved unsuccessful. An additional force of 130 men were sent to Glimmingehus to execute the order in a second attempt. However, before they could carry out the order, a Danish-Dutch naval division arrived in Ystad, and the Swedes had to abandon the demolition attempts. Throughout the 18th century the castle was used as deposit for agricultural produce and in 1924 it was donated to the Swedish state. Today it is administered by the Swedish National Heritage Board.

On site there is a museum, medieval kitchen, shop and restaurant and coffee house. During summer time there are several guided tours daily. In local folklore, the castle is described as haunted by multiple ghosts and the tradition of storytelling inspired by the castle is continued in the summer events at the castle called "Strange stories and terrifying tales".

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