A thrilling day out
Named for the old royal hunting grounds, the island of Djurgården (Animal Park) is one of Sweden’s most popular recreation centres with over 10 million visitors each year. Among the attractions are historical buildings, museums, the wildly popular Gröna Lund amusement park, scenic harbours and lush forests—in short, a whole range of highlights that suit all ages and interests.
A popular museum located on Djurgården is the Vasa Museum (Vasamuseet), showcasing one of the best-preserved 17th century ships ever salvaged. The Swedish warship Vasa, one of most heavily armed and ornamented of its time, sank on its maiden voyage in 1628 and was recovered mostly intact from the Stockholm Harbour in 1961. It is now one of Stockholm‘s most popular attractions.
The museum also has exhibits on the history of Sweden in the 17th century, providing some background information for why the ship was built, in addition to a film (in multiple languages) about the ship’s recovery and restoration efforts.
Also located on Djurgården is Skansen, the oldest open-air museum in the world. Here you can learn about traditional crafts, like glass blowing or silversmithing, at the 19th century replica village. Skansen also has a zoo that exhibits typical Scandinavian animals as well as a few exotic species.
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