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Monthly Archives: August 2010
St. Olov's Kirkoruin and the Mariakyrkan in Sigtuna, Sweden
Not far from the main street of Sigtuna, Sweden lies St. Olov’s Kirkoruin, the ruins of a 13th Century Benedictine Monastery. A cemetery, including a mausoleum, lies adjacent to the ruins. Legend says that the mausoleum was built to inter an old woman who demanded that after she was interred there, the door should be locked and the key tossed through a hole in the structure so that visitors could not enter and she could rest in peace. The Mariakyrkan, or Maria Church, is also adjacent to the ruins, cemetery, and mausoleum. It is the oldest building in Sigtuna still in use, also dating from the 13th century. Inside the church is a beautiful painting entitled “Getsemane” by Bror Hjorth (1940). Continue reading
Posted in Daily Journal
Tagged Baltic Vacation, Sigtuna
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A Visit to Sigtuna, Sweden
North of Stockholm lies the town of Sigtuna, the oldest medieval village in Sweden, founded around 790 AD. The town hall dates from 1744. Visitors are told that, at one time, the residents of Sigtuna all knew that a key to the town hall was hidden behind one of the shutters. On occasion, if someone had too much to drink and was reluctant to deal with his wife’s scolding for getting drunk, he would let himself into the town hall to sleep it off and then face his wife in the morning. Continue reading
Trí¤dgí¥rdsgatan and Stortorget in the Old Town of Stockholm, Sweden
A block to the south of Slottsbaken is Trí¤dgí¥rdsgatan (Garden Street) named after the Royal Gardens that were formerly maintained there. A small public square called Bollhustí¤ppan (Ball House Square) may be entered from Trí¤dgí¥rdsgatan where the diminutive statue of Jí¤rnpojke (“Iron Boy”) sits staring at the moon. Visitors leave coins and sweets for Jí¤rnpojke and rub his head in the belief that doing so will insure a return visit to Stockholm. A short distance away is Stortorget (The Big Square) with colorful buildings, the Stock Exchange Building, and a well. The Stock Exchange Building was built in 1773-1776 and now is home to the Swedish Academy, the Nobel Museum, and the Nobel Library. Continue reading
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Tagged Baltic Vacation, Stockholm
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Slottsbacken in the Old Town of Stockholm, Sweden
Gamla Stan is the Old Town in Stockholm, Sweden. There, on Slottsbacken (the Royal Slope), one finds the Royal Palace and the Stockholm Cathedral (St. Nicholas Church). On 19 Jun 2010, just a few weeks prior to the time these photos were taken, Crown Princess Victoria (the eldest daughter of King Carl XVI Gustav and Queen Silvia) married Daniel Westling in the Stockholm Cathedral. Continue reading
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Tagged Baltic Vacation, Stockholm
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The Vasa Museum in Stockholm, Sweden
The Vasamuseet or Vasa Museum is located on the island of Djurgí¥rden in Stolkholm, Sweden. It is home to the Vasa, a 17th century warship that sank on its maiden voyage in 1628 and was recovered after much searching on 14 Apr 1861. Remarkably, the ship remained largely intact even after over three centuries underwater, owing to the brackish nature of the water in which the ship sank. Continue reading
THe Church of the Rock in Helsinki, Finland
Temppeliaukio Kirkko or the Church of the Rock, located in Helsinki, Finland, was constructed by Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and completed in 1969. It was built inside a 40 foot tall outcrop of granite by blasting the granite from within. From the outside, the Church of the Rock is barely noticeable except for the copper dome just above the level of the rock. The church is a popular tourist attraction in Helsinki, serving as a Lutheran Church and hosting classical concerts. During the day, the interior of the church is well lit by natural light and is highlighted by copper accents and a dome of copper wire. Continue reading
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Tagged Baltic Vacation, Helsinki
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Halosenniemi – The Home of Pekka Halonen in Tuusula, Finland
Pekka Halonen (September 23, 1865 – December 1, 1933) was a painter of Finnish landscapes and people. He lived with his family in a home and studio on Lake Tuusula in Jí¤rvenpí¤í¤, Finland that he, himself, designed and named Halosenniemi. The beautiful and serene building is now a museum that includes original furnishings and Halonen’s own art on the walls. There, on the shores of Lake Tuusula where Pekka Halonen resided, an artists’ community developed and flourished, helping to develop a sense of Finnish national identity. Halosenniemi was designed with the two story studios of Paris in mind with high ceilings and tall windows in the studio and second floor living quarters accessible by a set of stairs and a balcony that overlooked the studio. Adjacent to the house, Halonen built a sauna and, in typical Finnish tradition, the sauna also served as a laundry. Halonen stated that he never painted for anyone but himself. He felt that “Art should not jar the nerves like sandpaper – it should produce a feeling of peace.” Continue reading
Ainola – The Home of Jean Sibelius in Jí¤rvenpí¤í¤, Finland
In Finland, a short drive from Helsinki lies Ainola, the home of the noted Finnish composer Jean Sibelius in Jí¤rvenpí¤í¤ on Lake Tuusula. Sibelius and his family moved into the house in 1904. During construction of Ainola, Sibelius had two requests: that his study should have a green fireplace and a view of Lake Tuusula. Sibelius’s works are widely admired and are considered to have contributed to the development of the Finnish national identity. Sibelius usually composed his works in his head, writing them down only after he had thoroughly developed them. On his 50th birthday, he received the gift of a grand piano, which he accepted with some reluctance since he did not use a piano to compose. He preferred to work in silence and so, when his five daughters were at play, they were sure to stay far enough away from the house so that their father could not hear them. Sibelius was born on 8 December 1865 and died on 20 September 1957. He and his wife Aino are buried in the garden of Ainola. In 1967, a monument to Sibelius was unveiled in Helsinki. The artist, Eila Hiltunen, created an abstract sculpture of 600 hollow steel pipes welded together. Although the objective of the artist was to capture the essence of Sibelius’s music, the sculpture was so controversial that Hiltunen was asked to create an additional sculpture of the likeness of Sibelius which was installed close to the original abstract monument. Continue reading
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Tagged Baltic Vacation, Helsinki, Järvenpää
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Around the Monplaisir Palace at Peterhof
I didn’t take any photos of the Monplaisir Palace at Peterhof, but I did take some photos in the area around Monplaisir. As with the rest of Peterhof, fountains abounded, but the grounds were dotted with interesting buildings including the gazebo shown below. The quickest way back from Peterhof to the center of St. Peterburg turned out to be by hydrofoil which, I was told, operates something like an airplane wing. As the boat gains speed, the hydrofoil generates lift which raises the boat out of the water, reducing drag, and increasing speed. Continue reading
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Tagged Baltic Vacation, St. Petersburg
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The Lower Gardens at Peterhof
As impressive as the Upper Gardens are, the Lower Gardens at Peterhof are simply breathtaking. Fountains abound, with golden figures as their focal points. From the grand palace above, water plows down the grand cascade to a fountain depicting Samson and the Lion. From there the water flows through a channel to the Gulf of Finland. Elsewhere in the Lower Gardens is a fountain showing a Triton Fighting a Sea Monster, surrounded by small turtle fountains. A remarkable feature of Peterhof is that the individual fountains are not powered by pumps. The fountains are powered by hydrostatic pressure – the difference in height between the ponds that hold the water for the fountains and the fountains themselves. Continue reading