Lund

On Friday we took the train to Lund, which is one of Sweden’s oldest cities.  In fact, we saw runestones there dating from before 1000 AD, which is when this area still belonged to Denmark (’til 1658, remember?).

Below is Lund Cathedral, which dates to about 1100 AD. and houses the tomb of the archbishop of Scandinavia, which indicates Lund’s significance in medieval times. Also below from inside the cathedral, an astronomical clock constructed in 1380.

Lund University was established in 1666, shortly after this area was won by Sweden.  The university was therefore an important project of the nation of Sweden, as one of my colleagues, Peter Dahlgren of Lund University, told us during a tour he gave us of the campus.  Lund is now the largest university in Sweden with 42,000 students. Below are the student union, the sociology building, and the library.

On Saturday, we took a tour of the Kulturen, which was truly a highlight. It’s an open air museum of more than thirty buildings that include farmhouses and well-to-do urban dwellings with period furnishings from 1000 A.D. to the 1930s. The museum also houses numerous collections.

 From the folk art part of the museum: Danish furniture + textiles = function and beauty.  From the university part of the museum: in 1666, the university names sword and scripture as key to its founding principles.

Part of the museum includes wedding garb that you can try on!

One of my favorite parts: the re-creation of a 17th century professor’s house, complete with three libraries, a beautiful dining room and a cozy room for tea. No doubt he had a wife and servants to keep that dining room and parlor tidy while he was busy with the books. I don’t think professors of either gender multitasked much back then. At least they admitted women students starting in 1880.

Allison tries out some clogs:

Here’s an early 20th century farmhouse, with pieces and toys from the 1930s.

The interior of a rural church from 1628, below.

An exterior shot and an interior of me in the book museum with early printing presses and typographic machines.

Textiles from the modern era (meaning since the 1930s)

 

 

And of course, before we left we had to look at the section on weaponry, which included skulls injured from knife and bullet wounds.

This final photo captures some of the imagined peace of the 18th century farmhouse.