Page 139 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Sweden

EASTERN SVEALAND  137

In the 10th century, the town
was abandoned in favour of
Sigtuna, on the nearby mainland.
Today, Björkö is a green
island with meadows and
juniper-covered slopes. It has
a fascinating museum and
ongoing archaeological digs.
The museum shows how
Birka would have looked in its
heyday, along with some of the
finds. Visitors can also share in Neat wooden houses lining the harbour canal in Trosa
the day’s discoveries when digs
are in progress. of veteran vehicles from Scania’s e Trosa
In summer, services are held 100-year production history. Södermanland. * 5,500. £ to
in the Ansgar Chapel. There is Tom Tits Experiment is a Vagnhärad or Södertälje, then bus.
a harbour, restaurant, and good science centre with many fun n Rådstugan Torget, 0156-522 22.
places to swim. activities, both indoors and  ( Trosa Market (2nd Sat in Jun).
outdoors, for kids of all ages. ∑ trosa.com
E Torekällbergets museet Known as the end of the World,
Tel 08-523 014 22. Open daily. - 0 idyllic Trosa is something of a
geographical dead end if you
E Marcus Wallenberg-hallen are not venturing into the
Tel 08-553 825 00. wonderful Trosa archipelago
Open call ahead for details.
beyond. It was burned to the
E Tom Tits Experiment ground by the Russians in 1719,
Storgatan 33. Tel 08-550 225 00. although the church dating
Testing the laws of nature at Tom Tits Open 10am–5pm Wed–Fri (to 6pm from 1711 was spared. Pretty
Experiment, Södertälje Sat & Sun). Closed 1 Jan, 23–26 Dec groups of red wooden buildings
& 31 Dec. & - 0 = 7 can be found mainly in Kåkstan,
q Södertälje ∑ tomtit.se where Garvaregården is an arts
and crafts museum. The main
Stockholms län. * 92,000. k £ 
n Saltsjögatan 1, 08-523 010 00. w Ytterjärna square, with its miniature town
∑ sodertalje.nu hall and market, is a focal point
Stockholms län. £ to Järna, then for the town.
Good communications are the bus. n Kulturhuset, 08-554 302 00. Nearby, Tullgarns Slott was
key to the economic success of Open 10am–5pm daily. Closed public the favourite summer residence
Södertälje, one of Sweden’s holidays. 8 - 0 7 of Gustav V (1858–1950). The
oldest cities. In the 9th century, beautiful 18th-century palace
a rise in land levels rendered the Since the 1960s, Ytterjärna has has magnificent interiors and
sound between the Baltic Sea become the centre for Swedish English-style gardens.
and Lake Mälaren unnavigable anthroposophists, followers of
and so Tälje became a reloading the teachings of Austrian philos- + Tullgarns Slott
point. The small town flourished opher Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925). On E4, 10 km (6 miles) north of Trosa.
in the Middle Ages but fires, war Anthroposophists focus on the Tel 08-551 720 11. Open May: 11am–
and plague almost eradicated it development of the whole 3:30pm Sat; Jun–Aug: 11am–4:30pm
in the 17th and 18th centuries. human being, particularly in the Tue–Sun; Sep: 11am–3:30pm Sat &
Fortunes improved with the fields of art, music, farming and Sun. & 8
construction of the canal in medicine. There are a
1819, and with the arrival of the number of Steiner
railway in 1860 indus trialization organizations here,
took off. The town grew quickly. including schools, the
Today, major companies such as Vidarkliniken hospital,
vehicle-maker Scania and biodynamic farms and
pharmaceuticals giant Astra market gardens.
Zeneca form the basis of a Kulturhuset is renowned
booming commercial life. as a centre for art, music
Södertälje’s history is the focus and theatre, and for the
of Torekällbergets museet, an building’s audacious
open-air museum with animals, design by architect Erik
historic buildings and a craft Asmussen, with its inter-
quarter. Marcus Wallenberg- twined dialogue of Kulturhuset by Erik Asmussen, in the
hallen contains a large collection colour and shape. anthroposophists’ Ytterjärna

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