Skansen

Open Air Museum in Stockholm

Visit Skansen, the Open-Air Museum in Stockholm.

Skansen is a Sweden in miniature where you show how people lived and worked in different parts of Sweden through different times. Here are houses, animals, plants and of course people in contemporary clothes who show off crafts. You could say that it is a single large outdoor museum with a zoo.

Open: All year around

Sing-along at Skansen: Wait for dates for year 2024. Starts in the end om June to mid August.
Christmas at Skansen: End november - Beginning Jan

See opening hours at Skansen

Boka Entré till Skansen hela året om

Entrance to Skansen

Visit Skansen this summer. There is a lot to see here for the whole family. How about animals, old nice houses, the Skansen train, Skansen's car lane or what about children's theater all summer at Lillskansen Theater and much much more

Season: all year around

Skansen Open-air museum

Before Skansen was built, at the beginning of the 19th century, only mountains and pine forests were on the site where Skansen is today. It was the wholesaler and shipowner John Burgman who built a summer pavilion on the mountain. He also planted several different trees that remain today. Skansen was called the summer house. The buildings Röda långan and Gula huset were also on site at this time.

When did Skansen open?
The fort was inaugurated on October 11, 1891. Christian Hammer, the goldsmith and great collector, sold the area to Artur Hazelius..

Who started Skansen?
It was Stockholm-born folklore researcher Artur Hazelius who founded Skansen in 1891. Skansen is thus the world's oldest open-air museum. King Charles XIV Johan had built a fort here before and therefore it became the name Skansen. After various expansions over the years, today Skansen is over 30 ha in size.

At Skansen, they wanted real houses from all corners of Sweden, so cultural-historical buildings were moved from the country into Skansen. Here are houses from the 18th and 19th centuries and also as old as from the 15th century. Skansen's oldest building is Vastveitloftet, which in itself comes from Norway and dates from the 14th century. But when it was moved here in 1901, Sweden and Norway were in union with each other..

People were also important and at first life-size dolls were placed to populate the houses. But today it is "real" people in contemporary clothes who represent the living and working population. It's not so stupid because then you can also talk to them and ask questions about how it was before.

Skansen. Källa: Youtube.

The zoo
Skansen is Stockholm's only zoo. The focus is on both wild and domestic Nordic animals, but there are also more exotic animals here. Most animals live in their enclosures, but there are also free-living animals such as hares, squirrels and birds.

Among the domestic animals you will find reindeer, lowland cattle (cows), goats, sheep, chickens and the beautiful Ardennes horses. The Ardennes horse was common on Swedish farms before the tractor made its entrance. The horse has a coarser physique than ordinary horses and is incredibly strong and willing to work. Among the wild Nordic animals you will find wolves, bears, wolverines, lynx, moose, foxes and wild boars and more. In 2012, a Lill-Skansen also opened for the children who can get to know the animals there.

Skansen
Address: Main Entrance at Djurgårdsvägen, Djurgården, Stockholm

A selection of everything there is to experience at Skansen

Vilda djur på Skansen

Wild animals

In the park you can see the bison, brown bear, elk, mountain wolf, wild boar, wolf, otter, reindeer, peacock, lynx, harbor seal, wolverine, guereza and a few more. For those of you who want to see several different wild animals in a park.

Lilla Skansens djur

Small Skansen's animals

Do you want to see viper, rabbit, cat, mini pig, snake, dwarf mouse, sand lizard and some other animals, you have come to the right place.

Exotic Animals at Skansen

Skansen-The aquarium

Welcome to the exotic part of the park. How about crocodiles, fish, monkeys, parrots and frogs etc. In their large pond you can pet coats or how about hugging a snake. This part of the park is much appreciated by the children. In their shop you can buy a stuffed animal to take home.

Mountain Railway at Skansen Stockholm

Skansen Mountain railway

At Skansen is Mountain railway. You can ride the track for about 200 meters on Skansberget. The track was built as early as 1897 and closed for several years from 1959. After an upgrade, the track reopened in 1973.

Baltic Sea Science Center Skansen

Baltic Sea Science Center

Here you can experience the Baltic Sea from several different angles. There are exhibitions, labs, several different aquariums to see what is happening in the Baltic Sea.

Living History at Skansen

Living history

Skansen offers an environment from ancient times. Most of the houses on site have been moved from all corners of Sweden. You will find environments from the 18th century up to our time. Absolutely amazing to see how they lived in the past and understand how good we are today.

Map - Skansen
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