Inside the Book: Astrid Lindgren's World
Astrid Lindgren was born and spent her childhood in the small town of Vimmerby, a two-hour drive from Stockholm. Today, the city's main attraction is the Literary Theme Park, which recreates spaces from the writer's books. There is Kathult Farm, Matisse's castle and forest, Katla's dragon's castle, Villa "Chicken", Rasmus' barn, the roofs of Stockholm, three houses from Bullerby. We spent the entire first day of our trip here: feeding real sheep, climbing and rolling off roofs, climbing walls and descending into the underground passages of castles, walking around a miniature model of Vimmerby from the time of Astrid Lindgren. And of course, we watched performances. In each of these spaces, half-hour games are played throughout the day. theatrical performances on the Swedish. For our children, the language did not become a hindrance - the actions of the actors were understandable without translation.
Oddly enough, it is the performances ( unknown stories in an incomprehensible language) became for children the most strong impression this day. At the evening summing up the results of the day, everyone said this. They were amazed by the songs and dances of the robbers, and the battle with the dragon, the "real" Ida on a real flagpole and Peppy, who easily took the audience of any age in their arms. “I was inside the book,” someone said in the evening, and the rest picked up: yes, yes, I never imagined how robbers dance! Someone liked Carlson's toilet the most - it turns out that the creators of the park thought about this too, placing the restroom in a tiny extension to the rooftop house.
About melancholy, despair and death: Astrid Lindgren's estate in Vimmerby
Next to the park is the Nas Manor, where Astrid Lindgren was born and raised. The writer's sister still lives here, but most of the estate has been turned into a museum and is open to the public. Nas was one of the most important Swedish discoveries for me. Imagine an idyllic rural life: apple orchards, century-old chestnuts (the same ones that became the prototypes of Peppy's lemonade tree), which Astrid herself climbed both in childhood and in old age. Bees in hives, hay, streams, swings and benches, quotes from books scattered throughout the park ...
Walking through a wonderful park, you notice a lonely bench in a shady corner, where there are no special "views", but there is just a stream, just a tree and just the sun in the foliage. The inscription says: this is "a bench for melancholy." It turns out that Astrid Lindgren really appreciated melancholy - a feeling of sadness and joy at the same time, caused by the transience of life. And many of her books describe this feeling.
Going a little further, you find yourself in front of a small platform painted with white paint. It looks like a bald spot in a green meadow. On this white "floor" there are five dry trunks with bare branches. This is Despair, an installation by a contemporary Swedish artist. Listed here are the books of Astrid Lindgren, whose heroes experience this feeling: “Mio, my Mio”, “Brothers Lion Heart"," Rasmus the tramp.
In the "children's" books of the writer, which are known to almost all Russian children, there is neither melancholy nor despair. But in those of her tales that are addressed to teenagers, difficult feelings appear, and difficult situations choice.
Just the other day, I finished reading “Roni, the Robber's Daughter” to the children. Recent pages the stories are dedicated to the death of one of the heroes, Bald Feather: there is also a description of the appearance of the dying person, and a home-made coffin that accompanied Per all his life, and Matisse's grief, and a detailed, literally minute-by-minute description of the very process of dying. My children, like Roni in the book, have not yet had to deal with death. I didn't know how they would react to this text. “Death is not very terrible,” summed up the youngest, Plato. Of course - after all, the great Astrid does everything right. She plunges the reader into the depths of grief and despair and then helps to get out of this depth into the light. Yes, death is grief, and there are no words of consolation. But ... "Spring always comes, regardless of whether someone died or not."
This is what Astrid Lindgren's estate tells about; tells texts, images, language contemporary art and museum exposition. Perhaps this is what attracts teenage and adult audiences here. After all, her fairy tales are not only about pranks and mischief, about a carefree childhood life with family and friends. These are also stories of growing up, becoming, searching for oneself. They say that each of us has the right to despair, hopelessness, fear. And that these feelings can be overcome. Because next to the bare trees there is a flowering meadow, and after winter, spring will certainly come. Even if someone close could not survive the winter.
train to distant country: Junibacken in Stockholm
Most Astrid Lindgren lived her life in Stockholm. Memorial plaques mark the houses in which she rented apartments, and on the "museum island" Djurgarden in the late 1990s, the children's museum of fairy tales "Junibacken" was created. It is divided into two parts: playful interactive spaces based on the famous Swedish books for children (Petson's house, Mulle Mek's plane, Peppy's wooden horse and much more) and huge decorations for the six most famous books Astrid Lindgren, past which the viewer rides in a special open trailer (by the way, it is stylized as those trains in which Astrid herself traveled to Vimmerby). This trip is accompanied by an audio recording of the tour. Her text, "Fabulous Journey from Junibacken to Nangilima," is Astrid's last writing. Published on different languages, "Fairytale trip", short guide museum, sold in the museum shop.
The trailer passes Junibacken, where Madiken and Lisabeth live, past the Katkhult farm, where the peasants of Småland sit at a huge table, soars over Stockholm and enters Carlson's house, goes down under the bed, to visit little Nils Carlson, rushes past the Bear Cave in the Matisse Forest ... And then the trailer pulls up to Nangiyala - a fairy-tale land where children go when they die. That's how it ends last story, told by Astrid Lindgren: “The dragon Katla burned Jonathan with her fiery breath, and he could no longer move at all. Look, here they are sitting there, on a rock above the abyss. Jonathan talks about another beautiful country - Nangilim. Do you remember what Sukharik did? He put his brother on his back and jumped with him into the abyss, there, into the light, into Nangilima.
Dot. The Fairy Train journey is complete. Weird ending, right? But for Astrid Lindgren, it is completely natural. Because she tells the children exactly about this: about the possibility of getting out of the most deaf dead ends, about hope, about overcoming fear.
At the very beginning of our journey, the children received work folders, on the cover of which I placed a photograph of an elderly Astrid Lindgren climbing a tree. I asked the guys: who is this? What character traits might this person have? And someone said: this is Baba Yaga, only with a good smile. I think this is the correct definition.
Read other articles by Anna Rapoport from the Traveling with Children series:
Today we have an equally important topic - we are studying the world of the works of the great Astrid Lindgren.
Astrid Lindgren became a professional writer relatively late - at the age of 38, after winning the competition of the Raben and Sjogren publishing house, in which she subsequently got a job as an editor in the children's literature department. During her creative career, Lindgren wrote about 40 works, and this is not counting picture books and collections. In the spring of 2017, Lindgren's family-owned firm Saltkrokan announced that Lindgren's works have now been translated into a hundred languages. Oriya became the 100th language: 35 million inhabitants of the Indian state of Orissa can now read about the adventures of Pippi Longstocking.
Lindgren is loved not only abroad, but also in her native Sweden, where since 2015 her portrait, along with the image of the same Pippi Longstocking, has been adorned with a 20-krona bill. Interestingly, Lindgren pushed another world-famous Swedish storyteller, Selma Lagerlöf, from the banknote.
Lindgren was loved in Sweden, and it was always mutual. The action of many key works happens right there. And to understand all the most insignificant household parts, giving the narrative additional comfort, you need to know more about this country and its structure.
Let's take three Lindgren's books extremely popular in Russia, in the narrative outline of which Sweden constantly appears: "Pippi settles in the Villa" Hen "" (1945, translated by L. Lungina 1965), "Kalle Blomkvist plays" (1946, translated by N. Gorodinsky-Wallenius 1959) and "The Kid and Carlson Who Lives on the Roof" (1955, translated by L. Lungina 1957). Of course, Lindgren has much more works that abound with typical Swedish realities, but the analysis of the entire corpus is a subject for deeper research.
In the USSR, the "pioneer" of Lindgren was the translator Lilianna Lungina. Here is how she herself tells about this in the book based on the film by Oleg Dorman “Interlinear”: “And then one day<...>I brought another portion of these meaningless beautiful books, and one cover immediately attracted attention, because it had a drawing of a flying little man with a propeller on his back and it was written: “Carlson po tucket”, which means “Carlson on the roof”. I started reading and literally from the very first page I saw that this was not just a book, that this was some kind of miracle, that this was something one could only dream of.”
It is important to note that not always described in original text is reflected in the translation. This is especially true for translations of the Soviet era, when translators sometimes did not have the opportunity to find out what this or that detail means. The world of Astrid Lindgren is full of such truly Swedish phenomena that you want to take a closer look at.
Names
Heroes Astrid Lindgren wear typically swedish names: Eva-Lotta, Anders, Kalle - short for Carl, Bettan - from Elisabeth, Bosse - on behalf of Bu, etc. Although the dreamer, who brought Astrid Lindgren real success, is called atypically - Pippi Longstocking. Strange name invented by the daughter of the writer Karin. One day she fell ill with pneumonia and asked her mother to tell the story of Pippi Longstocking. So Astrid Lindgren began to invent unusual stories- to match the name of the heroine. The first listeners were the daughter and her friends, who also really liked the red-haired girl. And in 1944, a fateful event occurred - Lindgren slipped, twisted her leg and could not walk for some time. In order not to get bored in bed, she decided to write down the accumulated stories about Pippi. Lindgren gave one copy of the text to her daughter for a decade, and sent the second to the large Bonniers publishing house. The manuscript was accompanied by a letter in which Lindgren called Pippi Longstocking the Superman and asked not to declare herself to the guardianship authorities, because her own children were well brought up and did not look like a heroine radical for that time. The publisher, however, did not see the potential of the book. But in 1945, another publishing house - "Raben and Sjogren" - undertook to publish it.
Interestingly, in Swedish main character Lindgren's name is Pippi. It is clear that Lungina could not keep the girl's name unchanged because of the clear connotations - this is probably how Pippi turned out. There are, however, later translations by Lyudmila Braude and Nina Belyakova, in which the girl is named in the Swedish manner - Pippi. French translators had a similar problem - in France the heroine is known as Fifi.
In 1946, a book was published about the adventures of thirteen-year-old Kalle Blomkvist, who was passionate about detective work. In her youth, Lindgren worked as a secretary for the famous Swedish criminologist Harri Söderman, and the knowledge she learned helped her with a detective story for children. Swedish readers liked the book so much that it was immediately filmed before the rest of Lindgren's works. Swedish even has a new word "blomkvistare" (blomkvistare) - which means "amateur detective". The writer created a Swedish - more humane - alternative to hard-boy literature popular at that time in the English-speaking world. To replace the dark rainy megacities pulp fiction a cozy Swedish town came to summer vacation. Interestingly, the world-famous detective from Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy, Mikael Blomkvist, according to the author himself, is not accidentally Kalle's namesake. In translations into different languages, Calle - just like Pippi - is called differently. In the English version, the hero is renamed Bill Bergson, and therefore the later connection with the Stieg Larsson trilogy has disappeared.
As for Carlson on the roof, he is called by his last name. What is Carlson's name - unknown. The baby's name is Svante Svanteson, but everyone calls him Lillebror - which literally means " younger brother”, - in this case, Lungina’s translation solution seems brilliant.
Lindgren's works become especially cozy largely due to the fact that their characters are constantly fiddling around in the kitchen, enjoying the aroma of almost ready food and gobbling up some buns. Swedish children do spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking with their parents. This is especially noticeable on the eve of important holidays. The main holiday of the year, Christmas, is associated with the special concept of "julbak" - Christmas baking. All family members gather in the kitchen to prepare gingerbread cookies, saffron buns and homemade toffees - after all, there should be enough until the very New Year. So Pippi Longstocking bakes gingerbread cookies in the form of hearts (translated as cakes), which are usually made with a small hole: then they thread it through satin ribbon and hang cookies on the Christmas tree.
When it comes to Astrid Lindgren, the first thing that comes to mind is the cinnamon rolls and meatballs from Carlson, familiar to us thanks to Ikea. There is no dish more reminiscent of the Swedes of home than meatballs (or meatballs): they are usually eaten with boiled potatoes and lingonberry jam. The favorite delicacy of the Swedes is a cinnamon bun. According to statistics, the Swede eats about 200 pieces annually. This is facilitated by the main Swedish tradition, which is called fika (fika). The Swedes gather several times a day to drink coffee, eat a bun and talk heart to heart. The Kid's family sits down on a traditional fika by the fireplace every evening - and this favorite time boy. Fika is also arranged in the baker's garden after a circus performance prepared by Kalle Blomkvist and his friends. Pippi Longstocking also treats Annika and Tommy to coffee and buns on her terrace. Interestingly, coffee in Sweden is tasted in quite early age, so Lindgren's underage heroes take an active part in the fic. Coffee can be served not only with a cinnamon roll, but also with some other dessert. For example, Eva-Lotta's mother had sweet pie sockerkaka, which is also eaten with pleasure at Carlson. Traditionally in Sweden, this is a biscuit cake with a hole in the middle, to which cardamom, vanilla sugar or lemon zest can be added. It is interesting that Ikea has a series of products for baking, which just bears the name of this sweet cupcake, only in Russian it suffered the fate of the name Pippi: one letter was changed in the name, and it turned out “sokkertaka”.
The Swedes pay great attention proper nutrition. For example, Toddler's mother does not want him to eat a lot of sugar and slips him for dinner, much to his displeasure. cauliflower. But still, the children in Lindgren's works constantly eat candy. Now in Sweden there is a tradition of lördagsgodis - Shabbat sweets, but this was not always the case. It wasn't until the 1950s that the Swedes decided to give their children candy once a week, on Saturdays. In many families, this has become a real ritual: to lazily wake up on a day off and go to a candy store, where you can weigh a bag with all sorts of varieties by weight - this type of candy is called lösgodis. Then the doctors came to the conclusion that to reduce the risk of caries, it is better to eat a lot of sweets once a week than a little every day. But when Lindgren wrote her works, this was not yet known, and the happy characters eat sweets almost without hindrance. Especially popular in Lindgren's books are caramels (karameller), raspberry marmalades (geléhallon) and special toffees (kola). There are also boat-shaped liquorice sweets (lakritsbåtar) and chocolate cigarettes (chokladcigaretter), which have been banned in some European Union countries since the early 2000s to discourage smoking. For dessert, in Sweden they like to eat fruktsoppa - berry or fruit jelly, which is poured into a plate and eaten with a spoon (in translation - "compote"). It is him that the Kid eats up before running to Carlson. Pippi claims that more than anything else she loves rabarberkräm - rhubarb jelly, and only then the police.
Swedes spend a lot of time in nature, so picnics and barbeques are common. All thanks to the allemansrätten law, according to which the Swedes have the right to be in nature without any restrictions (but not very close to private property). For a Swede to spend the whole day indoors without going outside is nonsense. The nearby park or forest is a natural extension of the living room. What certainly unites the Russians with the Swedes is the love of picking berries and mushrooms. So Peppy and his friends go on a hike. In the forest, she cooks a traditional dish called flaskpankaka (fläskpannkaka), which literally translates as “pork pancake” (translated as pork and pancakes), over a fire. In reality, this dish is more like a pie or a casserole with meat.
Traditions and social structure
Many remember the birthday celebration scene from The Kid and Carlson, thanks in part to Carlson's catchphrase that "eight cakes with one candle" are better than the other way around. In Sweden, the celebration of birthdays does not have a Russian scope, although many families nevertheless have a tradition of "birthday tray". In the morning, all relatives prepare a festive breakfast, put it on a tray along with a lit candle (the main element of Swedish comfort) and go to wake up the birthday boy, taking gifts in advance. They sing a festive song, which is not performed to the tune of “Happy birthday”, - the Swedes have their own special “Ja må du leva” (“Long live ...”), ending with the obligatory four-time “Hurrah!”.
In one of the chapters, the mother of the Kid is not at home, she left a note that she had gone to the laundry to do the laundry (tvättstugan). Indeed, until now, many apartments in large Swedish cities do not have their own washing machine, more often it is replaced by a common laundry room in the basement of a building - a situation that is not unique to Sweden. In the laundry, as a rule, a schedule hangs - the washing time must be booked in advance. Rules of common use - an inexhaustible storehouse of conflicts that flare up between neighbors in wall announcements. In Sweden, humorous collections with these announcements are even published. You can find pearls that have nothing to do with washing: “Who hammers nails on Christmas Eve? What's wrong with your head?"
Putting things in order is busy not only the Kid's mother, but also Peppy: at the very beginning of the first book, she starts fredagsstädning (fredagsstädning) - Friday cleaning. Indeed, in Sweden there was a tradition to clean the house or workplace before the weekend. The Swedes have a special attitude to Friday: fredagsmys is widely known - the tradition of Friday coziness, when in the evening you can sit comfortably with your family on the couch, light a floor lamp, turn on your favorite movie and watch it with chips or hot cake. As an alternative, there is a tradition of fredagspub - a Friday trip to the pub with friends or colleagues.
Cleaning is also associated with the holidays that Pippi remembers - Skurlov. It used to be called autumn vacation, because it was supposed that this time should have been devoted to harvesting and picking potatoes. Then the holidays became simply autumn, and in 2016 the Minister of Education Gustav Fridolin proposed to rename them to reading holidays. Politicians hope that such a rebrand will increase the interest of children and young people in books. Their hopes are not accidental: at the end of February - beginning of March in Sweden they go on "sports holidays", and many really go to ride in the mountains or go in for other sports. Swedish schoolchildren also have a rest at Easter and Christmas, but the main holidays are, of course, summer ones, although in Sweden they are shorter than in Russia: academic year ends in mid-June and starts in mid-August. On the last day of school before the start of the cherished holidays, Swedish schoolchildren will certainly sing "Ida's Summer Song", the text of which was written by Astrid Lindgren.
When Pippi goes to school, she cannot understand in any way that the teacher cannot be addressed as “you”, but you need to say “freken”. Here Lindgren acted as a harbinger of future reforms. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the so-called du-reformen took place in Sweden, after which the appeal to “you” became neutral: now in Swedish schools, teachers are addressed to “you” and by name. In kindergartens, the address "freken" has been preserved, but this is because it is often difficult for young children to remember the name of the teacher (especially if there are several of them). That is, in preschool institutions children speak exactly the same way as Pippi in the book: “du, fröken” - “fröken” and “you”. And this is how they treat both educators and male employees.
For Pippi Longstocking, an orphan, the police come to take her to an orphanage. Fru Appelgren threatens to turn Kalle Blomkvist and his friends into a house of correction. Indeed, in the 1930s-1980s, quite a lot of Swedish children were in orphanages. However, thanks to a series of reforms, there are no orphanages as such in Sweden now. There are so-called "family homes", that is, families that become adopted for a child for a while or permanently for a fee, as well as a system of adoption of children. Astrid Lindgren herself had to use the services of such a “family home”, only in Denmark, where the writer’s son Lars, born out of wedlock, spent the first years of his life: in the 1920s it was impossible to become a mother out of wedlock. The father of the unborn child was married (albeit in the process of divorce), it was impossible to give out his name, and when giving birth in Sweden, information about both parents was required. In Denmark, this was not required, and Lindgren went to Copenhagen to give birth without much fuss. Then she was not yet a famous writer, rented a modest apartment for a couple with a friend, suffered from poverty and loneliness. Lindgren could not immediately take her son with her to Stockholm and left him with her foster mother, to whom she kept gratitude until the end of her life. The writer took her son away only when the boy was three years old.
Another interesting aspect of the social structure of Astrid Lindgren's time can be seen in a minor detail of the Blumqvist Calle. One article in the newspaper that Kalle brings at Uncle Einar's request is called "Why are taxes going up?" ("Varför så höga skatter?"). Obviously, this question was of interest to Astrid Lindgren back in 1946, when the book was published, but the writer openly opposed the tax system later - in 1976. At that time, Lindgren's famous feuilleton Pomperipossa in Monismania, written in the form of a fairy tale, was published in the Expressen newspaper. Pomperipossa - famous fairy tale character, like Baba Yaga, and the country of Monismania is taken from a dystopian film directed by Kenne Fant about a state with a one-party totalitarian regime. In a feuilleton, Astrid Lindgren is indignant that, according to Swedish law, she is forced to pay 102% of taxes. The publication was followed by a public discussion, during which the Minister of Finance accused Lindgren of not being able to count, and called for a return to writing fairy tales. Lindgren retorted that the Minister of Finance was taking away her bread, since he himself did not stop telling fairy tales. Since the 1970s, Lindgren has often performed at various public significant topics. So, she was against disciplinary assault on children, and many associate the introduction legal prohibition in 1979, including with its activities. In addition, in the 1980s, Lindgren began an animal rights campaign with veterinarian Christina Forslund. In 1987, Prime Minister Ingvar Karlsson even presented the writer with a bill for her jubilee (which, however, fell short of Lindgren's expectations). In 1990, a book was published - an expanded and revised collection of articles by Lindgren and Forslund on the topic - called "My cow wants to have fun" ("Min ko vill ha roligt").
Games and toys
Games occupied important place in Lindgren's life. The famous Swedish Christina Björk, author of one of the world's most popular picture books, Linnaeus in the Artist's Garden, dedicated another picture book to Lindgren's childhood. The leitmotif in the book is a quote from the writer - "It's a real miracle that we didn't play to death in childhood!". The endless amusements described in Lindgren's books are borrowed from her childhood memories. In particular, Björk describes the game "Don't step on the floor", which little Astrid loved to play with her older brother and two younger sisters. It was necessary to move around the furniture in the room and not step on the floor: they jumped from the bureau to the desk, from the table to the bed, and so on. Pippi Longstocking is playing exactly the same game in her kitchen with Tommy and Annika.
At the time of Astrid Lindgren, miniatures were popular in Sweden. steam engines. With such a toy, the Kid with Carlson, as well as Pippi, amuse themselves. In 1974, there was even a song by Pierre Isaksson about steam engines called “Let me go down to the basement.” The hit managed to take the first line of the national hit parade.
Geography
Blumqvist's Calle is set in the fictional city of Lillköping. Its name is typically Swedish. The "-köping" part is related in meaning to the verb att köpa - "to buy". That is, the cities, in the name of which there is a component “-köping”, were places with fairs or a market: take at least Jönköping, Linköping or Norrköping. Lindgren herself grew up on the Naes farm near the town of Vimmerby, which served as the prototype for the fictional town of Bullerby, which now houses an amusement park based on the works of the writer. The “-byu” component in the toponym is also not accidental and means “village”.
Storgatan (Sturgatan) - Big street - appears in both "Pippi" and "Kalle". This is the name of the main shopping street in almost all Swedish cities. Thanks to this toponym, the fictional cities of Astrid Lindgren become even more “average”. Lindgren herself lived for 60 years on another street in Stockholm - on Dalagatan, 46, where her museum-apartment has been operating since 2015. The writer's family has kept everything unchanged: here you can see the typewriter, books that Lindgren read, and even the carpet by the bed, worn in the places where the writer put her feet every morning. A visit must be booked in advance, there are excursions in different languages, including Russian. It was in this apartment that the writer died at the age of 94.
After her death, the Swedish government established the world's premier children's literature award (something like the Nobel equivalent) in memory of Astrid Lindgren. 12 jury members - experts in the field of children's literature - annually award a prize of 5 million Swedish kronor (about 35 million rubles). Choose best work For children, it is not an easy task. Astrid Lindgren herself was once asked what a children's book should be, and she replied: “I assure you, I have thought about this question for a long time, but I can’t find another answer: it should be good.”
Three more places in Sweden for fans of Astrid Lindgren
1. Junibacken. Museum on Djurgården Island in Stockholm. The writer was directly involved in its creation, advising stage designer Marit Törnqvist. The pearl of the museum is the train of fairy tales, which takes visitors through the scenes of the main works of the writer. Lindgren herself wrote the ten-minute accompanying text, which, according to Törnqvist, took several weeks to complete. The name of the museum is not accidental - that was the name of the farm where Madiken, one of Lindgren's heroines, lived.
2. Farm Nes. House in the historic province of Småland where Astrid Lindgren was born. Lindgren herself restored the interior and brought it closer to the original. You can take a walk in the orchards, as well as see the permanent exhibition dedicated to Lindgren, or a temporary exhibition.
3. Grave of Astrid Lindgren. The writer is buried in the cemetery in Vimmerby along with her parents. On the grave lies a small stone with Lindgren's autograph, and next to it stands mailbox. During her lifetime, the writer was very fond of corresponding: with close people, colleagues and readers. The royal archives contain about 75 thousand of her letters. New ones are born epistolary novels based on her correspondence. After Lindgren's death, fans brought all the new letters to the grave, and so that the wind would not carry them throughout the cemetery, a mailbox was installed nearby.
World of Astrid Lindgren is a park located five kilometers from Astrid Lindgren's hometown of Vimmerby, Sweden. On its 130,000 m2 you can meet famous characters from her works. All activities are based on the descriptions given in the books and give children the opportunity to immerse themselves in the beloved worlds of Pippi Longstocking, Emil from Lönneberga, Carlson who lives on the roof and many other favorite characters of the Swedish writer.
It was here that the famous Swedish storyteller was born and raised. “I don’t want to write for adults,” said Astrid Lindgren, and until the end of her life she was faithful to this creed. The writer fully shared the great French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery that all people come from childhood. The theme park "The World of Astrid Lindgren" for the little people and for all those who have childhood alive in their souls. The park is huge. It is located on an area of 8 hectares. It is divided into several zones. All of them are located around a single center - a large circular street. This can be seen on the map:
World of Astrid Lindgren is open from May until the first weekend in November. During the summer season, performances continue all day long. It all starts with a small scene at the entrance to the park and continues with the main stage shows with music, singing and dancing. But what is most appreciated by visitors is meeting their favorite characters who communicate with children in both Swedish and English.
The gem of the park is a miniature model of some of the main streets of Vimmerbrü from the writer's childhood. All play houses are slightly larger than a child. The windows open, you can go into every house, in almost every house you can see a scene from your favorite fairy tales. Small benches, lanterns, small squares, alleys... Children's world, the world of childhood.
And you can also visit the world of giants and feel very, very small.
Visit the cave where the pirates hid the stolen treasures...
Or in a castle...
Or find a real secret underground passage! If you see this house, there inside, in the closet, there is a secret descent down into the tunnel that runs under the castle wall and goes straight into the forest.
In addition, there are other places in the park for the characters of Astrid Lindgren's works: Carlson's house, Rasmus's shed, the tramp, Villa "Chicken" (Pippi's house) and many others. Indeed, during her creative career, more than eighty works came out from under the pen of the storyteller. Each of them is a masterpiece in its own way.
There are many attractions in the park, but these are not the usual roller coasters, tea pairs. This is a huge slide that you can explore (by the way, it takes children about half an hour to do this), various corridors, different passages, here you can walk with Carlson on the roofs ... In the park you can visit a real ferry across the pond. Children can independently or with the help of a parent pull a rope and swim across a wooden raft from one side of the stream to the other. There is also a mini-zoo where animals living in this area of Sweden live.
This park is a real theatre. And not only on stages (and there are many of them in the park). Performances take place every minute. Actors get used to the role, improvise. For children, it is happiness to touch familiar and beloved characters. And when they start playing and talking with them... The star of the park is Pippi Longstocking. A real little anarchist entertains children, puts on a real show. “The work is very hard. We perform both in rain and heat, 8 hours a day. But it's a real pleasure to work in such a wonderful team,” says Lasso Johnson, who plays the role of the elderly bandit Per the Coot from the fairy tale “Ronya, the robber's daughter”.
The park deliberately tries to avoid commercialization. As in any theme park, there are places to eat here. The food here is all homemade, prepared on the spot, not frozen. The organizers of the park are scrupulous about children's food. There are 12 different cafes on the territory of the park: snack bars, ice cream, and almost restaurants. Mostly they are located near the entrance to the park. “We offer ice cream of the most best brands and Pepsi, but the labels can only be seen in the fridges and freezers, everything is sold in our own containers,” says Nils-Magnus Angantyr, Chief Trade Manager of the park. “A few years ago we decided not to sell hamburgers in the park. We keep selling sausages, but only because Emil, Pippi and all the other kids love them.” In addition, everywhere in the park there are stalls with sweets and other little things - the goodies of life.
A visit to the park is not the whole part of the program. You can walk along the streets of Vimmerby itself and be surprised to learn that the wonderful town has not changed much over the century, and those houses that are presented in the park still stand today. Walking along the streets, you can stop by for a cup of coffee and a portion of homemade meatballs with lingonberry sauce in one of the coziest local cafes. If you wish, you can also visit the Astrid Lingren Museum in the town, which, unlike the park, is open all year round.
The Astrid Lindgren Museum in Stockholm is located on the island of Djurgården. It is in the very center of the Swedish capital. It's called Unibakken. But this museum is completely different from what we are used to. There are no dignified shelves with exhibits, there are no inscriptions “do not run” and “do not touch with your hands”. Children's museums in Sweden, and especially Junibacken, are completely different. They are more like entertainment centers. It's all about making the kids have fun. Children can run, jump, have fun and grab everything with their hands as much as they want. This is what the author wanted. Therefore, Junibacken is dedicated not only to Astrid Lindgren. But let's talk about this in more detail.
Astrid Lindgren Museum in Stockholm: how to get there
There is a lot of greenery on the island of Djurgården. There are several museums here - for example, Vasa, dedicated to ships, and the exposition of the northern countries, where there is a real shamanic drum. All of them are located in a green area called Galerparken. Most visitors get to children's museum on foot. After all, most often tourists come there who walk around the center of Stockholm. Once on the island, turn right. And there you can easily find the Astrid Lindgren Museum by numerous signs.
Books famous writer became the main theme of an interesting exposition. In addition, in front of the entrance is her monument. City transport stops near the island, as well as tourist buses. And on the island itself you can sail to the island by boat (river tram). The museum is open all year round. It is open from ten in the morning until five in the evening. In July, when the white nights come, the exposition is extended until six in the afternoon.
Where fairy tales live
The Astrid Lindgren Museum in Stockholm was opened in 1996. More than four hundred thousand people come here every year. The museum is a real square with street lamps but unusual houses. The heroes of author's fairy tales live there. But not only the characters of Astrid Lindgren have a place there. There are Mummy trolls, and Carlson, and Pippi Longstocking, and other heroes of stories created by Swedish and Scandinavian fairy tale writers, for example, Jack of all trades, the talking kitten Findus, and many others. Children can go into any house and get to know all the characters, if, of course, they are at home. They are not forbidden to cook in the kitchen of Mummy-mother. And here they offer little visitors to ride slides, sit on a fairy-tale throne, fly an airplane and ride a Mulle Mek scooter. Here, children often read books themselves, look at illustrations for them, made the best artists, and are a little distracted from Internet games.
Train
Of course, children do not come to this museum alone, but with their parents. And if they already know all the fairy tales by heart or visited the Astrid Lindgren Museum in Stockholm a long time ago, when they themselves were kids, then they help their offspring by taking a queue for a special train for them. He is also fabulous. This train is considered the most interesting museum attraction. His trailers give you the opportunity to travel in real world, created Swedish writer. They ride up, down and turn so that little passengers can experience different scenes from books. They are made from drawings. famous artist, who was a friend of Astrid Lindgren and illustrated her fairy tales. But be aware that photography is not allowed here. During the trip, the guide reveals secrets fairyland. He speaks twelve different languages, including Russian.
Peppy Longstocking's House
After the train tour, the Astrid Lindgren Museum in Stockholm offers another interesting place for children. This is the Chicken Villa. it famous house where Pippi Longstocking lives. There they can ride horses with capital letter. After all, that's her name. The horse is the embodiment of Pippi's dream. This girl has amazing physical force, and when she drinks coffee in the garden, she carries the animal with her. The horse lives on the terrace. There is also a theater in the house called "Unibakken". Here the actors present different fairy tales and history.
Exhibitions, shops and restaurant
The Junibacken Museum, like all institutions of this kind, has many additional interesting places. These are exhibitions. Unlike the permanent exhibition, they change and, as a rule, are playful. The restaurant, where parents and children have a snack after a busy excursion, looks like a traveling circus. In addition, they serve an excellent raspberry drink and delicious homemade buns. And from here it opens amazing view to Stockholm and its canals. And what can visitors take away from a place like the Astrid Lindgren Museum? Books by the writer, of course, but there are also toys, various souvenirs, films, posters.
Astrid Lindgren Museum in Stockholm: Hours, Address, Astrid Lindgren Museum Reviews: 4.5/5
People who come to Sweden with children often come here. Many tourists, including from Russia, who visited Unibakken, write that it has one and only drawback. Those are huge queues. And the Swedish mentality is such that you can not take a seat. If for some reason you had to move away, you must again stand at the end. But in all other aspects, this museum is, according to visitors, just a fabulous paradise for children. Here, adults can plunge headlong into the world of Scandinavian fantasy. But they become a little sad, because they understand that you can’t return childhood. And the kids are just happy here. It is very difficult for mothers to take their child away from here after excursions. Children are ready to spend the whole day here and are completely delighted. The park around the museum is also very beautiful, especially in summer. flowering trees, bushes,
Stockholm always wants to be called a city of blue bloods. The first thing that attracts to the Swedish capital is real Swedish sophistication and aristocracy. Stockholm is a city where you always want to return. And when you arrive again, you realize that this city is not familiar to you at all.
In the local channels, the waters of the Baltic and Lake Mälaren mixed. And on the streets of this northern city there are almost no cars and people. Many people associate Stockholm with order and organization. It's also extremely clean. Therefore, it seems that Stockholm is still quite young. And only the roofs of churches that have turned green from time to time remind of the age of the Swedish capital. And the history of Stockholm began in the distant thirteenth century. On a small island, the city of Gamla Stan grew up. Now it is also called simply the old city. This is exactly the area that tourists usually like so much.
As in many European capitals, tourists here like to walk along the narrow streets. And you can pass the time in numerous shops and restaurants. In Gamla Stan is the residence of the Swedish king Carl VI Gustov. By the way, everyone can see the monarch, he takes part in the changing of the guard ceremony. And you can even visit the royal apartments on any day. The palace, although it serves as the working residence of the king, is always open to tourists. Stockholm is spread over fourteen islands. Therefore, there are so many bridges, dozens of yachts and boats moored along the coast. And they look no less organic here than parking lots. It is said that there is one watercraft for every seven Swedes. Crossing the next bridge, we find ourselves in another part of the city on the knight's city. Here we see a monument to the real knight Birger Jarl. He keeps the Swedish monarchs calm. The Swedes love their monarchs very much.
Walking around Stockholm you can collect good collection photographs of slightly greenish Swedish kings. Let's say right away - it is simply impossible to visit all the islands of Stockholm in one trip. But the Swedes figured out how to alleviate the fate of confused tourists. For example, on one island they have collected diverse and extraordinary museums. Once Djurgerden was known for its forests, where monarchs especially loved to hunt. And now tourists hunt here, however, not for animals, but for adventure. One hunting trail leads to the Skansen open-air museum, the other to the Grena Lumb amusement park. And the third to the museum with a single exhibit. But what! Nowhere else in the world can you find such a well-preserved ship of the seventeenth century. Everything has been preserved here: from the sculptures that adorned the ships to the personal belongings of sailors. It is interesting that this ship did not make a single trip. He drowned as soon as he left the port. This galleon was supposed to become the greatness of the Swedish empire, but due to an error in the calculations of the ballast, he went to the bottom in front of hundreds of people. The ship was raised to the surface only after three hundred years. If you come to Stockholm with your children, then believe me, they will not be bored. There are a lot of activities for children here. For example, Unibakken - Magic world fairy tales by Astrid Lindgren. Carlson, Pepe settled here long stocking and many other heroes of Astrid Lindgren and other Swedish writers. This is what the writer wanted. Astrid Lindgren personally took part in the creation of Junibacken. Therefore, all the characters are here, such as she imagined them. Many children come here especially to watch the performances. Every day new surprises await the kids. Here and the house of Pepe Longstocking. Astrid Lindgren named him Willa Chicken. Here you can run, jump and have fun. Unibakken - the only place in a world where children can do everything they are not allowed to do at home. Astrid Lindgren was the most famous advocate for children. Thanks to her, Sweden became the first country in the world to legally prohibit any kind of violence against children. And in Junibacken, fairy tales really come to life. you just have to get on the train and go on a fantastic journey.
How not to get hungry after such impressions? In a fabulous restaurant, everything is just for children.
Every year in Stockholm they give nobel prize. The solemn ceremony will be held in a luxurious concert hall. And the banquet takes place in the blue hall of the Stockholm City Hall. The town hall itself was built not so long ago, less than a hundred years ago.
