The artwork, “Ur Kalmars historia,” adorns a bridge in Småland and is inspired by artifacts from Kalmar and Öland’s ancient past.
The House That Beowulf Built
Step aboard for a photographic walking tour of Beowulf’s House and its environs on the Baltic island of Gotland.
Kalmar Rock City
Kalmar’s ancient graves lurk in the shadow of the local IKEA, the regional airport, and the E22 Motorway.
Tjelvar Was Here
A Bronze Age grave on Gotland bears the name of Tjelvar, the mystical forebear of the Gutes with hypothetical connections to Beowulf.
The Ashes of Aska
Aska is a place in Östergötland, Sweden named after the most mythologically immortal of tree species. It is also where the famous pendant of Freyja was found.
Welcome to Vendel
Vendel is renowned for the splendid artifacts found in its pre-viking graves. But the place itself receives a lot less attention.
In the Realm of Runes
Follow the viking road to the rune-filled land. Runriket, just north of Stockholm, boasts the world’s densest concentration of runestones.
Explorations on the Western Fringe of Eastern Geatland
Some historic sites found in the western fringe of Östergötland include those of the famous Röksten and the iconic pendant of Freyja.
The Danevirke of the Geats
Unlike the renowned Danevirke, the Götevirke lies across the landscape like a lifeless snake, forlorn and forgotten.
Beowulf the Gute?
A new theory by Swedish archaeologist, Bo Gräslund, about the identity of Beowulf’s Geats has spread like unfettered dragon-fire in Sweden while going almost entirely unnoticed in the Anglophone world.
Here Comes the Sun!
Nothing warms the soul like a little Eastern Geatish Bronze Age thug-life parody.
The Gods of Stockholm
Traces of the old Norse gods are very much alive in central Stockholm.
Succumb to Bram Stoker’s Swedish Dracula
Mörkrets makter is actually—at least in part—by Bram Stoker himself and was originally released in serialized format by the Stockholm newspaper, Dagen, from 1899 to 1900.
Trollywood, Sweden is the Place to be
Trollhättan: the City of Trolls. Or more aptly, the City of Troll Hats, since that’s what its name actually means. It’s a hilly, craggy place, with a mighty river running through it, and in the olden days the rocks that protruded from the riverbed reminded the locals of the headgear […]
The Folkloric Nordic Art of J.Z. Blackstadius
Good old Johan Zacharias Blackstadius; he just doesn’t get the credit that he deserves. It probably doesn’t help that his name doesn’t quite roll off the tongue with the same grace and ease of, say, a “John Bauer,” a “Gustaf Tenggren,” or a “Jenny Nyström.” Nor does it help that […]