World Travel Guide

City Guide  - Stockholm  - Culture
Culture

Stockholm was European capital of culture in 1998 and the buzz still lingers. The Modern Museum on Skeppsholmen, designed by Rafael Moneo, is a controversial memento to the year. Tickets to cultural events may be booked from the central ticketing agency Biljett Direkt (tel: (0771) 70 70 70; website: www.torget.se/biljett_direkt).

Music: The blue stuccoed Konserthuset in Hötorget (tel: (08) 102 110), houses the world-class Swedish Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, host to guest conductors such as Andrew Davis and Paavo Järvi. The Royal Palace Music Festival and Stockholm Sinfonietta Riddarhus Festival bring packed concert programmes annually to splendid venues in the Old Town, while the lovely antique Drottningholm Court Theatre (tel: (08) 665 1400) hosts summer opera and ballet seasons. Online information (website: www.musikfestivaler.se) is available for Swedish music festivals.

Theatre: The Dramaten, Nybroplan (tel: (08) 667 0680), is Sweden's highly respected national theatre; the Orionteatern, Katarina Bangata 77 (tel: (08) 643 88 80), is also part of the established scene. The Stadsteatern, in the Kulturhuset at Sergels Torg (tel: (08) 50 62 02 00), has more radical productions and is far cheaper, while Teater Galeasen, at Slupskjulsvägen on Skeppsholmen (tel: (08) 611 0030) is at the cutting edge of contemporary theatre.

Dance: The Dansens Hus, Barnhusgatan 12-14 (tel: (08) 796 4910), was set up in the 1990s as Sweden's foremost dance venue. Birgit Cullberg, the leading Swedish director/choreographer, frequently stages productions there: her Cullbergsbaletten ensemble is the country's foremost. The Royal Swedish Ballet, founded in 1773, is one of the oldest companies in the world: it is based at the Royal Swedish Opera on Strömgatan (tel: (08) 248 240). Moderna Dansteatern, 103 Slupskjulsvägen on Skeppsholmen (tel: (08) 611 1456), hosts more impromptu, innovative performances.

Film: The Stockholm International Film Festival (website: www.filmfestivalen.se) is the key event in the city's cinema calendar. The magnificent Skandia, Drottninggatan 82 (tel: (08) 211 618), is a true palace of cinema. Ingmar Bergman grew up in Stockholm and his schooldays at Palmgren's School in Östermalm were the basis for his 1944 screenplay Hets (Torment). His Sommaren med Monika (Summer with Monika 1952) kicks off with a majestic voyage through Stockholm in a small boat. Many film buffs will also remember Stockholm's crop of Swedish Hollywood sirens: Greta Garbo, born Greta Gustavsson in 1905, and Ingrid Bergman, born in Stockholm in 1915.

Cultural events: Stockholm Summer Games in July (tel: (08) 222 160; website: www.summergames.se) draw considerable local and international participation and are the kickoff for other events. Stockholm's annual celebration of its relationship with the sea, the Stockholm Water Festival in August (tel: (08) 453 5505; website: www.waterfestival.se) includes many cultural events and happenings. The customary summer programme of opera and ballet at Drottningholm Court Theatre (tel: (08) 759 0406) is especially popular with music lovers, as is the Royal Palace Music Festival (tel: (08) 102 247) in September. The Stockholm International Film Festival (tel: (08) 677 5011) takes place in November. The Lucia festival on 13th December includes traditional parades of girls crowned with candles and singing events.

Literary Notes
August Strindberg helped make gloomy Nordic angst a cliché in café society worldwide, but the gloom of Strindberg lifts with the colourful characters of children's author Astrid Lindgren, celebrated at the theme park Junibacken (tel: (08) 58 72 30 00).

Swedish writers have received the Nobel Prize for Literature seven times, but only Selma Lagerlöf (1909) and Pär Lagerkvist (1951) made any significant impact outside Sweden. (Nelly Sachs, winner of the 1966 prize, was a naturalised Swedish citizen of German Jewish extraction and wrote in German.) Ingmar Bergman is the only other renowned international cultural figure to have drawn much from the city (see Film section); his career was constantly involved with the Stockholm film and theatre worlds.



Copyright © 2001 Columbus Publishing
    
GENERAL
City Overview
City Statistics
Cost of Living
History
Language
Accommodation
 
GETTING THERE
Air
Water
Road
Rail
 
GETTING AROUND
Getting Around
 
BUSINESS
Business
 
SIGHTSEEING
Sightseeing
Key Attractions
Further Distractions
Tours of the City
Excursions
 
ENTERTAINMENT
Nightlife
Sport
Shopping
Culture
Special Events
Food and Drink