World City Guide

Culture

Stockholm’s cultural history extends back to its Viking beginnings. The city was also the birthplace of Alfred Nobel, whose will instated the famous five prizes for peace, physics, chemistry, medicine and literature – economics was added by the Bank of Sweden in 1968 – and Stockholm’s literary set have since brought cultural glory to the city, by winning the Nobel Prize for literature (see Literary Notes below).

Stockholm was awarded the title of European Capital of Culture in 1998, an indication of how vibrant and eclectic the city’s cultural scene is. The avant-garde architecture of Modern Museum, on Skeppsholmen, designed by Rafael Moneo, is a controversial memento to the year, as the style is not to all tastes.

Tickets to cultural events can be booked via the central ticketing agency, Biljett Direkt (tel: (0771) 707 070; website: www.ticnet.se). Online information (website: www.musikfestivaler.se) is available for Swedish music festivals. What’s On magazine (website: www.whatsonwhen.com) is available locally and provides cultural events information.

Music: The blue stuccoed Konserthuset, Hötorget (tel: (08) 5066 7788; website: www.konserthuset.se), houses the world-class Swedish Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, with guest conductors such as Andrew Davis and Paavo Järvi. The Royal Palace Music Festival (tel: (08) 102 247; website: www.royalfestivals.se) and Stockholm Sinfonietta Riddarhus Festival annually bring packed concert programmes to splendid venues in the Old Town, while the lovely antique Drottningholm Court Theatre, Drottningholms Slott, Flottsforvaltining (tel: (08) 5569 3100; website: www.drottningholmsslottsteater.dtm.se), hosts summer opera and ballet seasons.

Theatre: The Dramaten, Nybroplan (tel: (08) 667 0680; website: www.dramaten.se), is Sweden’s highly respected national theatre. The Orionteatern, Katarina Bangata 77 (tel: (08) 643 8880), is also part of the established scene. The Stadsteatern, in the Kulturhuset, Sergels Torg (tel: (08) 5062 0200; website: www.stadsteatern.stockholm.se), has more radical productions and is far cheaper, while Teater Galeasen, Slupskjulsvägen, Skeppsholmen (tel: (08) 611 0030; website: www.galeasen.se), is at the cutting edge of contemporary theatre. Stockholm is home to The English Theatre Company (tel: (08) 662 4133; fax: (08) 660 1159; e-mail: etc.ltd@telia.com; website: www.englishtheatre.se), based at the Regina Theatre, Nybrogatan 35(tel: (08) 411 6320 or (077) 170 7070).

Dance: The Dansens Hus, Barnhusgatan 12–14 (tel: (08) 796 4910; website: www.dansenshus.se), was set up in the 1990s, as Sweden’s foremost dance venue. Birgit Cullberg, the leading Swedish director and 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, Strömgatan (tel: (08) 248 240; website: www.operan.se). Moderna Dansteatern, 103 Slupskjulsvägen, Skeppsholmen (tel: (08) 611 3233; website: www.mdt.a.se), 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. All movies in Sweden are shown in their original language with subtitles and mainstream movies are screened at Biopalatset, Medborsplatsen (tel: (08) 678 8548), and Filmstaden Sergel, Hotorget (tel: (08) 789 6001), while arthouse movie aficionados should head to Sture, Birger Jarlsgaten 28 (tel: (08) 644 3100).

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 1952 film, Sommaren med Monika (Summer with Monika), 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: The July Stockholm Summer Games (tel: (08) 627 4620; website: www.summergames.se) draws considerable local and international participation and is the kick-off for other events. The customary summer programme (May to August) of opera and ballet at Drottningholm Court (tel: (08) 5569 3100; website: www.drottningholmsteatern.dtm.se) is especially popular with music lovers, as is the Royal Palace Music Festival (tel: (08) 102 247; website: www.royalfestivals.se) in September. The Stockholm International Film Festival (tel: (08) 677 5011; website: www.filmfestivalen.se) takes place in November. The St Lucia Day festival, on 13 December, includes singing events and traditional parades of girls crowned with candles.

Literary Notes
The granddaddy of the Swedish literary fraternity was August Stringberg, with his The Red Room (1879) considered by some as the first real Swedish novel. 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 who wrote in German. Ingmar Bergman is the only other renowned international cultural figure to have drawn much from the city (see Films above). His career was constantly involved with the Stockholm film and theatre scenes.

More recent literary works to touch on the city include two hilarious chapters in Bill Bryson’s Neither Here Nor There (1998) and Colin Forbes’ thriller The Stockholm Syndicate (1989), which centres on an international conspiracy based in the city.