I was in Stockholm recently, and one thing that struck me is how morbid the museums are. They love showing skulls, skeletons, faces reconstructed from skulls, ghostly visuals, etc. Don’t get me wrong – I think this is great. It really makes history come alive (ironically) and forces you to think about the lives of those who came before. It was just a little unnerving to see so many bones; I’ve never seen such an obsession with death in any other country’s museums. But what else would you expect from the nation of Ingmar Bergman?
Here’s a gallery of some of the scariest exhibits in Sweden. The exhibit on the 1361 Battle of Gotland in the Historiska museum was particularly graphic. Happy early Halloween!
- Reconstructed face and skull of Birger Jarl, Medieval Museum
- Skull with mortal wound, Medieval Museum
- Woman dying of the plague, Medieval Museum
- Electronic signage on the Battle of Gotland, Historiska museum
- Exhibit on the Battle of Gotland, Historiska museum
- Skeleton from the Battle of Gotland, Historiska museum
- Skull with mortal blow, Historiska museum
- Historiska museum
- Sacrificed horse from a Viking burial, Historiska museum
- Blood-stained royal clothes, Royal Armoury
- Artifacts from the assassination of King Gustav III, Royal Armoury
- Skeleton found in the Vasa, Vasa Museum
- Exhibits on the skeletons found in the Vasa, Vasa Museum
- Reconstructed face of dead woman found in the Vasa, Vasa Museum
- Reconstructed faces of the dead found in the Vasa, Vasa Museum
- Reconstructed face of dead man found in the Vasa, Vasa Museum
- Skull from Battle of Gotland, Historiska museum
- Skull from Battle of Gotland, Historiska museum