4 July 2018
One of the towns to visit during summer is Sigtuna Town, Sweden's first town - the reason why I wanted to go there. It is a cosy little town out of Stockholm town but still accessible by train and bus using the local SL transportation card. You can get here by boat too but it costs more. One beautiful morning, I journeyed to Sigtuna and was happy that I did it because I had the best weather to my advantage, saw lovely sights and had an ice-cream!
This is the bus one takes upon arriving at Märsta Commuter Station. Bus 570 or 575. It is easy to find the information on transportation via SL website or SL app. Get down at Hällsboskolan and you will be at the Main Street of Sigtuna.
Sigtuna is the oldest town in Sweden, having been founded in 980. The history of Sigtuna before the 11th century, as described in the Norse sagas and other early medieval sources, can be found in the article Old Sigtuna. Sigtuna has a picturesque medieval town centre with restaurants, cafes and small shops. The old church ruins, runic stones and Stora gatan, the old main street, are popular attractions for tourists especially in the summertime. The small streets with the low built wooden houses lead up to several handicrafts shops and the old tiny town hall, Sigtuna Rådhus. There are restaurants and a hotel (Stadshotellet) in the town centre. Source from Wikipedia.
The first thing I did was to buy myself a cinnamon bun in ICA. Because I don't think I can afford the food in the restaurants here.
The tourist center that used to be an inn named Dragon Inn, hence the dragon statue on top. They have a beautiful garden in the backyard. Most of the tourists came to the tourist information centre to use the toilet! Well, there is a public toilet right behind the bus stop but you need to pay SEK5 to use it.
There is a small cafe here. Not affordable for me.
Surprised to see a hairdresser here. Can you see the 3 ladies in the photo? They are medical staff working in the healthcare centre which is slightly further up from the hairdresser. Okay, I am really surprised to see that there is a healthcare centre here.
The notice stuck on the hairdresser's door is funny. "Closed for summer holidays. Returns when it begins to rain. However, latest by 27 July."
Ingenious idea by the Library. Book kiosk where one can borrow books. The library believes in the locals to return the books.
One of the 12 rune stones from the Viking Age. I saw 4 (where 2 of them were at St. Mary's Church). I did not go on a rune stone hunt. My map-reading skills are limited.
Just to prove that I was here, and I am holding a map of the town which I got from the Tourist Centre.
There is a small harbour in Sigtuna. Sunny days make the waters looks so dazzling. Also, it is a must to have ice-cream when one is in Sigtuna. I got mine for SEK30 and had it while staring at the boats.
You can take the boat to Sigtuna too. Only available during the summer - a boat cruise from Stockholm for about SEK375.
As one walks further up from the harbour, there is a lovely walking path where one can stroll or jog. I did not finish the path as I made a detour to a small cafe where there was an art gallery upstairs.
The view from the art gallery.
There is a cinema here too. I wonder who watches here.
In the Lundström home you can still see and learn how a middle-class family lived in the 18th and 19th century. The house was bought in 1873 by C A Lundström. He was a man of many occupations: carpenter, shopkeeper, auctioneer, town cashier and, in addition, legal adviser to the inhabitants of Sigtuna. Very soon Lundström built a small shop on the site, and in 1874 he enlarged the house and started a general store. C A Lundström died in 1904, the store was shut down, and the stock was sold. His wife stayed in the house until her death 1923 and the only son inherited the property. Since 1958 the Lundström house is a museum and everything has been left untouched. From Stora Gatan you enter the shop, the so called “godtköpshandel”, where all sorts of things like groceries, snuff, cigars, fabrics, working-clothes and wallpaper were sold. Source from Destination Sigtuna.
No entries allowed to the upstairs as the staircase is not in good condition. The bedroom lies upstairs and you can see how it looks like from the postcards sold in the museum.
Sugar used to be sold in a huge cone and is sent to a shop to hack it to pieces or sawdust it with a sugar saw. Interesting tool, eh?
Some of the games found in the garden behind the museum. Marbles, skipping rope and bowl-shaped footwear where one walks on with the assistance of the rope attached to the bowls.
Sigtuna Rådhus, built in the 18th century, is the smallest town hall in Sweden – maybe even in Europe!
When the mayor Eric Kihlman began his service in Sigtuna 1737, he found the town hall, in a deplorable state. At the initiative of Kihlman, the construction of the present town hall began on the same site as the old one. The tower was moved from the old building to the new one. In 1744 the hall was inaugurated and the first general council was held. The town hall has two rooms. The left one was until the thirties the guardroom of the police and had two cells. The use of these cells was prohibited for hygienic reasons at the end of the thirties. The room to the right is the council hall. Most of the furniture and other objects were brought there by mayor Kihlman around the years 1740 and 1750.
Today Sigtuna Town Hall is part of the Sigtuna Museum. It is also popular for weddings. Source from Destination Sigtuna.
St Per's church ruin.
St. Mary's Church (Swedish: Mariakyrkan) is a Lutheran church in Sigtuna, not far from Stockholm, Sweden. It belongs to the Archdiocese of Uppsala. It is a fine example of Brick Gothic architecture in Sweden. It is the earliest known brick church in the area around Lake Mälaren. Source from Wikipedia.
St. Lars church ruin.
I spent 3 hours in Sigtuna, and took the bus and train back to Stockholm.
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