SWEDEN MODERN LAND OF THE VIKINGS

singing it's timeless ballad the Baltic Sea plays on the 5,000 mile coastline of sweet this is Goodman an island on the northern edge of Europe once a world-renowned center of trait it began in the days of the Vikings and lasted through the days of the flourishing Hanseatic League over a thousand years ago the Vikings restless and warlike race gathered and gatlin to load their servant headed long boats with provisions for new expeditions here the tribal chieftains laid plans before their warriors four voyages to Russia and Constantinople just as their labors on the western side of Scandinavia planned voyages to Iceland or England forever the wheel there would be the Viking ships in quest of rich booty if the Vikings were warriors and explorers they were also artists the foundations of modern Swedish design were laid in the intricate chasing of a helmet and sought in the painstaking workmanship of a decorative handle in the lifelike representations on pieces of jewelry such as these in a massive and substantial quality of a necklace and these amulets humes tones to bear silent testimony of a flourishing Viking civilization heroic deeds amateurs are described in runic carex carved into the stone itself but the present a Viking artist in kirtland is concerned with another era in Sweden's history his subject is the stately city wall of this be the medieval town that has withstood many a siege here there are remnants of a dozen medieval churches and monasteries built during the Hanseatic days when Visby was the most important commercial center in Northern Europe this is st. Catherine a Franciscan monastery Church of the 14th century a period during which classy Gothic architecture reached its fullest glory these tall graceful arches follow the same natural form as water when it cascades over present a Viking children at play in a pool visby has become a modern swedish resort where holidaymakers in the shadow of the city walls had the choice of bathing in the Baltic or in a swimming pool as they prefer as in the days of the Vikings the people of Sweden turned eyes to the sea but now their purpose is pleasure the coastline these studied islands and sheltered coves that make this part of the world yachtsman is paradise many not content with occasional summer weekends among the thirty-two thousand islands of the archipelago live in summer houses and commute to work here in the far north summer days are long and there is ample opportunity for hotly contested sailboat races even mean winter when the waters of frozen in the vast sheets of ice the sports-minded Swedes continue to indulge in their love of sailing aboard speedy IC ops but certainly their favorite winter pastime is skiing particularly cross-country racing for which Sweden has an international reputation Swedish trophy rooms are filled with gold medals won in olympic winter games you the most famous test of endurance and skill is the annual Vassar race over 56 mile trail in the province of Della Collier on the Swedish mainland this race commemorates a historic event which took place four hundred years ago Gustav Vasa a Swedish Patriot was forced in the middle of winter to flee the country for political reasons but his supporters caught up with him on skis and persuaded him to return and a lead a war of liberation eventually he became king and the founder of modern Sweden today's democratic King Gustav Adolf has the motto duty above all on the sixth of June he and his people celebrate Sweden's national holiday called Flag Day the ceremony is held in stockholm sweden's capital in the stadium originally built for the 1912 olympic games the royal palace is on a small island in the center of stockholm it is the principal building of the old town often called the city between the bridges the house of nobility one of the most beautiful structures in Stockholm is nearby here also stands the stately Cathedral this is the center of the old town with a narrow lanes the cobblestones the gabled houses nestling close together the rare patches of sunlight give us a glimpse into the Middle Ages in fact if you examine the cornerstones of certain mellowing houses you might be surprised to find yet another reminder of the past a Viking rune stone forms part of the wall in the old town the houses with her only doorways and statuary their pastel colors and varied Gables all reflect the slow passage of time the Swedes are thankful dat so many remnants of the past remain intact from its medieval heart Stockholm spreads out acquires modern dimensions and forms increasing automotive traffic is one of the problems of any twentieth century city and is solved in twentieth-century fashion the only unusual aspect of this circle is that it's traffic runs on the left-hand side of the screen and it is almost completely noiseless for horn blowing is prohibited except in emergencies yet despite its fast-moving appearance most of stock homes 1 million inhabitants feel that their city still retains a sort of village intimacy thanks perhaps to the many familiar landmarks cones kept on the King Street runs through the main shopping in business district the royal dramatic theatre is another landmark Greta Garbo and many other famous actresses trained here and were first applauded by enthusiastic Stockholm theatre chorus stock homes royal opera house is another of Sweden's cultural centers here jenny lind the Swedish nightingale first delighted with an audience today the Tanners you seiberling and sets Ron home appear here regularly the Swedish affinity for the beauties of water is evident anywhere you look stock homes famous city hall looks down upon lake mälaren where strollers come on sundays to enjoy the view from beneath the colonnades in Stockholm water is a way of life reaching into the very heart of the city even providing this old fisherman his daily bread Sven here probably doesn't get very rich but there are compensations the Sun the fresh air the tranquility of protected waters where there are no natural waterways the city has built bathing pools for the youngsters where they can soak up as much life-giving Sun as possible during the short summer season indeed the central theme in all modern Swedish architecture is sunshine and fresh air in recent years the country has enjoyed an unprecedented boom in building and municipalities have encouraged modern and functional designs which harmonized with the surrounding landscapes this new so-called beehive design of a parking house gives nearly every resident of view of the surrounding water and plenty of fresh air one advantage of the many waterways that crisscross the city is that the eye is constantly delighted by seeing the old landmarks from a fresh and ever-changing aspect it is in little boats such as these that Swedish families find Pleasant surroundings for weekend excursions and picnics in the archipelago in Sweden the motor boat is as popular means of recreation as the family carry is in other countries indeed for generations water has been a national highway this is the famous Goethe canal a narrow Blue Ribbon lititz across the country to link Stockholm and the east coast with Guttenberg on the west literally carved through the countryside by hand over 100 years ago the canal has a series of blocks which lifts boats 300 feet above sea level the locks are operated exactly as they were when the canal was first opened once of great commercial importance for trade with the West the Goethe canal today is chiefly a tourist attraction goods now move overland on modern all-weather highways and for the traveler there is every modern convenience on route including the latest overnight accommodations Bud's Dana in the very heart of Sweden boasts a handsome medieval castle and moat it was here the famous st. Brigid founded her convent in the 14th century you you in this predominantly Protestant country the nuns of Saint Brigid uphold the convent famous artistic traditions making lace and embroidery with skills and techniques that have been handed down for centuries for Swedish handiwork is not a thing of this generation the same patient artistry used by the Vikings is still practiced today in the making of modern jewelry Machinery can never take the place of human hands and muscular coordination when it comes to blowing glass I nor can machinery execute the sensitive concepts of modern Swedish design as they are expressed in these delicate examples of glassware but machinery does play an important part in the economic life of Sweden for example it is only because of such mechanized installations as these that the country produces well over 100 billion matches annually the source for these prosaic matches as it is indeed for other basic products manufactured in Sweden such as paper furniture and chemicals are the countries forests which cover more than half its total area one of Sweden's kings once observed the timber provides the people with their food and clothing their house and home timber and water joined hands in Sweden there are 100,000 rivers and many of them are used to float logs from the forest to the sawmills pulp factories and chemical plants each year 180 million logs move down the rivers to their final destination frequent logjams must be cleared by skilled Lumberjacks whose hazardous work it is to keep the timber movie occasionally even such skilled muscle power is unavailing and so dynamite charges must be used then the men relax for a time a pot of coffee is always a welcome break after such dangerous work but soon the Lumberjacks must take to their shallow rowing boats and follow the logs downstream if the rivers are thus of great commercial value they also provide a means of recreation one of these is trout fishing in whitewater the King's younger brother Prince Wilhelm is a devotee and even ties his own plants a familiar sight along Sweden's rivers is the timber flume used to bypass logs around hydroelectric power plants such plants are another facet of the country's industrial strength which depends in great measure upon these economical sources of power in these three hundred eighty thousand volt lines electricity is carried to the far corners of Sweden as far as the northern province of Lapland rich in iron ore deposits here the countryside is full of open pit mines the iron contentedly or is as high as seventy percent higher than in any other known deposit much of this or is exported to the smelting furnaces of Western Europe but Sweden reserves enough to produce sufficient quantities of high-grade steel in the center of the mining district is the model town of Corona because the town limits encompass a vast area pits it is actually the largest city in the world although the population is only 10,000 Lapland is far above the Arctic Circle and for two months during the summer the Sun never sets even now at one o'clock in the morning although there is no Midnight Sun farther south the nights are light for the sun's glow remains in the sky perhaps this natural phenomenon accounts for the carefree character of the Swedish summer in della Kalia for example local customs and traditions culminate in the celebration of Midsummer Eve the horn summons the inhabitants from far and wide dressed in provincial costumes they meet on Lake zillion to row across to Lake Sun church you these traditional boats are decorated with birch branches that have just burst into leaf after church services it is customary for young and old alike to dance to traditional folk tunes invariably played on the fiddle even the King John's the midsummer festivities and the Swedes are quite accustomed to seeing their monarch mix freely with his subjects and it is here in central sweden that one of the country's most famous sons was born John Ericson designer of the first ironclad warship the monitor but he is to be remembered more for his invention of the propeller screw which decorates his great ship propellers today are larger as other vessels to which they are fitted it is no wonder that Sweden with her Viking heritage has become a foremost maritime nation and has made shipbuilding a major industry what would the Viking of ancient times think of steel plates and electric welding of this forest of cranes and constant Harbor traffic after some reflection he might conclude Sweden has changed a bit but the people of this modern land of the Vikings still turn their eyes toward the sea this truth is symbolized by the majestic statue of the site which looks out over the harbor of Gutenberg