Work Wednesday - Teachers

Södermanland, cirka 1930

This week means back to work for most of Sweden's teachers. Most teachers have in their employment that they work 35 hours at school and 10 hours at home every week. A normal work week in Sweden has 40 hours. The extra 5 hours for teachers mean they can have days off during Christmas, spring holliday, Easter and most of the 10 weeks' summer holliday.

As in most of Europe the church was responsible for education during the middle ages. During the 1500's the state took over the schools when the catholic faith was abandoned. Not many people wanted to get education though and only a privilaged few actually studied. Schools were founded in different places but there was no over all plan for the education of the Swedish people. Latin, French and German were the languages used in education.

In 1842 the government decided that all children should attend school for four years and that is considered to be the start of the school system that Sweden has today. In the beginning a lot of schools moved around so the teacher could spend some weeks or months in one place and then go to the next village to teach the children there for the same amount of time. At time went by more and more schools became permanent and more and more teachers were needed. More years were added and in 1882 the obligatory school became six years long. Still, not all children attended school because they were often needed at home where they helped out on the farm. In 1905 laws were passed that ment that schools were for everybody, the could not be different schools for different social groups. From 1936 school was 7 years and in the 1950's it became 8 years long. Since 1972 all children must attend school for nine years, between the ages of 7 and 16. Education for teachers are different depending on which ages they teach and also varies in length, from 3,5 years to 5,5. Teachers for younger children have to have knowledge of more subjects but teachers of older students focus on 2-4 subjects. Some subjects, like Swedish and Social Studies, take longer to study in order to become a teacher. From year 7-9 a stundent has 15-16 subjects so there needs to be a lot of different kinds of teachers; Swedish, English, French, Spanish, German, maths, physics, chemistry, biology, technology, religion, history, geography, social studies, P.E. textile/fabrics, wood works,home economics and music.

Before the nine year obligatory school is a pre-school year that is becoming more and more like a tenth year. After the nineth year the students choose what kind of education they want to attend, what kind of occupation they want to have. The so called Gymnasiet is three years and some programs that the students can choose are more occupation oriented and some are more to prepare the students for higher education. Most teachers at Gymnasiet only have two subjects.

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The man-of-war Vasa sinks 1628

The war ship Vasa was built in 1626-1628. The king, Gustav II Adolf, had ordered five ships to be built that would be the largest and  most powerful ships of their time. They would be symbols of the military and political strength Sweden had.

But something went wrong with the construction of Vasa. She was too instable to be able to sail in rougher winds and she was wrecked on her maiden voyage. The ship had not more than left the harbour when a gust of wind filled the sails and the ship was forced to the baboard side. The wind passed and the ship sailed straight again but it was not long until a new gust of wind filled the sails and the ship went so far down on its side that it started taking in water through the portholes. Vasa capsized and sank at a depth of 32 meters, 120 meters from the shore.

Attempts to salvage the ship were made in the 1600's but all fail and the ship was forgotten. Its exact location was determined in 1956 and in 1961 the ship was salvaged. Since 1990 it has its own museum in Stockholm and is really worth a visit.

For more information in English: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship)

Picture: Vasa's stern
Under CC BY-SA 2.0 license

Souce: http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regalskeppet_Vasa


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Military Monday - Swedes in WWI

Today is 100 years since the outbreak of World War 1 and there for my post will be about the Swedes who took part in the war.

Almost 20 000 Swedish born men were called in during World War 1. Not all of them were in the U.S. army. Some were in the Canadian army, where there were two Scandinavian bataljons, and some were in the German army. It all depended on where you happened to be at the time of the outbreak. It is believed that around 600 of the 20 000 died on the battlefields on the western front. Some were of course wounded and returned home with injuries others were not wounded but came home with terrible memories.

Many of the Swedish men in the American army had only been in the states a couple of years. Some had escaped Sweden in order to not have to undergo the obligatory military service. A few moved back to Sweden after the war but they did not like to talk about the war.

Three brothers from Falkenberg happened to be in Germany when the war broke out and ended up in the German army. On of the was captured and sent to prison camp in Siberia. He was released after three years and could then return home.

Taking part in war is not always about honour, duty or ideology. Sometimes you just happen to be in the wrong place. Sweden stayed out of the war and has not been involved in a war for over 200 years, but we have none the less been affected by it. 

Source:

Hallands Nyheter July 28, 2014

Picture:

Chesire Regiment trench Somme 1916

In the Public Domain

By John Warwick Brooke - This is photograph Q 3990 from the collections of the Imperial War Museums (collection no. 1900-13)

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Workday Wednesday - Swedish Iron Industry: Bergsmen

Definition

A Bergsman (I have note been able to find the English word for this) was originally a free farmer who along side farming produced pig iron in a smeltery and also mined for iron ore. These bergsmen worked together in so called Bergslag, meaning they each owned shares in the mines and smelteries, and did not have to pay taxes in return for there services in the iron industry. They did however pay taxes on the pig iron they produced, a tenth of the production. Depending on the value of the farm the farmer owned he could be a whole, a half or a quarter bergsman.

[edit]History

The custom of having bergsmen mining for ore on their property started during the middle ages and ended in 1859 when the handeling of ore became free in Sweden. The mining was regulated by law and the letter of privilages showed which rights and obligations the crown gave the people who extracted ore on their property. The value of the farm came to deside how many shares a Bergsman had in the smeltery.

The Bergregal stated that the crown had the rights to all land with ore. This ment that the Bergsman did not really own the land he was farming, but he owned the rights to farm it and also the buildings.

The rules and conditions could vary a lot from bergslag to bergslag but the general rule was that you payed a tenth of what you produced and you did not have to pay other taxes.

Some bergslag continued working together as usual even after their obligations had been taken away in 1859.

[edit]Daily Life

During the summer the bergsmen and their families extracted ore from bogs, lakes and red earth. From 1600 and onwards under ground mining took over. In the fall they took care of the harvesting and threshing before it was time to start working with the charcoal kilns. The winters were used for taking down trees and transport goods and materials. The snow made the job easier. To produce pig iron the smelteries needed the spring rivers. The bars were marked with the personal stamp of the bergsman and the number of the smeltery. Spring was also the time for sowing.

The pig iron was sold to the ironworks at markets during the year. There they could also sell hammered iron ware that they had produced on their own.

[edit]Inheritance

The farm of a Bergsman could, according to the letter of privilages, be inherited by the children of a Bergsman and therefor they often took over the farm and became Bergsmen themselves.

Sources:
Wikipedia on Bergsman
Wikipedia on Bergslag
Wikipedia on Bergsprivilegium

Picture:
Nordiska Museumet through Digitalt Museum
 Bergsmän, Falu koppargruva. Teckning av Hans Ranié, 1680-tal
License: CC BY-NC-ND 2.5 SE

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Varberg Fortress

The rock that the fortress is built on has been used for guarding the inhabitants since prehistoric times. It was not untill the 13th century that a stronghold was built here when Jacob Nielsen, the owner of northern Halland, was accused of murdering the king. The northern parts of the castle is from that time.

 The wars between the Danish and the Swedes caused Varberg to change kingdoms eight times during the 14th century but the Danes won in the end and it remained Danish for almost another three hundred years. The defense of the castle had to improve and a fortress started to take shape in 1588.


The improvements contintued and about 1000 farmers worked each day, during 30 years. In 1618 it was one of the most modern defence buildings in Europe. It never had to be used as such however because in 1645 a peace treaty was signed between Denmarc and Sweden where Sweden got Halland.

The prison.

 The fortress was a military station untill 1830 when Karlsborg became a more important military base. The fortress had always housed prisoner but from 1548-1881 it was the home of around 400-500 interns at all time. In 1856 a real prison was built (see picture). The prisoners worked as stonemasons during their time in prison.

 During the 20th century the fortress became a museum but it also houses a bed and breakfast, a restaurant and buildings with apartments. The museum is the home of the famous Bockstensman (a bog man) and the button that supposedly killed king Karl XII in 1718.

One of the reenactors at the museum.

The outdoor café.

My personal connection to the fortress is my great great great [...] grandfather Mogens Mormand who was the commander on the fortress when it finally became Swedish. I do not know much about him but I plan to find out as much as I can.

My partner also has a personal connection. His great great grandfather was an intern after killing his wife with arsenic in hopes of marrying her sister. He was a prisoner in 1881 when it ceased to be a prison and was moved to Långholmen in Stockholm. I think he was finally let out as an old man. You can hear about him and also other prisoners in a short movie on the museum's web page, it is called Behind Closed Doors: http://www.hkm.varberg.se/english/

Sources:
http://veddige.nu/blogg/wp-content/uploads/VISKA_2006-3web.pdf
http://www.hkm.varberg.se/varbergs-fastning/

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Those Places Thursday - Varberg Coastal Sanatorium

Tuberculosis was a nationally widesperad disease at the beginning of the 20th century. Sanatoriums were built along the coast because it was believed that fresh air, salty baths and sun would cure the patients. In Varberg the medical officer was named Dr. J. S. Almer and he started the sanetarium at Apelviken, just south of Varberg, in 1902. Then it was very small but came to grow rapidly and when Almer died in 1927 it was the largest coastal sanatorium in Scandinavia with room for over 500 patients.

The hospital specialized in the sort of tuberculosis that people got from drinking milk that had not been pasturized. Small children were more often infected than grown ups and therefor it was mainly children who were treated at Apelviken. A vaccine was invented in the 1920's and in the 1950's the hospital closed as the last in the country.

Today the sanatorium has been turned into a health spa. It is protected since the enviroment is considered to be of cultural interest. Every thursday (at least during the summer months) a small guided tour is offered for free of the chapel, cemetary and outopsy room.

The chapel.

Inside the chapel.

A lot of children died at the sanatorium and not all of them were sent home. The ones buried at the cemetary are children from the most northern parts of Sweden. To send the bodies home cost too much and the parents could not afford it.

The cost of treating the patients were covered by the state, the county and the municipalities, so were the trips there and home. Some children spent years at the hospital, often in a cast when tuburculosis had gotten to the spine. Some got visits more often than others but those from the north seldom had visitors. There is a book with information about every person buried in the cemetary for those who are interested in knowing more about them.

The autopsy is right next to the cemetary. The guide explained how bodies never were moved during the day from their rooms. Instead they were transferred in the evening or early morning so that everybody would not have to see it.

Autopsy table

Autopsy table

Stretcher for moving corps and the guide.

The guide grew up in the area and knew a lot of the people working at the hospital. He himself got lung-tuberculosis as a child and spent some time at another sanatorium. He had many stories about the poeple who worked and were treated at Apelviken, both sad and happy ones.

The epedemics that reached several places all over the world during the beginning of the 20th century are hard to imagine for many of us but it is still reality in some parts of the world. It was also reality for many of our ancestors and therefor part of our personal history and genealogy.



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Birthday of Axel Oxenstierna

Axel Oxenstierna was born June 16, 1583. He was the son of the Council of the Realm, Gustaf Gabrielsson Oxenstierna, and Barbro Axelsdotter Bielke. Axel got a good  education and visited three German universities. When he came back to Sweden he was employed at the court of the king and became Council of the Realm in 1609. When Karl IX died and Gustav II Adolf becme king Axel made sure to improve the privilages of the Swedish nibility. In 1612 he became Lord High Chanellor and worked closely with the king for the next 20 years. They both wanted to turn Sweden in to one of Europe's leading countries. In order to acomplish this education, administration, the military power and the finances of the crown all had to be improved which led to a reform in 1634.

When the king died in 1632 Axel made the arrangements for the government that would rule in the young queen's place. The whole family Oxenstierna profited before the queen came of age as he gave his brother and cousin important positions within the kingdom. When the queen came to hold all the power she was entiteled Axel's power decreased. The queen abdicated in 1654, something Axel had worked against, and he died soon there after.

Axel's position in Swedish history is unique. Even though he might seem egoistic and powerhungry he truely thought that what was best for the nobility was also the best for the country that he served.

Source:

• Nationalencyklopedin http://www.ne.se/article/article.jsp?i_art_id=278251&originalURI=/axel-oxenstierna
• Wikipedia  http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axel_Oxenstierna

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Uppsala Cathedral

Today in 1435 the cathedral of Uppsala was offically opened. It is one of the biggest cathedrals in the Baltic Sea region.

It took over 300 years to finish the cathedral. The old cathedral in Old Uppsala burned down and the pope gave permission to build the new church in what today is called Uppsala in 1258. In 1272 or 1273 construction on the new cathedral started stopped in 1280 because shortage of money. Construction started again in 1287 and the south portal stood ready in 1310 and the north portal stood ready a couple of years later. Section by section the cathedral took form and even in 1435 it was not finished. There was a fire in 1447 but not much was damaged. It is believed that it was not finished by the time of the reformation in 1527 when all financial aids were withdrawn.

Renovations were made after a big fire in 1572. Additions were made but another fire took place in 1702 and the church and inventories were destroyed. Again big renovations were made and restorations and renovations have been made almost continious but the last big renovation took place 1972-1976.

Picture:
Uppsala domkyrka i oktober 2011
By: Dcastor
License: CCO

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This day 1520 - Gustav Vasa

On this day in 1520 the nobleman Gustav Eriksson Vasa set foot on Swedish land after being imprisoned in Denmark for a year. Two years earlier, in 1518, the Danish king Kristian II had demanded hostages in exchange for making negotiations with the head of the Swedish nation, Sten Sture, in Stockholm. Instead of holding his word he sailed home to Denmark with the five hostages, Gustav Vasa beinge the youngest of them. Gustav spent a year in prison at Kalö castle before escaping to Lübeck where he stayed for eight months.

King Kristian beat Sten Sture at the battle on the ice of Åsunden in January 1520. The Swedish resistance stood without a leader. What really happened when Gustav set foot south of Kalmar has been debated. He was still very young, only 24 years old, and maybe leader of the resistance and becoming king was not on top of his agenda.

Negotiations between Swedes and Kristian II took place from June until a deal was made in early September. Everything would be forgotten and nobody would be harmed because of their actions. The king entered Stockholm 7 September and the church bells were ringing to honor the new ruler.

Gustav was at the time visiting his brother-in-law, Joakim Brahe, near Nyköping when he heard the news. Brahe was called to Stockholm and would not listen to Gustav's warnings. Kristian was crowned King of Sweden 4 November and 8-9 November over 80 Swedish noblemen were executed, there among Joakim Brahe and Gustav's father, Erik Johansson Vasa. Gustav became a fugitiv, wanted by the Danes, and now his war against Kristian II really took off.

Source:  http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Vasa

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Military Memories - Propaganda: A Swedish Tiger

In fall of 1941 Bertil Almqvist created a symbol for the awareness campaign that started in November the same year. The campaign wanted to encourage the Swedish people to keep quiet about anything that could harm neutral Sweden.

At this time Sweden's neighbouring countries were occupied wither by the Germans or the Soviet Union. The symbol was a tiger with yellow and blue stripes with the text En Svensk Tiger. The Swedish word tiger both means the animal and keeps quiet. Apart from wanting people to be quiet the symbol would encourage people to stay strong, just like the tiger.

The symbol has become the symbol of the Swedish Armed Forces but the "Museum of Readiness" owns the rights to the symbol.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/En_svensk_tiger

Picture:
Ensvensktigerskylt2 djuramossa
By: Anders Lagerås original by sv:Bertil Almqvist (1902-1972)
License: CC BY-SA 3.0


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Swedish Author Jan Guillou

Jan Guillou

Author Jan Guillou was born in 1944 in Stockholm. He studied law for two years after finnishing school and after that he became a journalist for Fib/Aktuellt in 1966. In the beginning  the magazine used to publish people's stories but after a while it more and more turned towards being an adult magazine. In 1970 he started working for the magazine Folket i Bild/Kulturfront where he uncoverd the IB-affair, that the government had been doing espoinage. The story made Jan famous.

Since then Jan has been the host of TV-shows and written over 40 books. Ten of them are about Carl Hamilton, a Swedish James Bond, which have all been turned into movies. Another really popular serie is the  four books about the Knights Templar Arn Magnusson and his heirs. Only the two of the books have been turned into movies but they became really popular. The books acutally created a whole new tourist industry for the area where the books take place, in Västergötland. The story is about Arn and the love of his life, Cecilia. They are punished by the church for having sex before they got married and the fact that Arn had slept with Cecilia's sister. Therefor they must make penance for twenty years, he as a Knights Templar in Jerusalem, and she in convent. The story is fascinating and there has been a lot of research done for the story. Jan mixes facts with fiction in a very good way. There are lots of details about people and places that have excisted and that has been important both for Swedish history and world history. While reading you learn about Sweden's early history, how it really became a country.

Guillou's latest serie is about three Norwegian brothers and their lives from 1901 and onwards. I have not read these myself but listening to the story about Arn has made me really curious about his other books and this serie has been recomended to me by a friend who likes the same type of books as I do.

Source:
Jan's own publishing house Pirat Förlaget: http://www.piratforlaget.se/jan-guillou/fakta-om-jan-guillou/

Picture: Jan Guillou på Bok- och biblioteksmässan 2013.
By Albi Olsson
Under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

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Snöstorp Parish

Snöstorp parish is located in Halmstad municipality, in the county of Halland, on the west coast of Sweden. Its borders have changed over the years. In 1928 the municipality of Nyhem was transfered to the town of Halmstad and in 2013 more land was added to the parish.

Large parts of the parish used to belong to the Sperlingsholm estate, which manor house is in the parish of Enslöv, but the lord of the manor, Kuylenstjerna, started to sell some of it in the very beginning of the 20th century. It was expencive to buy and build houses within the town limits of Halmstad so the land quickly became populated. There were no rules on how to build houses, meaning the new landowners could build their houses any way they wanted. There were several industries and the railroad in the area or in walking distance which also led to the areas popularity among the working class. School was a problem because the children had to walk either to the village of Snöstorp or Furet so in 1906 Kuylenstjerna donated land so that Nyem would get its own school. Kuylenstjerna also built a watertower and adjoining water pipes in 1908 and in 1912 he gave them five years of free electricity to run the street lights. The school, the janitor's house and the teacher's room also got electricity.

The townsfolk of Nyhem and the countryfolk of the rest of the parish had troubles seeing eye to eye which led to several disputes so it was probably a relief to some when Nyhem was incorporated into the town of Halmstad in 1928.

The church was finnished in 1883. It is one of Sweden's eleven Langlet churches, Langlet being the name of the architect. He was inspired by old Roman cirkular churches but gave the church in Snöstorp six walls. The pulpit is placed in the middle so that the word of God would always be in the centre.

Sources:
http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sn%C3%B6storps_kyrka
The church of Snöstorp: http://www.svenskakyrkan.se/snostorp/snostorps-kyrka
Sperlingsholm: http://runeberg.org/nfcf/0371.html
Nyhem municipality: http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyhems_municipalsamh%C3%A4lle

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Tuesday's Tip - Bygdeband

Bygdeband is a site managed by Sweden's Hembygdsförbund (local historical society). Here the local societies can upload pictures, information and documents about people, places and events that are tied to the area where the society is located. You can search by category (person, place, society, sources or files) or you can look at the list of societies ordered under counties.

Examples of what you can find are photos from confirmations or schools with names of the people in the picture. The pictures can be both old and new.