Traces of the old gods are very much alive in Stockholm. The city bears their marks in a number of ways, not least in some of the place names of its urban geography. Most of the major gods and goddesses have lent their names to a street: Torsgatan (“Thor’s Street”), […]
Succumb to Bram Stoker’s Swedish Dracula
Mörkrets makter is actually—at least in part—by Bram Stoker himself and was originally released in serialized format by the Stockholm newspaper, Dagen, from 1899 to 1900.
The Gods of Sweden’s Nationalmuseum
The Big 3 abide in a courtyard near the entrance to the Nationalmuseum in central Stockholm. There, Odin, Thor, and Balder are carved in stone, and look very, very austere. They also look more Roman than Norse, with their togo-like attire barely covering their impeccable bodies of Italian Carrara marble, […]
Vikingaliv: Return of the Swedish Pagans
Stockholm’s got a brand new Viking museum on the way, set to open next weekend! And it’s about damn time, too. New Viking museums don’t come along often enough, or outside of Scandinavia enough either for that matter, but that’s a separate topic that will only lead to a downward […]
Djurgårdsbron: Where Silent Gods Stand Guard
Djurgårdsbron is a bridge in central Stockholm where Freyja, Thor, Frigg, and Heimdall stand guard…silently. Just Like in the song, only minus all the decapitations and shape-shifting into wolf-form. And for some reason Odin is missing from the entourage. But otherwise, just like in the song. And if you cross […]
Keeping It Real at Aifur
Stockholm is a magical place where they have a Viking restaurant and bar that actually strives for authenticity. Normally this kind of thing would be totally gimmicky and feel like a themed version of a Chuck E. Cheese; anyone over age 10 would stand out in a sad way if […]
Chiseling the Scandinavian Cheekbones
So I just gave this website a major facelift, and by that I mean that there is now a very aggressive-looking, native Blue Sheep from Birka hanging out in the background off towards the right (and slightly towards the left as well, but that guy is fainter). If you look […]
Heimdall Blows
When Heimdall blows his horn it can only mean one of two things: the world is coming to a terrible, violent end and you might as well give up on whatever it is that you’re doing because you’re about to be set on fire, or you’re in central Stockholm on […]
Thor Goes Fishing at Mariatorget
See that? Thor’s holding his mighty hammer up above his bushy red head, getting ready to bring it crashing downwards into the Midgård Serpent’s gnarly skull, since that’s simply what Thor does when he goes fishing with giants. But alas, he isn’t perfect, and he lets this catch get away. […]
Gothic Metal at Millesgården
Behold Katatonia’s The Longest Year music video! It features eerie images of Carl Milles’ sculptures from Millesgården, located on the island of Lidingö, just outside of Stockholm. If you pay close attention, you’ll even notice a replica of his Poseidon, which resides in Gothenburg. And as we all know (or […]
Orkanpartyt
Orkanpartyt (The Hurricane Party) is the title of Klas Östergren’s contribution to the Myth Series of novels, and it’s awesome. It’s a retelling of Loki’s final act of betrayal, but set in a hellish, future Stockholm (or at least what I presume to be Stockholm, based on the descriptions in […]