When you first set foot in Stockholm, many things come as a surprise: that it is a capital city built on 14 islands and surrounded by water; that it is home to one of the best-preserved medieval old towns in Europe, Gamla Stan, as well as the world’s first open-air museum, Skansen, a favorite place for locals to stroll; and that on Christmas Eve, gifts are brought by the tomte—mythical household spirits who must be treated to a bowl of rice porridge.
“But even more striking is the realization that all of this had already been discovered and experienced much earlier by other Lithuanians, who once arrived in the Swedish capital for a fateful visit”, – says G. Butkuvienė.
Heritage Commission is an expert and advisor to the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania, President of the Republic of Lithuania and to Government of the Republic of Lithuania regarding the national policy of cultural heritage protection, its implementation, evaluation and improvement.
The article prepared by Gerda Butkuvienė is part of the project “Map of Cultural Heritage Significant to Lithuania in the Kingdom of Sweden” implemented by the National Commission for Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Lithuania. The project was partially funded by the Cultural Heritage Department under the Ministry of Culture.