Linkoping. Swedish Air Force Museum. Flygvapenmuseum Malmen. Neutrality With Arms

Flygvapenmuseum

Swedish Air Force Museum.  Flygvapen. Western outskirts of Linkoping. A flier-admirer's heaven. The best part of autonomous travel is going anywhere anytime, getting out anywhere anytime, and a fast morph from medieval history to modern. And finding that languages can be navigated. You can figure a lot of it out.
 
First, Linguistics. Just listen to flygvapen.

Hear it in your mind. Flygvapen. Now act it. Flap your arms and say it.  Flygvapen. There you have it. Onomatopoeia.  Words that sound their meaning. See ://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/onomatopoeia.html/  Languages are windows, and concerts for the ear.

Second, Content.

This is a fine military museum, with 130 planes overhead and in huge hangars and set up outside; and a cultural museum, laying out the context in which they flew.  Absorb times gone by -- exhibits like theater sets, staged scenes showing the periods when events here happened, artifacts, uniforms, documents, planes hung up there everywhere, climb up the mobile metal staircases and look right in. Wander, peer, imagine. Air defense. New. Need for defense. Old. Attack capability. Part of defense.

Air Force Museum, Linkoping, Exhibit: Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin at Potsdam, the sorting hat for World War II

And ongoing need? Must we always.

Then ask, is there any human-being difference between

a) these three little piggies (Winston, Franklin and Josef), their religious and other counterparts; and their influence over their times; and motivations; and political this and that, hyped-up citizens, persuaded that they are right, attacking each other and others, with invasions and atrocities; and

b) the three little piggies of medieval and reformation times -- popes, luthers, rulers, hyped-up citizens, persuaded that they are right, attacking each other and others, and secular and religious invasions and atrocities.

Old living room radio, with Winston. Swedish Air Museum, Linkoping

Probably not.  

Here, the emphasis is on Swedish-Soviet relations, as is natural when countries are physically so close and one is so huge with tentacles, and the other is just across the water. Sweden is a strong nation, strong military history of its own, but its proximity to Germany and Russia both, spurs some nerves. They are nearly family:  it was the Swedish adventurers who went gliding in their longboats down the Eastern European rivers, raiding, settling, establishing cities, all the way to Baghdad. The Swedish vikings, the Rus, did they kickstart Russia? No wonder the interest.  See Vikings in Russia at ://www.dur.ac.uk/a.k.harrington/variagi.html/ 

Ruud Leeuw has fine photos of the complex, showing the changes from 1910 onwards-- see ://www.ruudleeuw.com/linkoping-airmuseum10.htmSee://www.thelocal.se/museums/95/flygvapenmuseum-linkoeping

Interested in specific kinds of planes? A military maven?

Meet Bjorn.  And his site. See the J35 Dragon, a fighter, and the Saab J29, join Bjorn at ://www.bjorns-story.se/private/Airforce_museum_swedenhtm/flygvapen_eng.htm/  Saab - come back! We like our Saab car, and the dashboard does look like a cockpit, in ways -- airplane roots. That's what Saab did, until cars joined in. How about the Saab J28 Vampire! Even a pacifist gets adrenalin going at these babies. Sleek. Just the design, not the purpose. A35 Lance. JAS 37 Viggen. See Bjorn's site.

The reality of wreckage.

Fused glass, wreckage, Swedish Air Force Museum, Linkoping

Need to double check the fused glass.  This was a floor-level and below-floor exhibit.

The neutrality puzzle:  how does neutrality work. 

Is it neutral, why choose it if issues of atrocity to others seem so clear (what obligation do any of us have to others), and does neutrality "enable" ongoing abuse, see ://www.adl.org/braun/dim_14_1_neutrality_europe.aspor was it the best choice for the constituents of that country; nor no choice.  International law provides for different kinds of neutrality.  Neutral nations in WWII: 

• The Vatican (its own entity) supposedly, it just stood by; 
• Sweden, 
• Portugal, 
• Spain, emerging after its own civil war; and 
• Switzerland as a conditional neutral in WWI, supposedly using economic sanctions (except for giving out keys to the gnomes' caves under Zurich); and an "integral" neutral, completely neutral supposedly, in WWII -- still more keys to the gnomes' caves, however, still being unearthed. See Co-Opting Nazi Germany at ://www.adl.org/braun/dim_14_1_neutrality_europe.asp/  That article articulates the self-interest concept.  Self-interested neutrality. Scholarly snippet:  read  Phases in Swedish Neutrality, by Joachim Joesten from Foreign Affairs vol 23, at least the little bit that JSTOR will let you see for free at http://www.jstor.org/pss/20029898

 Neutrality -- did it mean survival after all. Neutrality did not mean isolation:  the bodies washed up, see graves of WWI Battle of Jutland navy personnel at Goteborg, and other places where the pilots tumbled from the sky, the intrigues lurked. History.  See book, The Social Construction of Swedish Neutrality, by Christine Agius 2006 at ://us.macmillan.com/thesocialconstructionofswedishneutrality

Linkoping - Vreta Kloster's Cloister

Vreta Cloister (Kloster) near Linkoping, at Berg

And the Church at the Monastery (Nunnery?)

Kings Inside

Vreta Cloister, outside Church, Berg, Linkoping, Sweden

The old arbors and orchards still bear blossoms, and fruit.

Cloister and Garden area, Vreta Kloster, Linkoping, Berg, Sweden

Apple tree, Vreta Kloster Garden, Linkoping, Berg, Sweden

Vreta is one of the oldest monasteries in Sweden, founded by King Inge I and Queen Helena in about 1100.  See ://christianization.hist.cam.ac.uk/regions/sweden/sweden-eccl-org.html

Raised garden walls, ancient tree, Vreta Kloster, Linkoping, Berg, Sweden

Oldest fruit tree, Vreta Kloster

That is the church guide getting a nice sour apple from one of the trees believed to be from Reformation time, would you believe, centuries old and still bearing. One stalwart branch out there. Tasty, but pucker sour.

Model, Vreta Kloster before the Reformation, farm, church, community 

The Church at Vreta Kloster was obviously remodeled at some point.  See the difference in the square steeple on the model, and the newer steeple at top.

Contemplative and herb garden, Vreta Kloster

Medieval sub-ground baptismal area pool, Vreta Kloster (protected by glass enclosure)

This below-ground level areas is a Baptisterium.  Many carvings in Scandinavia and Northern Germanyshow persons being baptized in the nude. Perhaps the low level of the pool offered some privacy, although the representatons are not of persons descending steps. Germany Road Ways, Altarpiece, Church at Enger, Baptism

Baptisterium, Stone steps descending, baptismal pool, Medieval Vreta Kloster

Medieval Baptisterium

Preserved submersion pool, Baptisterium, Vreta Kloster (Baptismal).  Medieval

Medieval baptism pools, below ground, are often undiscovered.

Graveyard, countryside view, Vreta Kloster

Graffiti has also been found on/in buildings at Vreta, now in museums, see ://scienceblogs.com/aardvarchaeology/2007/05/medieval_monastic_graffitti_1.php

Linkoping, Vreta Kloster, Berg. Sancta Maria de Vretis.

First, get there.

The Vreta Kloster, Abbey at Linkoping where the old kings are buried, is really in Berg. King Inge, who (according to an undated letter in 1100, the year he also died) founded the monastery with Queen Helena, see ://www.vretaklosterforening.se/Jub/En/historia.html/  With the Reformation in 1527, the Abbey was isolated, and ceased to be a Catholic place when the last nuns died by 1582. Old buildings went to ruin, but were unearthed in the early 20th Century, followed by restorations in 2002-2007.

Try to find the burial place of kings, in pre-Christian polytheist era, and the guidebooks will point you to Linkoping.  Get to Linkoping and where is it?  It is not here. Go to a nice air military and cultural museum instead, mostly WWII, enjoy, and try again for the old kings.

Get lost and follow a sudden bus route toward Linkoping proper again, and find Vreta Kloster instead in the town of Berg. This is one of the oldest monastery sites:  Benedictine, and then Cistercian, or the other way around; dating from 1100 AD.  Guidebook people:  include a short GPS address with your sites. Every hour counts in the later afternoon. If all is locked up, because the official summer season hours expired yesterday, knock at the rectory.

Then, enjoy.  Enjoy the official caretaker, from his house. He was at home when we knocked, and really seemed pleased to show us and unlock the whole thing. Thank you, thank you. Do remember to compensate. I hope we did enough.

Vreta Kloster, Vreta Abbey Church, Berg, Sweden. Exterior

This is preserved as it was some 900 years ago. We are always surprised at the size of medieval buildings, and these were renovated, but still -- all the nooks and crannies.  Grow like Topsy. Inside, see the uses of the connected nooks. Burials, including the Family Douglas, see below. It pays to lend your aid to other people's wars. See http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Sweden/Oestergoetlands_Laen/Vreta_Kloster-166898/TravelGuide-Vreta_Kloster.html/

There are royal family details still here: a son of a king with behavioral problems, could worship in his own pew. Checking our notes to see which monarch's son was here, out of the way, under the steps at the front, to the side.

Side-lined special pew, Vreta Kloster, for son of monarch, and who had rage disability, or perhaps epilepsy, so he could atttend services.

What is the funnel, on top right back, of this old chest? Was this a "poor box" with a place for coins?

Poor box, perhaps, Vreta Kloster, Berg, near Linkoping, Sweden

Very old wood carving, looks like madonna and child, probably, Vreta Kloster, Berg. The more primitive the carving, the more moving. Is that so?  Who stole the religion of Everyman and made it for the exclusionist fancies instead?

Madonna and Child, Sancta Maria de Vretis perhaps, Carving, Vreta Kloster, Berg, Sweden. May be 11th-12th Centuries

Another carving, Vreta Kloster.

Saint, perhaps Apostle, Carving, Vreta Abbey, Vreta Kloster, Sweden

The paint is still bright on this very old carving of a saint, perhaps an apostle in the Vreta Church.

Whose coat of arms is this?  Need to zoom and research.  To the bottom, the old chandelier.  To the right, the new silver.  Prefer the old. 

Frescoes, walls, Vreta Kloster

Always aim for choir stalls.  There, the people had to rest their bottoms during the long services.  Bum-proppers here as well. Flip them up, as though you are standing at attention, but you are really relaxing back.  Ahhhh.

Choir stall bum-proppers, Vreta Kloster, Berg, Sweden

Now to the burial areas:

Vaults octagonal, ironwork, copper coffins, marble urns. The 1663 burial place of the Douglas Family.  A recently deceased member of the Douglas family, Countess Margareta C.H. Douglas, who died in the United States, will be interred here. See ://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dailyprogress/obituary.aspx?n=margareta-douglas&pid=142179776/ Still trying to find out how a "Douglas" came to Sweden. Long ago, apparently. Here it is:  Wikipedia says he Count of Skenninge, was a Scots, and a field marshal in the Swedish Army during the 30 Years' War, and Swedish-Polish wars. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Douglas,_Count_of_Skenninge/  He had been elevated to Baron, and Lord of the Horse. What? For the British view of that, see ://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalHousehold/OfficialRoyalposts/MasteroftheHorse.aspx/

Vreta Abbey, Vreta Kloster, Berg, Sweden. Burial chapel for the Douglas Family

Family crests, Burial vaults for Douglas still? 

This appears to be part of the Douglas Family vault, and there are references elsewhere to the many crests located there.  What is striking:  how effective painted wood carvings are.  More so than plain stone we saw in more southern areas.  Breathtaking, and we don't say that lightly.  And unfaded.

Wood-carved family crest, painted; Vreta Kloster, near Linkoping, Sweden

There is nothing "folk" about wood carving in Sweden. Still looking up whose crest this is.

We always like doors.  Here, broad and squat. But look at the reinforcement at top and bottom for the slats, the iron bolts securing other-side reinforcements, and the huge lock. Then, the very plain surface otherwise.

Bolted door, Vreta Monastery, near Linkoping, Sweden (Vreta Kloster)

Then there is more of the kind of simplicity seen in the door. Here, a simple chapel, and a baptismal font. One huge stone, decorated, on a pedestal. 

This would have been used later, as we understand that baptisms at the early times occurred outside, in outside immersion areas.  Is that so?

Baptismal font, Vreta Kloster, Linkoping (Berg) Sweden

With the most medieval parts off to the side, as burials (see Kings, another post) the main sanctuary has been restored to its more renaissance style.  We like the more primitive.

Pulpit, 1600's, and view, Vreta Kloster, Berg, Sweden (Linkoping)