Free Museums to visit in Stockholm (Part 2) – Swedish Army Museum (Armémuseum)

31 May 2017

The Swedish Army Museum (Armémuseum) is one of the best museum I visited in Stockholm. And this museum is FREE!

Located in the midst of the posh Östermalm district of Stockholm at Riddargatan 13, it is within walking distance from the Ostermalmtorg subway station (Sibyllegatan exit).

When we arrived at the museum, the friendly staff on the entrance floor greeted us warmly and handed us a small information booklet of the museum and recommended that we take the lift to the 3rd floor and work our way down. That way, we get to experience Sweden's history of war and peace from the 16th century to the present day in chronological order.

Stepping out of the lift at the 3rd floor, we heard the noise of a group of chimps fighting.

This display actually tried to explain that war is natural and killing is in our blood. Even our close relatives, the chimps, kills their rivals to expand their territory. Men had been killing each other since 13,000 years ago and we are getting better at it over time.

There are interesting exhibits, with labels and signage in both English and Swedish. The life size dioramas show living conditions of the soldiers, their families and the general population during wartime and peacetime delivered information in an interesting and sometimes gruesome way.

One of the life size dioramas show living conditions of the soldiers and their families.

Although Sweden was not directly involved in the 2 major World Wars, there were many conflicts with the neighbours Denmark, Poland, Finland and Russia in their earlier history. Russian, Polish and Danish banners, and other trophies captured in war, were on display in a special room. 

A cuirass with a bullet dent on it. A sign of quality during those times.

I saw an interesting cuirass (a piece of armour consisting of breastplate and backplate fastened together) with a bullet dent on it. Worn by heavy cavalry during 1620 to 1650, the breastplate had to be bullet proof and so a test shot is always made at the finished armour to ensure its quality. In those days, don’t buy cuirass without a dent on it.

For the avid photographer, there are many photo opportunities with life-size and miniature figures of soldiers of past centuries, as well as scenes of the major battles of Swedish forces. There are dioramas of soldiers fighting in the woods, cavalry charge, cannon crew or freezing to death in winter.

Life size charging cavalry model at the top floor of the Swedish Army Museum (Armémuseum).

Try staring down the barrel of a gun held by this 16th Century infantry man. 

I loved the miniature armies set out on a large table!

The drummers at the front are the bravest. Imagine going into the battlefield without a weapon.

Close-up of the militiamen.

It was very interesting to learn how military disciplines were enforced during those times. Besides the usual imprisonment, lashings, there were some very creative punishments that include “riding the wooden horse”.

There was a mock up for visitor to try. Painful! I did not last more than a few seconds before I gave up. Imagine having to sit on it for a lengthy period of time.

The second floor of the museum deals with the 20th century and the two world wars.

There is a special area called the Raoul Wallenberg room. This is a mini-exhibition about Raoul Wallenberg, the man who saved tens of thousands of people from the Nazis.

WW2 history buff would enjoy seeing some of displays and photographs.

Uniforms worn by British paratrooper (left), German soldier (middle) and Russian soldier (right) during Second World War.

 

The enigma cipher machine used by the Germans during WW2. Unknown to them, the Allies managed to crack the code during the war and able to decipher all their coded messages.

The last section on the second floor showcases the technical development of weaponry.

I was on the lookout for the exhibit of the RBS 70 laser guided anti-aircraft missile. This was a weapon system that I was trained on during my days in the military service and it was with mixed feelings that I found it in the museum. Shows how old I am!

RBS 70 Laser guided Surface to Air (SAM) missile.

We tried handling the various rifles used across history ranging from the muskets to the modern semi-automatic rifle that is accurate to a range of 300m. There were also old army uniforms to try on.

Also seen were Swedish developed hardware such as the tracked all-terrain vehicle and the Ugglan (owl) drone or UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle).

Ugglan (owl) drone.

Glass case displaying modern machineguns.

The ground floor of the museum hosts the temporary exhibitions. They were the War Games and photos from World War 1.

The War Games section (on display 24 Feb 2017 to 7 Jan 2018) was quite informative. We saw card games, board games like Risk and also various forms of chess from all over the world.

Chaturanga – Indian chess game that can be played by 2 to 4 players.

Shogi – Japanese strategy game. Predates the chess and related to the Chaturanga and Chinese Xiangqi.

Hnefatafl, a Scandinavia game depicting a chieftain and his bodyguards.

There are a few armoured vehicles, including one that showcase Sweden’s participation with the UN’s Peacekeeping forces outside the museum.

Swedish Army Museum (Armémuseum) with an armoured car in United Nations peace keeping livery in the foreground. 

Across the road from the museum, we took a photo of an impressive red brick building.

Royal Stables in the foreground.

This building is the Royal Stables, supplying the Royal Court with horse carriages and car transport.

I must say that the Army Museum exceeded my expectations. Even my wife enjoyed the 2 hours we spend in our visit. A must see when visiting Stockholm or the Östermalm area.