Princess Märtha of Sweden

Princess Märtha of Sweden was Crown Princess of Norway as the wife of the future King Olav V from 1929 until her death in 1954. As Olav only became king in 1957, Märtha never became Queen of Norway. Her son, Harald V, was King of Norway from 1991 until his death in 2026.

Men's hats worn to scare predators

Herding girls wore men's hats to scare away bears and wolves, making the animals believe a man was approaching.

Tar used to protect bare feet

Some men used tar on the soles of their feet at the start of summer, allowing them to walk barefoot across rough terrain like stones and pine needles after the tar dried.

Music and Dance at Skansen Museum

At the Skansen open-air museum, founded in 1891, visitors could hear the nyckelharpa and fiddle playing ancient melodies, while herdsmen's horns echoed. Young people gathered to perform old folk dances and ring games with great energy.

Folk music performances at Skansen museum

At Skansen, an open-air museum opened in 1891, people could hear live performances of traditional Swedish instruments like the fiddle, nyckelharpa, and herdsman’s horn in a simulated peasant environment.

Horse-drawn travel costs and stations

By the end of 1895, Sweden had 1,518 roadside stations for horse-drawn travel, with an average distance of 25 kilometers between them. A conveyance with one horse typically cost about 16 öre per kilometer.

Slow Steamboats and Public Distrust

Steamboats like the Egil were surprisingly slow for towing timber, averaging only two knots, meaning a trip could take up to 30 days. People often distrusted wood-fired steamboats, fearing they would catch fire or scare away fish.

Mandatory schooling for children

A school law mandated that children attend school between the ages of seven and fourteen, moving society toward a norm where children were expected to study rather than work at home. Education emphasized reading, writing, arithmetic, and increasingly, practical skills like domestic economy and gymnastics.

School kitchens provided meals for pupils

In some towns, school kitchens provided meals for children who would not otherwise get a proper meal at home, with poorer children sometimes contributing about a penny toward the cost. These kitchens helped educate school girls in domestic economy while ensuring pupils were fed.

Affordable meat and staple snacks

Knackwurst sausages were a treat for some workers, available at markets for 25 öre for three. While meat was often scarce, other items like crispbread were staples across all social classes.

Everyday meals of poor Swedish families

For poor families, a common, inexpensive mid-day meal consisted of a large dish of boiled potatoes, often supplemented with salt herring bought from a local merchant. To save money, bread was baked at home and hung on a pole to dry, as families were discouraged from eating fresh bread.

Earnings of a laborer in 1907

In 1907, a common laborer in Stockholm earned 3.20 kronor per day, which would result in an annual income of 948 kronor if he avoided chronic unemployment.

Shoes as a luxury for workers

In Stockholm, a pair of shoes was a significant expense for a worker, as a household budget might show that after covering basic food and rent, only 94 öre per week remained for clothing and footwear.

Common jobs in Sweden, 1900-1924

The majority of Swedes worked in agriculture as peasants, crofters, farmhands, or contract-workers, though industrial, forestry, and small-scale manufacturing jobs were also significant.

Early starts for livestock workers

Milkmaids and grooms often began their work at 3:30 to 4:00 a.m. and some grooms had only one day off every third or fourth Sunday.