Erlangen group celebrates midsummer in Eskilstuna

35 curious people, Sweden fans and Eskilstuna connoisseurs from Erlangen visited their Swedish twin city over Midsummer (Midsommar). With the support of the City of Erlangen's partnership officer Tobias Ott and travel agent David Schulte-Vogel from the TUI travel agency in Nuremberg, Ute Guthunz from the Friends of Eskilstuna organized the eight-day "citizens' trip" with the aim of "reviving" relations with Erlangen's oldest twin city, which had "fallen asleep" somewhat in recent years, and thus getting to know or rediscovering Eskilstuna. Back on June 7, 1961, Dr. Heinrich Lades and Svante Lundkvist, the then Lord Mayors of the two cities, ceremoniously signed the partnership documents - one of which, incidentally, hangs in the historic wedding hall of Eskilstuna Town Hall today. Since then, thousands of locals of all ages have traveled to the respective twin town - including from the fields of culture, sport, industry, crafts, schools, universities, clubs, scouts, politics, fire brigades/police, / THW, rescue services, churches and, of course, "normal" vacation guests. In a very special way, they got to know a hitherto foreign country with its history and culture in a lively and diverse exchange. Numerous friendships were formed, and it was not uncommon for German-Swedish marriages to take place.

On the very first day, the Erlangen group was officially welcomed in Eskilstuna town hall by city councillor Goeran Gredfors and environmental officer Eilin Svanström, traditionally with "fika" (coffee and cinnamon buns), but also with lots of information about the city and especially about its climate protection measures, for example aboutmeasures for climate protection, such as the expansion of the local heating network with wood chips from sustainable forestry or the opening of the world's largest recycling and upcycling department store "ReTuna" in a suburb of Eskilstuna. Erlangen can certainly learn a thing or two here! Rudi Ackermann briefly introduced the Friends of Eskilstuna and played a Swedish melody on the grand piano in the council chamber, Ute Guthunz thanked the tour group for the warm welcome and read out the message of greeting from Erlangen's Lord Mayor Dr. Florian Janik. With a solemn and emotional laying of flowers at the graves of Svante Lundkvist (1919-1991) and Otto Seidl (1913-2013) at St. Eskils Cemetery, the co-founders of the partnership on the Swedish side were also remembered in the presence of Otto Seidl's son Sven. Otto Seidl, jokingly referred to in Erlangen as "Eskilstuna's foreign minister" and the "driving force behind the partnership", supported it from the very beginning with a great deal of passion and commitment. As a Sudeten German refugee who fled to Sweden via Poland for political reasons and finally found a new home and work as an instrument maker and music teacher in Eskilstuna, he embodied the symbol of friendship and peace in both twin towns. The small celebration ended with the Swedish folk song "Vem kan segla förutan vind", spontaneously sung together, as was customary "in the heyday" of the partnership during the mutual visits.

Accompanied by the Swedish city guide Giselle Emmott, the tour group was first able to get an impression of the city with its interesting mixture of faithfully restored wooden houses in the old town and modern residential architecture, well-kept and clean green spaces as well as numerous works of art in public areas and plenty of water. The city center is dominated by the neo-Gothic red brick building of the monastery church (Klosters Kyrka). The program also included a visit to the Rademachersmedjorna open-air museum in the middle of the city, where the blacksmith's workshops and houses were built in 1659. From here, Eskilstuna developed into the leading location for the Swedish metal industry. The Technical Museum (Munktellmuseet), on the other hand, tells a part of Swedish industrial history since the beginning of the 19th century and exhibits steam, construction and agricultural machinery related to the mechanical engineering pioneer Johan Theofron Munktell, whose inventions made Eskilstuna an industrial town near iron-rich mines and laid the foundations, so to speak, for Volvo automobile production.

Excursions into the historical surroundings of Eskilstuna to nearby sights took the tour group to Torshälla, for example, where a sacrificial site for the pagan god Thor was built over with a Christian church in the 12th century. The Bergströmska gården (Bergström's Court) open-air museum, on the other hand, shed light on the life of the citizens in the 18th century. Travelers could also experience the beauty of Swedish nature, especially the birch forests, on a hike to Sigurds- or Ramsundsristningen, a rock carving about 4 ½ m wide and 2 m high with a runic inscription referring to the Sigurd legend. The castles of Sundbyholm and Gripsholm, picturesquely situated on Lake Mälaren (Mälaren), with their natural landscape parks, small harbors and beaches, were an invitation to visit, explore rune stones, go for walks and swim. It is understandable that many people from Eskilstuna spend their days off in their weekend homes - often painted in the typical Bullerbü red and white - by their beautiful "house lake", which stretches a good 70 km from Eskilstuna to Stockholm. A stroll through the town of Mariefred with a visit to Kurt Tucholsky's grave was also a good idea. The writer and political journalist of Jewish origin (1880-1935), who was critical of the regime, had to leave Germany and went into exile in Sweden. Finally, the Erlangen group visited the Vallby Feilichtmuseum near Västeras. With around 40 wooden and stone houses from urban and rural areas (the oldest dating back to the 17th century), it is one of Sweden's largest open-air museums. It has set itself the task of preserving endangered native animal breeds - such as the Öland goose or Gotland pony - as well as cultivating regional handicrafts and growing native cultivated and ornamental plants.

Another day of the trip took the Erlangen team to the historic Sala mine, Sweden's most productive source of silver from around 1510 to 1960, which was found in galena with zinc and lead and processed into coins and valuable household items. A good 30 historic buildings, which were used in different ways, are still spread across the huge mining site and the entire town. Over the centuries, the underground facilities have been extended again and again: shafts and tunnels with a total length of around 20 km were gradually dug into the rock to a depth of around 150 m. Groundwater lakes and hollows were also created. In addition, groundwater lakes and cavities were created; depending on the level of technical development, water management systems, pumping systems and steam engines were introduced over the decades. The next destination was Anundshög, a seemingly mystical burial ground that was probably used from the Migration Period to the Viking Age (around 400 - 1050 AD). With around 20 burial mounds - the largest of which has a diameter of approx. 60 m and a height of approx. 10 m - the ship and stone settings and the approx. 3 m high rune stone, it is the largest and most important burial site in Sweden from this period. Not all of the graves have been explored, but it is assumed that important men who owned large boats or were very good sailors were buried here: The ship-shaped monoliths probably symbolized a real ship on its route through the realm of the dead.

Last but not least, we celebrated Midsommar together on the really huge sports grounds in Eskilstuna - Vilsta, which also include a river swimming pool with sandy beaches, a riding school and a ski hill with a lift. Incidentally, a delegation from Erlangen was present at the ground-breaking ceremony for this extensive sports facility in the summer of 1963. Although Midsommar is not a public or religious holiday, it is the second largest festival in Sweden after Christmas. It is always celebrated on the Friday and Saturday (possibly also Sunday) before June 24. Most stores, museums, restaurants etc. are closed throughout the country and most employees have the day off. Everyone who wants to is included in the public festivities, regardless of whether they are locals, "newcomers" or tourists. There is no "dress code": traditional costume, white or light-colored clothing, sunny colors, floral patterns ... everything is allowed. But a wreath woven from fresh wild flowers and birch twigs in your hair is always a must - for young and old alike!

The summer solstice, i.e. the longest day of the year, was celebrated together outside in the countryside from 3 p.m., along with the light of the "white (=bright) nights", warmth, nature, love and togetherness. Actually, two tree trunks (midsommarstång) attached to each other in the shape of a cross and two rings hanging from them (as symbols of sun and fertility) are decorated together with birch branches and flowers and then set up, but in Vilsta the tree was already waiting undecorated on a very, very large sports lawn for musicians:inside, dancers and the many, many guests who had made themselves comfortable in a large circle around the pole with their picnic baskets on blankets etc. had made themselves comfortable. But then it was "Trevlig Midsommar" or "Glad Midsommar" ("Happy Midsummer!"), and the dancers began to perform the traditional dance routines with some "sporty interludes", accompanied by songs typical of the country, such as "små grodorna" ("The Little Frogs") - and (almost) everyone spent what felt like hours spinning in circles around the tree. In the early evening, the locals said goodbye - the rest of the evening or night belonged to the family or close circle of friends and a feast in their own home or garden. But the Erlangen locals didn't have to miss out on the good food: "Traditionally Swedish", they had herring bites (sill) marinated in sweet and sour, dill and mustard sauce with hearty brown bread, followed by pickled salmon with green asparagus and salad, each served with young potatoes, sour cream and dill and chive sauce and hushållsost (a type of hard cheese). Strawberries with cream were a must for dessert, as they are also a symbol of summer and the fertility of nature. By the way: The Swedish flag remains hoisted throughout Midsommar - although the government recommends that it be lowered by 8:30 pm every day at the latest.

Conclusion: It was beautiful! The light around the solstice was unique! So much to discover, so much nature, so much water, even in the city, so many nice and relaxed people! Our twin town Eskilstuna was and is worth a visit!

Text: Gisela Sponsel-Trykowski