Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
there's generally a mock-up of a street in early 1900s Chicago, a popular destination for
the emigrants, where all the stores are run by Swedes - everything from a grocer's to a
photographer's shop.
Wilhelm Moberg
There's also a section on
women emigrants
, entitled “Not Just Kristina”, a reference to a
fictitious character in
The Emigrants
, a trilogy by one of Sweden's most celebrated
writers,
Wilhelm Moberg
. Upon publication, it became the most-read Swedish history
book in the country, and was made into a film starring Max von Sydow and Liv
Ullman. On display here is Moberg's writing cabin, which was given to the museum
after his death in 1973. Moberg would himself have emigrated, only his father sold a
farrow of piglets to pay for his son to go to college in Sweden.
6
Research Centre
Tues-Fri 9am-4pm • 150kr/half-day, 300kr/full day
he museum's
Research Centre
charges remarkably good rates to help interested
parties trace their family roots using passenger lists from ten harbours, microfilmed
church records from all Swedish parishes and the archives of Swedish community
associations abroad. If you want to use the centre's extensive information services
during its peak season (May-Aug), it's especially worth booking ahead for an
appointment with one of the staff.
Domkyrkan
Linnégatan 2 • Daily 9am-6pm
In the centre of town, the distinctive
Domkyrkan
, with its unusual twin green towers
and apricot-pink facade, is certainly worth a look. The combined impact of regular
restorations, the most recent in 1995, together with a catalogue of disasters, such as
sixteenth-century fires and a 1775 lightning strike, have left little of note except an
organ. There are, however, some brilliant glass ornaments by two of the best-known
contemporary Glass Kingdom designers: Göran Wärff's wacky church font of blue
glass, a stunning triptych altarpiece made entirely of glass designed by Bertil Vallien
and the tree of life with Adam and Eve surrounded by glass leaves by Erik Höglund.
The cathedral is set in
Linnéparken
, named after Carl von Linné (see p. 000), who was
educated at the handsome school next door.
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION
VÄXJÖ
By train
The train station is next to bus station in the
middle of town from where it's a straightforward walk of
around 10min to reach the main square.
Destinations
Copenhagen via Kastrup airport (10 daily;
2hr 45min); Gothenburg (5 daily; 3hr); Jönköping (5 daily;
2hr); Kalmar (11 daily; 1hr); Malmö (10 daily; 2hr 15min).
Tourist o
ce
Stortorget (June-Aug Mon-Fri 9am-6pm,
Sat 10am-2pm, also July Sun 10am-2pm; Sept to May
Mon-Fri 9.30am-4.30pm;
T
0470 73 32 80,
W
turism
.vaxjo.se). Has internet access.
ACCOMMODATION
Best Western Royal Corner
Liedbergsgatan 11
T
0470 70 10 00,
W
royalcorner.se.
Since becoming part
of the Best Western chain, rooms here have been renovated
and are now smart, comfortable and full of wooden panels,
floors and fittings in keeping with the latest Swedish
desig
n trends. Extrem
ely reasonable weekend and summer
rates.
700kr/1350kr
Clarion Collection Cardinal
Bäckgatan 10
T
0470 72
28 00,
W
choicehotels.se.
Complete with a free evening
buffet, this winning hotel, just off the main drag, tastefully
combines old and new, plus there's some decent art on the
walls.
A friendly wel
come, too, makes this hotel hard to
beat.
690kr/1240kr
Elite Stadshotell
Kungsgatan 6
T
0470 134 00,
W
vaxjo.elite.se.
A good central location for this
hotel with the usual executive-class hotchpotch of
shiny marble, potted palms and terrible carpets, but
with a generous buffet breakfast included in the rates
and an in-ho
use English pub, the
Bishops Arms
.
765kr/1232kr
Esplanad
Norra Esplanaden 21A
T
0470 225 80,
W
hotellesplanad.com.
A reasonable family-owned
