Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Friluftsmuseum
Gammlia grew out of the
Friluftsmuseum
, an open-air cluster of twenty regional
buildings, including a couple of squat
Sámi
structures, the oldest of which is the
seventeenth-century gatehouse you pass on the way in. The grounds are home to the
customary farmyard animals - cows, pigs, geese and the like - and the guides dressed
in period costume are very willing to tell you about life in their mock town. The
Sámi
section also has the occasional reindeer tethered close by. It all helps to create a rural
ambience including a windmill, church, two threshing floors and a smokehouse for
pork. At the bakery there are demonstrations of how to make the thin unleavened
bread,
tunnbröd
, which used to be baked in people's homes. You can also take a ride
through the grounds in a horse-drawn carriage (free), an experience that's bound to
entertain kids.
Västerbottens Museum
Mid-June to mid-Aug daily 10am-5pm; mid-Aug to mid-June Tues-Fri 10am-4pm, Sat noon-4pm, Sun noon-5pm • Free
The indoor
Västerbottens Museum
houses Gammlia's main collection: three exhibitions
that canter through the county's past, from prehistoric times (the section on this period
contains the oldest ski in the world, over five thousand years old) to the Industrial
Revolution. It's all good stuff, well laid out and complemented by an array of videos
and recordings; a useful English guidebook is available at reception.
7
Fiske och Sjöfartsmuseum
Fishing and Maritime Museum • Late June to late Aug daily noon-5pm; late Aug to late June Tues-Sat noon-4pm,
Sun noon-5pm • Free
Back outside, you can resume your exploration of provincial history in the separate
Fiske och Sjöfartsmuseum
, which tries its best to be a regional maritime museum: the
tug,
Egil
, which once operated in the Ume River together with several fishing and
rowing boats are squeezed into the small hall which also has a brief display about seal
hunting in the region.
Bildmuséet
Mid-June to mid-Aug Wed-Sun noon-5pm; mid-Aug to mid-June Tues-Sat noon-4pm, Sun noon-5pm • Free •
W
bildmuseet.umu.se
Destined for the new Kulturens Hus being constructed on Västra Strandgatan back in
town, the
Bildmuséet
, which is Umeå university's art museum, will house thought-
provoking displays of contemporary Swedish and international art, photojournalism
and visual design.
Umedalens Skulpturpark
2km west of the centre • Always open • Free •
W
umedalenskulptur.se • Take bus #1 or #61 here from Vasaplan in town and get of at the
stop called “Löftets gränd”
Occupying the grounds of Umeå's former mental hospital out at Umedalen, a couple of
kilometres west of the centre, this acclaimed
sculpture park
is a riot of modern form in
all shapes and sizes. As well as work from visiting international sculptors, the
permanent alfresco exhibition contains pieces from, amongst others, Miroslaw Balka,
Tony Cragg and Antony Gormley.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
By plane
Umeå's busy airport is 6km south of the city,
with direct domestic flights to and from Stockholm
(Bromma and Arlanda), Gothenburg, Kiruna, Luleå and
Östersund as well as international flights to Vaasa in
Finland and Riga in Latvia; it's linked with the centre by
airport buses (40kr) and taxis (145kr).
By train
Trains calling at Umeå pull in at the northern end of
the city centre on Järnvägsallén. Note that train times to
Stockholm will reduce to around 5hr 30min once the
Botniabanan is complete - possibly from late 2012 onwards.
