DALECARLIA
No one touring in Sweden should omit a visit to the province of
Dalecarlia. It is a most lovely district, inhabited by a people who
stick to their old customs and national dress. They are very proud and
manly, and have done a great deal for the freedom of their country.
The chief town is Falun, which is well known because of its copper
mine, said to be the oldest in Europe, as it has been worked more than
600 years. It is named the Treasury of Sweden. More than £5,000,000
worth of copper has been extracted. It was here Gustavus Vasa worked
when he was in hiding from the Danes, and got his men and money to
fight against them. The fumes from the works have spoiled the
vegetation in the neighbourhood; but travel in the train a short
distance, and you soon get a sight of what the Dalecarlians are very
proud of--Lake Siljan, the Eye of Dalecarlia. Down the slopes of the
mountain the train proceeds until it reaches Rättvik on the edge of
the lake. You seem in a new world, for you see young and old, men,
women, and children, going about in costumes similar to what their
grandfathers and grandmothers wore. In some parts of Sweden you see
people wearing these costumes on Sundays and gala-days, but in
Dalecarlia they wear them at church and at market. The men have a long
coat which extends below the knee, knee-breeches, white woollen
stockings, and shoes. On the head they wear a low-crowned felt hat.
From the neck there hangs a long leather apron. The women wear a skirt
of a blue colour with a green border. The bodice is of a dark colour,
and is only as high as a broad belt, laced together in front with
bright red ribbons, the eyelets being of silver. They have also a
white blouse. Round the neck is a red kerchief with a bright pattern,
fastened at the throat with an old-fashioned silver brooch. The apron
is dark, with transverse stripes of blue, red, yellow, and white. The
cap is a black, peaked one, with red trimming round it, and red
tassels hanging down. It is something in shape like a helmet. In
winter they wear a short jacket made of sheepskin. Their clothes-store
is a treasure-house.
In days gone by the sound of the shuttle used to be heard in every
Dalecarlian home, as the women used to spin and weave all the cloth
required for the clothes of the family. They now buy from the
merchant. The Dalecarlians are of a mechanical turn of mind. They make
watches and baskets, and the women do hair-work. The natives travel
over the country to sell their wares. The Rättvikians excel chiefly as
painters, and they cover the walls of their houses with paintings
instead of putting up hangings.
The traveller usually proceeds by steamer from Rättvik to Leksand,
where on a Sunday a most interesting sight is seen.
Looking across the lake, you see many large boats, driven through the
water by means of eight or ten pairs of oars. Each of them may contain
forty, sixty, or eighty men, women, and children. They present a very
picturesque appearance with their national costumes. They are very
similar to the Rättvikians, except that the women wear a tight-fitting
cap--that of the married women white, of the unmarried red. The little
boys are dressed in yellow-coloured clothes, and the little girls in
the same as their older sisters. They soon land and wend their way to
church through a beautiful avenue of trees. Here they are joined by
others, who have walked or driven in carts for perhaps ten miles. They
are regular church-goers. The church is not only a religious, but
also a social centre. Sunday is newspaper day. The gossip of the
whole district is then retailed. The men meet in crowds in the avenue,
and the women and children wander in the churchyard until the service
begins. It is like fairyland to see the bright costumes moving among
the luxuriant foliage on a Swedish summer day.
The church at Leksand is an imposing structure, in the shape of a
Greek cross, with a Russian ball-spire. It was built by some Swedes
who had been prisoners in Russia, and it holds about 5,000 people. The
sight is most impressive when it is crowded, men and women sitting
apart. The sermons must at one time have been longer or the people not
so devout, as in some country churches can be seen a relic of bygone
days in a long stick, with which an official, “the church awakener,”
used to poke anyone who fell asleep. When the service is over, the
horses are yoked, the boats pushed into the water, and the vast crowd
is soon scattered.
There is, however, one place of interest that must not be passed
over--Mora, a quiet little spot on the northern shore of Lake Siljan.
It was here that the standard of revolt against the Danes was raised
by the men of Mora under Gustavus Vasa. Near the church is the mound
where he made his famous speech that roused them to action. Dear to
the heart of the Swede is the national memorial at Mora. It is
situated about a mile from the village, and is a little square
building lit from the roof. In the middle of the stone floor is the
cellar in which Gustavus Vasa hid when the Danes were pursuing him.
The walls are covered with paintings of scenes in the life of the
patriot, and one of them represents what took place here. You see the
open trap-door, Gustavus Vasa descending into the cellar with an axe
in his hand, the woman lifting a tub to cover the trap, and through
the window you can see the Danes in the distance on horseback.
No one need be at a loss as to the meaning of any of the pictures. The
custodian has a description written in English, French, and German. He
usually succeeds in finding out the nationality of the visitor, and
gives him the proper copy.
It is with reluctance one leaves Dalecarlia, with its proud and
independent people, and its bright and smiling valleys.
[Illustration: “BRASKULLA” _Anders Zorn._ (A PEASANT GIRL FROM
MORA).]