Gottenburg. -- Ruins of Elfsborg. -- Gustavus Adolphus. -- A
Wrecked Monument. -- The Girdle-Duellists. -- Emigration to
America. -- Public and Private Gardens. -- A Kindly People. --
The Goetha Canal. -- Falls of Trollhaetta. -- Dainty Wild-Flowers.
-- Water-ways. -- Stockholm and Lake Maelaren. -- Prehistoric
Tokens. -- Iron Mines of Sweden. -- Pleasing Episode with
Children. -- The Liquor Traffic Systematized. -- A Great
Practical Charity. -- A Domestic Habit.
One day's sail due north from Copenhagen through the Sound and the
Cattegat--Strait of Catti--brings us to Gottenburg, the metropolis of
southwestern Sweden. The Strait, which is about a hundred miles in
width, is nearly twice as long, and contains many diminutive islands.
Gottenburg is situated on the Goetha River, about five miles from its
mouth. In passing up this water-way the old fortification of Elfsborg
was observed, now dismantled and deserted, though it once did good
service in the war with the Danes. Cannon-balls are still to be seen
half embedded in the crumbling stonewalls,--missiles which were fired
from the enemy's ships. Though Gottenburg is less populous, it is
commercially almost as important as Stockholm the capital, and it is
appropriately called the Liverpool of Scandinavia. The town, with its
eighty thousand inhabitants, has a wide-awake aspect, especially in
the neighborhood of the river, where the numerous well-stocked
timber-yards along the wharves show that product to be a great staple
of the local trade. One is agreeably prepossessed upon landing here
by a certain aspect of neatness and cleanliness observable on all
sides. Indeed, few foreign towns produce so favorable a first
impression. The business centre is the Gustaf-Adolf-Torg, in which is
situated the Boers, or Exchange, decidedly the finest building
architecturally in the city. In the centre of the Torg is a bronze
statue of Gustavus Adolphus, the founder of the town, and which, as a
work of art, is extremely creditable to the designer, Fogelberg. The
history of the statue is somewhat curious. It seems that the first
one designed for this public square was wrecked at sea while on its
passage from Hamburg to Gottenburg, but was rescued by a party of
sailors off Heligoland, who claimed so extraordinary a sum as salvage
that the Gottenburgers refused to pay it, and ordered of the sculptor
a second one to replace that which had been saved from the sea. In
due time the second statue was furnished and set up in the Torg, Nov.
5, 1855, on the two hundred and twenty-third anniversary of the death
of Gustavus. The extortionate seamen who held the first statue were
finally glad to sell it to other parties for a comparatively small
sum, representing its bare metallic value. It now stands in the
Domshide of Bremen.
The deep, broad watercourse which runs through the centre of the city
to the harbor is the beginning of the famous Goetha Canal, which
joins fjord, river, locks, and lakes together all the way to
Stockholm, directly across southern Sweden, thus connecting the North
Sea and the Baltic. The two cities are also joined by railroad, the
distance between them being over three hundred miles. The rural parts
of the country through which the canal passes are not unlike many
inland sections of New England, presenting pleasant views of thrifty
farms and well-cultivated lands. There are some sharp hills and
abrupt valleys to be encountered, which are often characterized by
grand waterfalls, wild-foaming rivers, and surging rapids.
Though there is no striking similarity between the two cities, one is
yet reminded of Amsterdam by Gottenburg, aided perhaps by the memory
that it was originally founded by Gustavus Adolphus, in 1619, and
that Dutch settlers were among its first inhabitants. The descendants
of such people are pretty sure to retain an ancestral atmosphere
about them which is more or less distinctive. The place is divided
into an upper and lower town, the latter being a plain cut up into
canals, and the former spread picturesquely over the adjoining hills.
The town is made up of two or three principal boulevards, very broad,
and intersecting one another at right angles, with a canal in their
centres, these waterways being embanked by substantial granite
borders, which are interspersed at convenient distances with granite
steps connecting the street with the water. The spacious harbor
admits of vessels drawing seventeen feet of water.
Gottenburg is built mostly of brick, which are brought either from
Denmark or Holland; and yet the whole peninsula of Scandinavia
abounds in stone. Large blocks of dwelling-houses were observed in
course of construction which were of four or five stories, and quite
elegant in design. The citizens feel a just pride in a well-endowed
College, a large Public Library, an Exchange, two Orphan Asylums, a
flourishing Society of Arts and Sciences, a large Theatre, and two
spacious public parks. In front of the theatre is an admirable
reproduction of Molin, the Swedish sculptor's famous group of two
figures representing "the girdle-duellists," the original of which
stands in front of the National Museum at Stockholm. This popular and
vigorous composition is reproduced in plaster and terra-cotta, and
offered for sale in all the cities of the North, being particularly
numerous in the art stores of Copenhagen. It depicts one of the
ancient Scandinavian duels, wherein the combatants, stripped to the
skin, were bound together by their united leather belts, and thus
confined, fought out their battle with their knives, the result
proving nearly always fatal to both. Previous to engaging in the
conflict, each of the contestants drove the blade of his knife as
deep into a thick pine-board as he could do with one stroke of his
arm. All the rest of the blade was then blunted and bound securely
with cord, leaving only the inch, more or less, exposed which had
been buried in the wood. If the weapons had not been thus partially
protected, the first blow might have proved fatal, whereas these
ancient belt-duels were designed to exemplify strength and endurance.
The splendid pose and fine muscular development of the two figures,
represented at the height of their struggle, have justly given its
author lasting fame. This group has been declared to hold the same
place in modern sculpture that Meissonier's picture of "The Quarrel,"
the original of which is the property of Queen Victoria, holds in
modern painting.
Gottenburg is not without its cathedral and numerous fine churches,
but especially it has excellent common schools of the several grades,
primary, middle, and high. It will be remembered that education is
compulsory throughout Sweden. English is regularly taught in her
schools and very generally spoken by the educated classes. In
conversation with the common people, it was discovered that the goal
of their ambition was to emigrate to America. The departures for this
country, though not excessive, are yet steady both from this port and
Stockholm, aggregating in some years forty thousand from Sweden and
Norway combined, now and then a group of Finns going to make up the
number. Money among the lower classes is almost as scarce as it is in
Ireland; but those who have emigrated, and have been successful,
liberally remit money wherewith to enable family and friends to join
them in America.
The Public Gardens of Gottenburg are beautifully arranged, and are
kept in exquisite condition,--one large division being designated as
the Botanical Gardens, and abundantly supplied with exotics,
especially from tropical regions. Blooming hawthorn, white and pink
lilacs, and a great variety of beautiful trees challenge admiration
on entering these grounds. Among many familiar flowers a species of
dwarf lobelia of azure blue and the Alpine forget-me-not, with
pale-blue flowers and yellow eyes, were particularly observable,
mingled with pansies in a confused variety of mammoth proportions.
The golden-leaved verbena and a large, tall, pearly-white
tiger-flower were both abundant, the latter speckled with
ruby-colored spots. The horse-chestnut trees were in great variety
and the largest we had ever seen. There were many grand old oaks and
fine Lombardy poplars in stately ranks, as upright as soldiers at a
review. Inland excursions showed the pine and the fir to be the
prevailing trees, the birch becoming more abundant farther north.
Fully one third of the country, as we were assured, is covered with
woods, some of which seemed almost endless in extent. The immediate
environs of Gottenburg are very attractive, well wooded, and adorned
with picturesque cottages and some large villas. Among others which
we visited was that of Oscar Dickson, famous for his interest in
Arctic expeditions. No private gardens in England or America are more
admirably kept, and the grape-houses we have never seen surpassed in
the varieties or perfection of the fruit. The low-lands were found
occasionally bright with the golden petals of the marsh-marigold,
which fairly blazed under the direct rays of the sun. There is a
saying here, that when it blooms the cuckoo comes and the roach
spawns. A fine old bit of mouldering, ivy-grown ruins in the shape of
a Martello tower, situated upon rising ground and overlooking the
entrance to the inland waters, is sure to attract the traveller's
admiring eye.
The kindness of the common people and their pleasant manners are most
captivating, being characterized by quiet self-possession and
thoughtfulness for a stranger's well-being. In more than one instance
a casual inquiry was not only promptly responded to, but we were
taken pleasantly in hand, and other welcome though unsought guidance
and information were voluntarily offered. Education is far more
general and culture is of a higher grade in Sweden than is common
with the people of Southern Europe, while music seems to be as
universal an accomplishment here as it is in Italy. The population is
frugal, honest, self-helping, and in many respects resembles that of
Switzerland.
The system of inland communication by means of the Goetha Canal is one
of the most remarkable ever achieved by man, when the obstacles which
have been overcome and the advantages accomplished are taken into
consideration. Steam-vessels, limited to one hundred and six feet in
length on account of the size of the locks, are carried regularly
hundreds of miles by it across and over the highlands of southern
Sweden from sea to sea. The reader can easily realize what a triumph
of engineering skill it is when he sees a well-freighted steamboat
climb a mountain side, float through lock after lock, and after
reaching the apex of the hilly country, descend with equal facility
towards the coast and sea-level. Steamboats and sailing vessels
navigating the canal rise, in all, three hundred and eighty feet
above the level of the Baltic during the passage across the country.
At the little town of Berg the locks are sixteen in number, and form
a gigantic staircase, by means of which vessels are raised at this
point one hundred and twenty feet. Here, as well as at the famous
Falls of Trollhaetta, the traveller can leave the steamer for three or
four hours, walking on in advance, and thus obtaining some charming
views of inland scenery. No intelligent person can fail to appreciate
the grandeur of the remarkable falls just mentioned, with their
pine-clad, precipitous banks and wild tumult of waters, partially
screened by a white foam-cloud reaching far heavenward.
If possible, it is well to tarry for a day at Trollhaetta, visiting
the various points of interest about the famous rapids, and watching
the many steamboats and other vessels which pass so mysteriously
through the ponderous locks, ascending and descending the elevations
with mathematical regularity and speed. The valley through which the
railroad passes, often parallel with the canal, on the way from
Gottenburg to Trollhaetta, is one of the most fertile in Sweden, and
when we saw it was rich with ripening grains. The falls are
accessible from Gottenburg by rail in about two hours' travel, or by
canal leaving the city early in the morning and returning in the
evening, giving the visitor six or eight hours' time at the falls.
Trollhaetta presents one of the great curiosities of Sweden, to visit
which tourists come from all parts of Europe. It is true that the
hoarse music of these falls is mingled with the din of sawmills,
foundries, and smithies,--but one need not specially regard them. A
little poetical latitude adds zest to imagination, and we see the
beauties and marvels which we come prepared to see. The falls consist
of a series of tremendous rapids extending over a distance of about
two hundred yards; and producing an uproar almost equal to the
ceaseless oratorio of Niagara. The rapids are intersected by two or
three rocky but well-wooded islands, on either side of which the
angry waters rush with a wild, resistless power, tossed by the many
sub-currents. The whole array of rapids forms a succession of falls
of which the first is called Gulloefallet, where on both sides of an
inaccessible little island the waters make a leap of twenty-six feet
in height, the rebound creating a constant cloud of feathery spray.
Then follows the highest of the falls, the Toppoefallet, of forty-four
feet in height, likewise divided by a cliff into two parts, against
which the frantic waters chafe angrily. The next fall measures less
than ten feet in height, followed a little way down the rapids by
what is called the Flottbergstroem,--all together making a fall of
foaming eddies and whirls equal to about one hundred and twelve feet.
While near to these roaring waters amid the general chaos,
conversation is impossible. As at all extensive falls, rainbows
constantly hang over and about the wild surging waters reflected in
the gauze-clouds of transparent mist.
While strolling through the wood-paths and over the rocky ways which
line this sleepless disorder of the waters, the grounds in many
places were seen to be gorgeously decked with flowers of Nature's
planting,--many-colored, sunshine-loving things. Among those more
particularly abundant was the pretty violet-purple flower of the
butterwort, each circle of pale-yellow leaves, with the stalk rising
from the centre crowned with its peculiar bloom. "Beautiful objects
of the wild-bee's love." But for the glutinous exudation one would be
tempted to gather them by handfuls. The town of Trollhaetta is a
village of three thousand inhabitants, and contains a graceful little
Gothic church. The people are mostly manufacturers, who manage to
utilize profitably a portion of the enormous water-power afforded by
the falls. The word Trollhaetta, we were told, signifies "the home of
the water-witches." The local legends with which the traveller is
freely regaled by the guides would fill a good-sized volume in print,
but we feel disinclined to inflict them second-hand and wholesale
upon the patient reader.
The Goetha Canal, as before intimated, utilizes and connects several
of the great lakes of southern Sweden, the principal ones in
Scandinavia being located in this region. Lake Wener, which receives
the waters of eighty rivers large and small, has an area of
twenty-four hundred square miles, being nearly ten times as large as
the famous Lake of Geneva. Lakes Wetter and Maelaren are the next in
importance, either of which is fully twice the size of the Swiss lake
just named. The canal proper--that is, the portion which has been
artificially constructed--is ten feet deep, fifty wide at the bottom,
and ninety at the surface. Two hundred and seventy miles of the route
traversed by the vessels navigating the canal between Gottenburg and
Stockholm are through lakes and rivers, all of which are remarkable
for their clear spring-like character and the picturesqueness of
their surroundings. Stockholm is situated on the Maelaren lake, where
it finds an outlet into the Baltic. This large body of water is
studded all over with islands of every form and size, on some of
which are quaint old castles, mysterious ruins, and thick woods,
haunted only by those rovers of the sky, the eagle and the hawk.
Others are ornamented by charming villas, surrounded by fine
landscape gardening, with graceful groves of drooping willows and
birch-trees. Some contain only fishermen's huts, while here and there
clusters of their small cottages form an humble village. The marine
shells which are found in the bottom of some of the inland lakes of
both Norway and Sweden show that the land which forms their bed was
once covered by the sea. This is clearly apparent in Lake Wener and
Lake Wetter, which are situated nearly three hundred feet above the
present ocean level. The first-named body of water is some eighty
miles long by a width of thirty. The latter is as long, but averages
only ten miles in width. Complete skeletons of whales have been found
far inland, at considerable elevations, during the present century.
The oldest shell-banks discovered by scientists in Scandinavia are
situated five hundred feet above the present level of the ocean. How
significant are these deposits of a prehistoric period!
Sweden has comparatively few mountains, but many ranges of hills.
Norway monopolizes almost entirely the mountain system of the great
northern peninsula; but the valuable large forests of pine, fir, and
birch which cover so much of the country are common to both. Though
iron is found in large deposits in Norway, it is still more abundant
in Sweden, where it is chiefly of the magnetic and haematite
character, yielding when properly smelted the best ore for the
manufacture of steel. It is believed that there is sufficient
malleable and ductile iron in the soil of Sweden to supply the whole
world with this necessary article for a thousand years to come. Mount
Gellivare, which is over eighteen hundred feet in height, is said to
be almost wholly formed of an ore containing fully eighty per cent of
the best quality of merchantable iron; so that a dearth of this
mineral is certainly not imminent.
But let us not wander too far from our course due north. Nor are we
yet quite ready to depart from Gottenburg. While strolling alone
through its broad and pleasant avenues, the writer met a couple of
girls of about eleven and twelve years respectively. They were
evidently sisters, and they looked so bright and so pleasantly into
the stranger's face that he addressed them in the few native words at
his command. That we were a foreigner was at once realized, and the
eldest asked from whence we came. So much could be understood, and
happily the name America was plain enough to them. It acted like a
charm upon them, lighting up their soft blue eyes and wreathing their
lips with smiles, while it also elicited their confidence. Each put a
tiny hand within our own, and thus escorted we passed along until the
nearest confectioner's shop was reached. Here we met upon terms where
pantomime was quite sufficiently expressive, and we were soon engaged
in partaking gleefully of bon-bons, cakes, and cream. What a merry
half hour we three passed together, and how rapidly the time flew!
Was real pleasure ever more cheaply purchased than at the moderate
price demanded by the shop-keeper, who placed a little packet of
sweets in each of the children's hands as we parted? On passing out
upon the avenue we came full upon a person who was all astonishment
and courtesy combined. It was Rene, our Danish courier. "I did not
think, sir," he said, "that you knew any one in Gottenburg." "You
were right, Rene," was the reply, "but these little fairies took
possession of us, and we have had a delightful half hour together."
Then both of the children began to speak to him at the same time, and
he to reply to them. It was soon made apparent why they should so
have affiliated with and trusted a stranger. They understood, that
the writer was from America, where in the State of Pennsylvania they
had a well-beloved brother. It seemed to the dear little blondes that
we must have come as it were direct from him. On parting, a kiss was
pressed upon the innocent lips of each of the children, while
tremulous tears were only too obvious in the sweet, sympathetic eyes
of the elder.
We were told of a rather curious system which originated here of
controlling the liquor traffic, and which has long been in successful
operation.
It appears that a certain number of shops only are licensed for the
sale of pure, unadulterated spirits, wine, and beer within the town,
and none others are permitted to engage in the business. These
licensed establishments are all in the hands of an incorporated
company, whose members are content to take five per cent per annum
upon their invested capital, handing over the surplus to the town
treasury, the sum thus received being appropriated towards reducing
the regular tax-rates imposed upon the citizens. The managers of
these shops where liquor is sold have fixed salaries, not at all
contingent upon the profits realized from the business, and therefore
they have no inducement to urge customers to drink. We saw scarcely
any indications of intemperance here, and were assured by an
intelligent resident that there had been much less drunkenness since
this system had been adopted twelve years ago. As will be readily
conceived, there is now a smaller number of dram-shops opened to
tempt the weak. It is only too true that the "means to do ill deeds
makes ill deeds done."
There is here also a system in operation designed to supply workingmen
and persons of humble means with permanent dwelling-houses,--with
homes which they may own. Comfortable brick houses are erected with
all reasonable accommodations, and a title is made out to the
would-be owner, he paying for the same by a small monthly instalment,
until finally he owns the establishment. This being a philanthropic
object, no profit above actual cost is designed to be realized by the
promoters. The moral effect of the plan is excellent, leading to a
sense of responsibility and economy among a class which is only too
prone to expend its earnings for drink, or to fritter them away
without realizing an equivalent.
It was found that the people in their domestic establishments had an
odd way of prefacing their family meals; namely, partaking of raw
salted salmon, smoked herring, chipped beef, and pickles of various
kinds, which they washed down with one or two wine-glasses of strong
spirit. It seemed to be an obvious inconsistency of purpose. This
ceremony takes place at a side-table just before sitting down to the
regular meal, be it breakfast, luncheon, or dinner. This custom was
noticed afterwards at various places in Scandinavia as well as in
Russia, the practice in the latter country being universal in hotels
and private houses; but it seemed obvious to us that it was only an
excuse for dram-drinking as an appetizer. Bad habits are easily
acquired, and soon make slaves of their incautious victims. More than
one person admitted to us in Russia that without this preliminary
tipple, dinner to them would have no relish.