In the footsteps of Stockholm punks
Words: Ida Therén
If you feel like learning something new about Stockholm, check out the walking tours organized by Stadsmuseet (the City Museum). Even though the museum is closed for renovations, they have found a way to take the shows outside the building, and pretty much every day there is a guided tour showing you new aspects of the city. The target audience ranges from parents with newborns to the elderly, with everything from history to current affairs covered in the program.
One of the most exciting new tours focuses on the punks that once inhabited the Södermalm area, where you get to see the hot spots of the 1990s creative DIY punk era, which coincided with the Swedish financial crisis.
Sara Hedman is one of the creative brains behind the new tour. Normally she works in Stadsmuseet’s digital photography archive, and she tells us that one of Stadsmuseets jobs is to collect and make available the stories of Stockholmers – because the museum building is closing for renovations they are putting extra effort into the city walks.
“We wanted something extra and decided on a punk walk, since it’s never been done before”, she says.
Together with her colleague Emmy Kauppinen, now an archeologist but both former punks, she has co-written the script for the walk. It’s mainly built on quotes and personal stories.
”Source: our teenage diaries”, she laughs.
She adds that they also zoom out and try to look at the era with the filter of a cultural anthropologist.
How is this walk different from your other tours?
No matter your age, this walk will make you wanna be a punk! It’s an inspiring walk with lots of humour.
How do you remember the days that you describe in the walk?
With good vibes. I am still active in the punk movement, as a musician. And Emmy is always going to gigs. But punk is so much more than music. It’s an outlook on life. For me, the DIY philosophy affects everything I do. From writing songs to fixing up a bike.
Are you nostalgic?
Nostalgia is a warm blanket to wrap yourself in sometimes. But I don’t want to live backwards. Just talking about old memories doesn’t feel meaningful. But I like looking back once in a while for a good laugh. Or to get energy in the now!
Is there something you miss from those days?
To wade around in free time. And we had no idea we did. Hanging out with friends a whole weekend. We had put the whole society on our shoulders, but we were still so carefree.
If the punk tour is not for you, Stadsmuseet also arranges literary walks around Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy, and a crime novel walk. They also have a ”dirty walk” – a range of art walks and walks showing the secret places of the city.
And for this summer, you can look forward to a Stadsmuseum guided jogging tour, or a guided swimming tour in Riddarfjärden. In the fall, there will also be a walk guiding you to the house occupations of the 1980s – get your shoes on…
Other city walks:
Kungsgatan – nav och nerv (Kungsgatan – Hub and Nerve)
A guided tour centered around the classic working class writer Ivar Lo’s books about Stockholm. Literature, architecture and history.
Stockholm för nybörjare (Stockholm for Beginners)
Find out why Stockholm is located where it is, and where the city got its name from.
Öl i Stockholm (Beer in Stockholm)
Take a walk through classic drinking places, breweries and beer types.
Hemliga rum och bortglömda platser (Secret Rooms and Forgotten Places)
Visit places no-one remembers – well, apart from the guide.
Family walk in Farsta (Familjevandring i Farsta)
Find out more about Farsta now and then! For the whole family.
