Armoured tracked vehicles, canons and combat vehicles used to defend Sweden during the 1900s. At Arsenalen – The Swedish Tank Museum outside Strägnäs you can experience war history in a unique way, and you don’t even need to take a detour to get here.
“Our focus is on the vehicles, but the stories we tell are about the historical contexts in which they were used, both what it was like in Sweden and what was happening around the world at that time,” says Stefan Karlsson who runs the museum.
At the museum, we’ve built dioramas around the vehicles with mannequins dressed in historically accurate clothes. Experiencing history through the vehicles in this way heightens the feeling and understanding of how things really were at the time and what it was like for the people who drove these vehicles. For example, there is a combat vehicle in a winter environment.
“It’s something that families with children really appreciate,” says Stefan Karlsson.
A large hall and lots of outdoor activities
The vehicles are spread out in the large museum hall, so you don’t need to crowd together with other people.
There’s an obstacle course outside for restless children, and parents, as well as nature bingo, which requires you to look for objects around the museum. You can also learn to play hopscotch in the traditional way.
“We’ve built a hopscotch using stone slabs, and there’re instruction for those who don’t remember how to play.”
Inside you can also go on a treasure hunt with Anders the soldier.
14 people in one room and a kitchen
Outside there’s also a soldier’s croft in its original condition and an accompanying exhibition.
“You get to see what life was like for the soldier and his family during this time. For many people nowadays, it’s difficult to imagine how one family with up to 14 children could live in a small croft, sharing a single room and a kitchen,” says Stefan.
In total, there were between 20,000 and 30,000 soldier’s crofts in Sweden during the several hundred years that the system was in place. The crofts are a big and important part of Sweden’s military history and nearly everyone has some connection to a soldier or soldier’s croft. Many genealogists, among others, like to come to Arsenalen’s own soldier’s croft 143 that originally stood in Björkvik parish.
Next to the Soldier’s Croft is an exhibition, ‘The Soldier and the Croft’, from which you can learn more about the soldier who lived here.
If you’re interested in local military history, Arsenalen also has a special exhibition for you inside the museum. The Södermanland Regiment dates all the way back to the 1300s, before Sweden was a united country.
“What made people think this part of Sweden needed to be defended? Sweden was still not a united country,” says Stefan Karlsson.
You’ll find the answer in the exhibition.
“Our focus is on the vehicles, but the stories we tell are about the historical contexts in which they were used, both what it was like in Sweden and what was happening around the world at that time,” says Stefan Karlsson who runs the museum.
No need for a detour
Arsenalen is located just off the E20, between Strängnäs and Eskilstuna, so you don’t even need to take a detour to stop here. It’s also possible to get here by train and bus.
“Many people take the chance to stop here on their way past,” says Stefan Karlsson, who still wishes that more people would see Arsenalen and the idyllic Strägnäs as worthwhile destinations in their own right.
Once you’ve found Arsenalen, it’s not far to the beautiful town of Strängnäs. It’s a small town near Lake Mälaren with an ancient history and cathedral where you can learn about old kings and queens and now also modern criminal history.
If you want to experience Strängnäs and its surroundings from above, Arsenalen arranges a number of helicopter tours during the summer.
“For about 10 minutes you get the chance to discover what you miss from the motorway,” says Stefan.
