Linköping Domkyrkan and Trädgårdsföreningen

Happy Midsummer! Of course, because you can read this at any time, it might not be Midsummer when you do. But it is as I write it.

As I explained yesterday in my first post from Linköping, I’d heard of Midsummer from an Apple TV series, The Reluctant Traveller, but I’d forgotten about it until I learned that it’s now Midsummer here. Only then did I remember the episode.

What I learned yesterday was that Midsummer Eve is also a holiday, and not only the eve, but all day. Just about everything with doors capable of being closed was closed for the holiday. That included the Linköping Domkyrkan (Cathedral), which I tried to visit yesterday.

The front desk at my hotel told me that the restaurants in the city’s main square would reopen today, Midsummer. But she didn’t tell me about tourist attractions. And I couldn’t find anything about holiday hours for them on the web.

So the question I had when I set out this morning was, would anything be open today? Read on to find out.

Linköping Domkyrkan

It’s too bad the Linköping Domkyrkan was closed yesterday. Despite not being a believer, if it had been, I would have gone in to pray that it was open today. Then again, if it had been open, there would have been no need because I would have already been inside to see it.

This raises the age-old question: Which came first, the open cathedral or the prayer for the open cathedral?

I very much wanted to go inside because my guidebook doesn’t list much in Linköping, but it does speak very favourably of the Linköping Domkyrkan.

Consequently, I went back this morning, not optimistic, but it’s only about a ten-minute walk from my hotel, so I went there and tried my luck at the Linköping Domkyrkan.

Regular readers know about the DLJSSIA (Don’t Let Joel See Stuff International Association) and its dastardly deeds. I hope none of my readers are supporters of or donors to that evil organization. If they are, they can stop reading this journal right now and never come back; thank you very much.

Knowing of the existence of the DLJSSIA, readers will be surprised, but hopefully pleased, to learn that the Linköping Domkyrkan was open when I went there. Maybe the cathedral thought I’d already left Linköping. Nefarious isn’t a synonym for omniscient or competent, thankfully.

Google Maps and the website for Linköping Domkyrkan say the Cathedral is open every day from 9:00 to 18:00. It occurs to me that it’s possible that it closes early, not entirely, on Midsummer Eve and Midsummer. Perhaps if I’d gone in the morning yesterday, as I did today, I would have gotten in yesterday. However, that would have been difficult as I wasn’t in Linköping in the morning yesterday.

I won’t describe the exterior of the Linköping Domkyrkan because I did that yesterday. If you’re new here, you can click or tap (as the case may be) on this link to read it.

A little, very little, history. The cathedral replaced a church that was built in the 11th century. Construction of the current cathedral started in the mid-13th century because the former church was no longer big enough for the growing population. But the Black Death and other deterrents delayed construction, and it wasn’t finished until the 1500s. I imagine that the Black Death was also a deterrent to the growing population.

Some elements of the Medieval cathedral started in the 13th century remain in the Linköping Domkyrkan as it is today. But in the interim, there have been a few extensions and some remodeling.

The interior is grand and powerful. Its walls and the ribs up to the soaring vaulted ceiling are bare, grey stone. Medieval stone carvings, along with some metal plaques, adorn the walls. Some tapestries also hang from the walls, but they look much newer. Some of them are low enough to touch, but there’s no protection stopping anyone from touching them, so they’re certainly not priceless antiquities. (Nor do they look like antiquities.)

When I looked at my pictures just now, I noticed that I didn’t take one of the nave. I might have been put off by the bit of scaffolding that would have appeared in the picture if I had. However, I did take a photo of one of the side aisles. It looks similar to the nave, but much narrower.

Despite not taking a full shot of the nave, I did take a close-up picture of the altar and altarpiece in the Linköping Domkyrkan. However, they’re not what gets listed in my guidebook or Wikipedia as the altarpiece.

My guidebook says (and Wikipedia confirms it) that the altarpiece is a Renaissance triptych by a Dutch painter, M. J. van Heemskerck (1498–1574), titled “Crucifixion.” (Wikipedia gives the artist’s name as Maarten van Heemskerck, not M. J.) That triptych is not currently behind the altar, but rather off to the side of the Linköping Domkyrkan.

On the side walls of the cathedral, there’s a row of low arches that I think are purely there for decoration. They are just on the lower portion of the wall. I took a couple of pictures of them and posted them here side-by-side. The one on the left is a close-up of just one of the arches. In that picture, it looks like a large arch that holds up a building. You see from the picture on the right, which puts the arches in context, that they don’t appear to be holding up anything.

At a few points on the floor of Linköping Domkyrkan—the floor as it is today—there are cubes with glass tops inset into the floor. I’m guessing the length and width of the cube are roughly the length of my forearm, including my hands. Inside most of the cubes is an object that looks like it’s highly polished, multi-hued brown marble in the shape of a North American football, but with flattened ends.

There’s engraving beside and inside the cube. For one of them, the engraving on the floor translated to “SILENCE.” The engraving inside the embedded cube translated to:

“1 OF GOD
SILENCE WORDLESS
STILL”

I don’t know how accurate Google Translate was with that. Different embedded cubes had different engraved words. Don’t ask me what that was about.

Trädgårdsföreningen

According to Google Translate, “Trädgårdsföreningen” translates to “The Gardening Association.” And a translation of its webpage provides the same thing.

Trädgårdsföreningen is a large park in central Linköping that’s quite beautiful. There’s one section that’s replete with flower beds and flowers, but there are also flowers scattered elsewhere in the park.

A small, curvy pond with vegetation around it sits close to a charming gazebo. And some wooded areas add an arboretum feel to a portion of the park.

There was also a large grass field that had a covered stage at its front. I don’t know if the stage is permanent or if it had something to do with some Midsummer festivities that weren’t taking place while I was there.

I say this because, and I’m very excited about this, there was a fully decorated Midsummer pole smack dab in the middle of the field. There was no one dancing around it, nor was there anyone other than me close enough to touch it with a ten-foot or even a thirty-foot pole while I was there. In fact, I was the only person then on the field. Nevertheless, there it was. My first sighting (and likely my only sighting) of a Midsummer pole in the wild.

On the grounds of Trädgårdsföreningen, there are a couple of old farm buildings that were moved there in 1913 to preserve and present them.

There’s a hill in Trädgårdsföreningen with a handsome three-storey tower atop it. It’s The Belvedere. It was built in 1881 and is 22 metres high. According to some English on a sign beside it, “In 1921, the tower underwent a major renovation. A veranda was added to the Belvedere where the people of Linköping could gather to eat, listen to music, and dance. Eventually, the tower fell into disrepair. For a period, it was threatened with demolition, but it has recently been carefully restored.”

There is a small café next to the Belvedere, but it was closed when I was there. Looking into the windows of the Belvedere, I think the café might also serve food inside the Belvedere when it’s open. But I’m not certain.

Oh, I almost forgot another feature of Trädgårdsföreningen. Close to the curvy pond and gazebo, there’s a couple dressed as if they are husband and wife (or soon to be), another man and woman dressed as if they are in the wedding party, and two photographers and one videographer. The photographers and the videographer, and their cameras and lights, looked professional. It occurs to me that this might only be a temporary exhibition of Trädgårdsföreningen rather than a permanent feature.

All things considered, and even if you were to fail to consider a few things, Trädgårdsföreningen is a very nice park.

Aside

Linköping and the Pained Foot

For the past couple of days, I’ve had some very intermittent, minor discomfort in my left foot. It’s localized to just a patch on the top of my foot, and spilling over a little to the side as well, a bit back from my big toe. It’s not at all debilitating, but ever-so-slightly annoying, nonetheless. I hate being annoyed, even if it’s only ever so slightly. Really. Why is that necessary?

When I woke up this morning, the discomfort had become pain, but only if my foot made contact with the bed. Otherwise, it was back to discomfort, but permanent now rather than intermittent.

When I got out of bed, I found that it hurt more when I put weight on it. Why does stuff like that happen? I don’t know. I’m not conscious of having done anything that could possibly injure my foot. So I consider it to be conclusive proof that we weren’t intelligently designed. Harrumph.

Something similar happened to me, I think it was a few months ago. I was at home. I did my best to keep my weight off it for a few days, and it went away. I hope the same happens this time, but I’m not home now, dammit! I’ll be damned if I’m going to keep my weight off it.

I paid a lot of money to take this trip, and I’ve still got one more city to go to. There’s no way in hell I’m going to lie around in a hotel room.

The pain wasn’t excruciating, but well into the pain range rather than the discomfort range. It sucks, I tell ya. Nevertheless, I persisted.

I walked a little slower this morning than I normally do, and did more sitting than I normally do. So I wasn’t able to cover as much ground as usual, even at my advanced age. (The effects of aging suck too.)

By lunchtime, the pain was a little less, but still there. Harrumph! Harrumph!

But I’m not one to complain. So forget I said anything about it.