If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 505

 

 

 

 

 

National folk costumes from Bohuslän, Sweden 

 

This is an Åredal Fotoproduktion unused postcard with a photograph by Stig Årendal showing two different costumes, the one on the left from Fräkne and the one on the right from Bohus.  The identifying code, D27, is found on the center line on the reverse of the card.  At the bottom left on the reverse is a flag outline with “Svenska folkdräkter” printed across the center line.  The card is undated.

 

Like Norway, each different area in Sweden has its own folk costume.  The costumes are similar in the two countries but have some differences.  The Swedish aprons appear to be a little longer, here one is made of patterned material, the other is plain.  While there is trim on the blouses and the bodices, there does not seem to be as much embroidery work as is found on the Norwegian costumes.  The two costumes represented on the card come from Bohuslän a province on the northern part of the west coast of Sweden.  It is located across the border from the Norwegian county of Østfold.  Bohuslän, formerly Baahuslen, when it was a Norwegian county, is named after the castle of Bohus.  This area was part of Norway from the 870s until the Treaty of Roskilde in 1648 when the union of Denmark-Norway was forced to cede it to Sweden.  Bohus and Gothenburg were merged in 1998 and have become the larger Västra Götaland County.

 

Geographically Bohuslän has a rocky coast and includes about 3,000 islands.  In the past there were many shipwrecks on the reefs and sunken rocks along this coast.  Most of the coast is made up of Bohus granite.  Unlike other parts of Sweden there are few streams and lakes in Bohuslän. 

 

This area of Sweden is also known for Nordic Bronze Age, 1700 -500 BCE, rock art.  Near Tanum, in Bohuslän, there is a museum, a visitor center, and a site where there is an incredible example of the Vitlycke rock art.  There are scenes from daily life of that time period, also religious rituals, and animals that were hunted.  When we were in there in 1982, I picked up a little booklet about the Vitlycke rock carvings but no postcards!  I have postcards from other places we visited on that trip, so perhaps the booklet was the only thing I could find at the time.  The main carving is a group that measures 22 ft by 68 ft. and contains at least 400 figures.  All the carvings at Tanum are found on slabs of rock on hillsides near running water. 

 

 

Near Tanum, Sweden, 1982 

 

A picnic lunch in the foreground, the visitor center at the mid-left, and the rock art slab on the hillside.  There is a small stream of water that crosses the slab as well as a larger brook or stream with a small bridge.  Of course, the adventure would not be complete without one of these three children falling into the water while trying to catch a frog.

 

A section of the main grouping of the rock art, 1982

This is now a UNESCO heritage site.  The museum has been enlarged and the grounds include examples of how the people lived and what the houses looked like.  

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohuslän

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohus_Fortress

https://www.vastsverige.com/en/tanum/produkter/vitlycke-museum/