Fotoeins Fotografie

faces of home & place-story

Posts tagged ‘Skogskyrkogarden’

UNESCO World Heritage logo, Wikimedia CC3 license

Fotoeins’ 20 UNESCO Heritage Sites Around the World

Since 1995, I’ve been fortunate to experience significant travel: first as green graduate student on my first (of many) trips to Chile; followed by the opportunity to live and work in 3 countries on 3 continents inside a span of 10 years. I didn’t give much thought about their relative importance at the time, but I’m lucky to have visited a number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites (WHS).

I’ve written about a number of UNESCO sites in Germany with more to come. From other parts of the world, here are 20 UNESCO WHS:

  1. Australia: Blue Mountains (Katoomba)
  2. Australia: Fremantle Prison
  3. Australia: Sydney Opera House
  4. Argentina: Iguazú Falls, Iguazú National Park
  5. Brazil: Iguaçu Falls, Iguaçu National Park
  6. Brazil: Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves (Curitiba)
  7. China: Historic Centre of Macao
  8. Czech Republic: Historic Centre of Prague
  9. Czech Republic: Kutná Hora
  10. Denmark: Kronborg Castle (Helsingør)
  11. France: Historic Site of Lyons
  12. Italy: Cinque Terre
  13. México: Historic Centre of México City
  14. México: San Miguel de Allende
  15. New Zealand: Te Wāhipounamu (South Island)
  16. Spain: Alhambra, Generalife, & Albayzín (Granada)
  17. Spain: Cathedral, Alcázar & Archivo de Indias (Sevilla)
  18. Sweden: Skogskyrkogården (Stockholm)
  19. United Kingdom: Old & New Towns of Edinburgh (Scotland)
  20. USA: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (Big Island)

( Click here for images and more )

My Stockholm: finding Greta Garbo in the Skogskyrkogården

The Skogskyrkogården, or Woodland Cemetery, is located about 15 minutes by metro, south from central Stockholm in Sweden. For its unique design, aesthetic character, and expanse both vertically and horizontally, the forest cemetery was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.

I had read that Greta Garbo was buried here, and I wanted to find out for myself.

Skogskyrkogarden Stockholm

North entrance.

Resurrection Statue, Monument Hall

Resurrection Statue, by John Lundqvist (1930), in Monument Hall.
Skogskappellet, Woodland Chapel, Skogskyrkogarden, Woodland Cemetery, Stockholm, Sweden, fotoeins.com

Skogskappellet (Woodland Chapel), with golden copper “angel of death”.

Skogskyrkogarden, Woodland Cemetery, Stockholm, Sweden, fotoeins.com

Skogskyrkogarden (Woodland Cemetery).

Skogskappellet, Woodland Chapel, Skogskyrkogarden, Woodland Cemetery, Stockholm, Sweden, fotoeins.com

Lead up to Greta Garbo’s grave.

Skogskyrkogarden Stockholm

Modest marker for Garbo’s final resting place.

Greta Garbo

Born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson in Stockholm in 1905, Greta Garbo was discovered at the age of 17. She was honoured with four Academy Award nominations for her work which transitioned successfully from silent-films to “talkies” in what is now considered the “Golden Age” of filmmaking. Even now, she is considered one of the most beautiful women and one of the most important actresses ever to appear on the big screen. After only 27 films between 1924 and 1941, she retired to private life, away from celebrity spotlight. After her death in 1990 and subsequent legal issues, her cremated remains were buried in 1999 at Skogskyrkogården in the city where she was born.

In the 1955 biography “Garbo” by John Bainbridge, Garbo is quoted as saying:

I never said, ‘I want to be alone.’ I only said, ‘I want to be left alone.’ There is all the difference.

To reach the forest cemetery from Stockholm’s city centre, take the Tunnelbana green metro line 18 southbound in the direction “Farsta strand” to the stop called “Skogskyrkogården”. There is no charge or fee to enter Skogskyrkogården. Garbo’s grave is located south of the Skogskappellet (Woodland Chapel).

More from Stockholm

•   The colours of Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s Old Town
•   Say “Hej!” (and to food) at Lisa Elmqvist in Östermalm’s Saluhall market hall
•   Daytrip to Vaxholm in Stockholm’s archipelago

The publicity photo above of Greta Garbo is by Clarence Sinclair Bull for MGM in 1939 (Wiki). I made the remaining photos above on 25 June 2008. This post is published on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-vP.

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