Winter is the coldest season of the year in Sweden as well as in the Northern hemisphere.
At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as
the season progresses after the solstice.
Winter in Sweden is defined by meteorologists to be when the average temperature per day is
constantly below 0°C. This usually corresponds to the months of December, January and February.
An extremely cold winter is called vargavinter (wolfs’ winter). The last vargavinter in Sweden
was the winter of 2009/2010.
Many animals go into hibernation or lie dormant during the winter e.g. bears and hedgehogs.
Migratory birds have flown to the tropical regions. Annual plants survive the winter as seeds.
Winter activities – when there is snow and ice
Popular winter activities in Sweden are ice hockey, bandy,
skiing, skating and go sledding (se picture). You can go
sledding in Slottsskogen and at Delsjön in Gothenburg.
We have listed information about some winter activities below.
Unfortunately most of the links are only in Swedish. (try
google translate to get the information in your language)
Snowball-fighting, jigging and ice swimming
Other popular activities during winter are snowball-fighting, jigging (drill a
hole through a frozen lake to catch fish) and ice swimming followed by a
sauna. You can try this in Gothenburg, see www.askimsbastu.se
Skating
Public ice-skating on Heden in the city centre of Gothenburg.
If you wish to borrow skates, it costs SEK 30
More information in Swedish e.g. opening hours at www.ispaheden.se
Long distance skating
In the Gothenburg surroundings, there are excellent opportunities
to go long distance skating on natural ice. From December to
March you can usually find great ice. Skating clubs provide
information about which ice is best at the moment. (Membership
is required, 150 sek)
The weather variations in western Sweden make it almost always
possible to find good skating ice, even though it has snowed or
been warm weather for a long time. Some of Gothenburg's
skating clubs:
GLSK, Göteborgs Långfärdsskridskoklubb, www.glsk.se
VLS, Volvos Långfärdsskridskoklubb, www.skridsko.net/vls
Interested in cross-country skiing?
There are skiing tracks in Skatås and Delsjön in Gothenburg.
More information about the tracks and how to get there at the Swedish website www.skidspar.se
You have to bring your own skies. You can also rent skies at some shops, www.akessportservice.se
or www.udenssport.se/sv
More information about the tracks and how to get there at the Swedish website www.skidspar.se
and at www.youtube.com/skidspar
Downhill skiing
A skiing resort fairly close to Gothenburg is Isaberg. (100 km east of Gothenburg)
There are 10 slopes and 8 lifts and a shop where you can hire skies and boots etc.
More information at www.isaberg.com
Bandy
Bandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the
opposing team's goal. If you want to see bandy live in top division, you can go to Heden in the
centre of Gothenburg and see one of the matches. More information at http://gaisbandy.se
Museums in Gothenburg
Below are listed some of the museums. More information at www.goteborg.com
The Göteborg Museum of Art houses collections from
the 15th century to today. The museum has
a Nordic emphasis but the collections also contain older
Dutch and French art, including important works by
Rembrandt, van Gogh, Monet and Picasso, to name a
few. www.konstmuseum.goteborg.se
The Göteborg City Museum displays cultural history
from antiquity to the present. The Museum is located in
the Swedish East India Company’s vast office and
warehouse building, built during the mid-18th century.
www.stadsmuseum.goteborg.se
The Natural History Museum has collections from all over the world, and the oldest specimens date
from the 18th century. The museum is most famous for its stuffed blue whale - the world’s only
preserved blue whale - and a big beautiful African elephant
The current exhibition ”Parasites - Life Undercover” gives fascinating insights in the biology of
parasites. http://gnm.se
The Maritime Museum and Aquarium
Explore life under, above and by the water. The cultural history exhibitions include artefacts from the
Swedish American Line, seaman reminiscences from life at sea and tales from the port city of
Gothenburg. The temporary exhibitions raise and broaden public understanding of maritime culture.
The museum’s aquarium is a place where the whole family can explore Nordic and tropical marine
environments and their fascinating aquatic life. www.goteborg.se/wps/portal/sjofartsmuseet
The Röhsska Museum of Design and Decorative Art
The Röhsska Museum of Design and Decorative Arts has over 50 000 objects in its collections.
The majority of the collection consists of old Swedish and European handicraft products, but also
includes classical Greek and Roman artefacts, and material from Japan and China is well represented.
www.designmuseum.se
The Museum of World Culture
The Museum of World Culture is Gothenburg's most visited museum. A meeting place with
exhibitions and programs on exciting and contemporary issues about the world we live in.
www.varldskulturmuseet.se
Universeum
A science discovery centre situated at Korsvägen, next to Liseberg. On seven floors there are lots of
adventures and ingenious facts - an exciting experience for the whole family. www.universeum.se
Museums outside Gothenburg
North of Gothenburg you will find two interesting museums, which you can reach with
Västtrafik (buses and trains)
The Nordic Watercolour Museum is one of the
most exciting cultural projects in the Nordic
countries. It serves as a Nordic centre for
contemporary art, for research and training, with
the emphasis laid on techniques of watercolour
art. The museum is situated on the island Tjörn,
70 km north of Gothenburg.
You will find more information and how to get
there at www.akvarellmuseet.org/
Rock carvings in Tanumshede on the Unesco´s list of World Heritages.
The Vitlycke Museum features extensive
information on the unique rock carvings in the
area, some carved 3000 years ago. Since 1994
these carvings are included in the Unesco’s World
Heritage List. It is situated about 30 km south of
Strömstad in northern Bohuslän .
You will find more information and how to get
there at www.vitlyckemuseum.se
Travel between cities in Sweden or abroad:
You can take bus, train, boat or plane to travel. You will find timetables and information at:
Buses:
www.swebus.se www.gobybus.se www.bus4you.se
Trains
www.sj.se
Boats:
www.aferry.se
Aeroplanes: www.swedavia.se or www.flygresor.se
Activities and events winter and spring 2013
Date
Jan 24
Program
Gothenburg City Museum - guided tour
Accompanied by an experienced guide, we will visit the museum and learn more
about the history of Gothenburg. Time: 3:30 pm–5 pm.
Feb 4
International Café at Ågrenska villan, 5 pm–7 pm
An informal meeting place for international researchers, international
staff, PhD students, their families and hosts.
Feb 6 and
Feb 8
Course in the Swedish Language and Culture for Visiting Staff/Researchers
Starting on February 1st . Time: 6pm–8pm or 1pm–3pm.
Feb 28
International Evening
International visiting researchers, lecturers and PhD students are invited
to an informal get-together at Ågrenska villan. This evening you have
the opportunity to meet your colleagues from all over the world and to enjoy
each other's company. Time: 6 pm–9 pm. A buffet will be served.
March 4
International Café at Ågrenska villan, 5 pm–7 pm
An informal meeting place for international researchers, international
staff, PhD students, their families and hosts.
March
Excursion to the Sven Lovén Centre for Marine Sciences at Tjärnö
A whole day excursion along the west coast of Sweden to Strömstad.
Staff from the Lovén Centre will inform us about the marine studies.
Coffee and lunch is included. Departure at 8 am and back again at 5 pm.
April 8
International Café at Ågrenska villan, 5 pm–7 pm
An informal meeting place for international researchers, international
staff, PhD students, their families and hosts.
April 1528
International Science Festival in Gothenburg
Several activities during the week.
More details and how to register for the events, see the Calendar www.gu.se/guestservices
We hope you will enjoy your stay in Gothenburg!
Guest Services
___________________________________________________________________________________________
University of Gothenburg, Guest Services
2013-01-08
Medicinaregatan 20 A, PO Box 100, SE 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden
+46 31 786 2116 , [email protected] www.gu.se/guestservices