Västerås - Strängnäs, 3/4 June 2020

Strängnäs is a city of around 13,000 inhabitants. The city had been an important political centre in the past. In 1523, King Gustav Vasa was elected there! 

Arriving in Strängnäs guest harbour, with the cathedral in the back. Picture by Stéphane Lucchini, June 2020.

This is the second time Belisama is in Strängnäs, but the marina is empty this time. Is this due to Covid measures inviting Swedes to stay home and avoid travelling?

A quick dive to check that everything is fine with the refitted new propeller shaft and anodes. Not too painful with the thick diving suit!

Old Strängnäs paved roads with white and purple lilac.

Entrance of the Strängnäs cathedral 

Below is a fragment of a rune stone (rune stone sö 281)embedded in the wall of the cathedral. In total, seven stones or fragments have been inserted in the walls of the cathedral. The remaining of the runic inscription translates as "... in memory of ... Alf's brother. They [headed east and died] with Ingvar in Särkland". You can see a nice snake head with its two-tailed tongue, fangs, nose and eye. Ingvar led the last eastward expedition to the Caspian sea between 1036 and 1041, with 3000 men. The saga of Invar says that only one boat made it back as the expedition ended-up in disaster, explaining why there are so many rune stones commemorating the warriors who died on the way.

Rune stone sö 281

Inside the cathedral

Below is a stucco decoration inside a chapel on the right of the nave. After a bit of searching on the name of boats and places indicated, it appears to be in memory of the battle of Oliwa that took place on 28 November 1627, at the mouth of the Vistule river in the bay of Gdansk. In this battle, the six Swedish war ships got defeated by ten smaller Polish-Lithuanian war ships. The Swedish flagship Tigern was captured, and theSwedish vice-admiral chose to scuttle his ship, the Solen.

In the cathedral, as in most old the Swedish churches, there is a kid's corner where they can dress-up and play around a small altar.