Culture

The Gamla Linköping open-air museum

Travel in time and experience life in a small Swedish city a hundred or more years ago. The Old Town neighbourhood has wooden houses, cobblestone alleys, gardens and many museums.

There are also shops and crafts activities, a restaurant and a café. A short walk through the Vallaskogen nature reserve will take you to Valla Farm, where there are museums showing the history of rural life, with farm animals, a large play area and a mini-golf course. The museum arranges events and activities all year round. Accommodation is available if you would like to stay for more than a day.

Welcome to Gamla Linköping - a place for play and curiosity, laughter and memories, and a place to experience beauty and relaxation.

Passagen Linköping art gallery

Passagen Linköping art gallery exhibits current and important quality art, covering all the forms of expression in contemporary art. In its large, light-filled premises at Stora Torget 2 in central Linköping visitors can see regional as well as national and international exhibitions.

Seminars, music, public discussions and group visiting tours are all part of Passagens’ activities. Younger visitors can enjoy a range of artistic activities, workshops and occasional live music events.

Art – music – theatre – dance

Linköping has a rich and varied offering of cultural events. The city has good venues for music, theatre and dance, and several art galleries to visit. City walking tours visit the historic sights, and a city festival is held every year in August.

Linköping Konsert & Kongress is one of Sweden’s leading conference centres and concert halls. A number of major events, conferences and concerts are arranged every year.

Östergötlands Museum offers a multi-faceted experience, with everything from cultural history in the form of art, photographs, archaeological finds to a creative workshop for adults as well as children. The building also houses Datamuseet.

Music

Linköping offers a varied programme of music and theatre performances. The Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, SON, has a wide repertoire with the emphasis on the great Romantics, from Beethoven to Mahler. Östgötamusiken play everything from chamber music to jazz, and features a professional brass band. Concerts by the big orchestras and established artists are mixed with choir singing in the Cathedral or smaller live performances by local bands at L’Orient, for example.

Theatre

Östgötateatern in Linköping is the region’s biggest theatre, staging Swedish and foreign drama, children’s theatre and musicals. Linköping also has a large number of independent theatre groups offering dramatic art in various forms, including outdoor performances during the summer. Lovers of dance have Dansens Hus, offering a programme of varied contemporary dance from around the world.

Children’s and young people’s culture

Arbis och Skylten in central Linköping and Agora in Skäggetorp is a culture venue for young people aged 13-18, offering creative activities including dance, music and theatre. Many of the activities here are organised by young people, who can borrow space and equipment for free. Events such as concerts, lectures and workshops are often held at Arbis, Skylten and Agora.

Kulturskolan

Kulturskolan (School of Fine Arts) offers courses in music, dance, theatre and art for young people aged 5-23 during the academic year. It also offers music therapy and El Sistema-inspired education. Every academic year Kulturskolan holds a large number of concerts, exhibitions and private viewings for the general public. Kulturskolan also arranges ‘Kulturpuls’, which makes cultural activities such as music, dance, theatre and art available to children and young people in socially vulnerable areas. For smaller children there is children’s theatre at Sagateatern, storytelling sessions at the City Library, artistic activities at Ateljé Passagen and crafts get-togethers at Östergötlands Museum.