12 December 2014

#766 Stockholm, Sweden


About some facts written on the postcard:

Alfred Bernhard Nobel (21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator, and armaments manufacturer.

He was the inventor of dynamite. Nobel also owned Bofors, which he had redirected from its previous role as primarily an iron and steel producer to a major manufacturer of cannon and other armaments. Nobel held 350 different patents, dynamite being the most famous. His fortune was used posthumously to institute the Nobel Prizes. The synthetic element nobelium was named after him. His name also survives in modern-day companies such as Dynamit Nobel and AkzoNobel, which are descendants of mergers with companies Nobel himself established.

Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990), was a Swedish film actress and an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Garbo was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress and received an honorary one in 1954 for her "luminous and unforgettable screen performances." She also won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress for both Anna Karenina (1935) and Camille (1936). In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Garbo fifth on their list of greatest female stars of all time, after Katharine HepburnBette DavisAudrey Hepburn, and Ingrid Bergman.

Karl Stig-Erland "StiegLarsson (15 August 1954 – 9 November 2004) was a Swedish journalist and writer. He is best known for writing the "Millennium trilogy" of crime novels, which were published posthumously. Larsson lived much of his life in Stockholm and worked there in the field of journalism and as an independent researcher of right-wing extremism.

He was the second best-selling author in the world for 2008, behind Khaled Hosseini. The third novel in the series, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, became the most sold book in the United States in 2010 according to Publishers Weekly. By December 2013, his "Millennium series" had sold 75 million copies worldwide.

Kebnekaise is the highest mountain in Sweden. The Kebnekaise massif, which is part of the Scandinavian Mountains, has two peaks, of which the southern, glaciated one is highest at 2,097.5 metres (6,882 ft) above sea level as of August 2014. The northern peak is 2,096.8 metres (6,879 ft) and free of ice. Kebnekaise lies in Lapland, about 150 kilometres (ca. 90 miles) north of the Arctic Circle and west of Kiruna near the popular Kungsleden hiking trail between Abisko and Nikkaluokta.

Falu red or Falun red (in Swedish Falu rödfärg) is the name of a Swedish deep red paint well known for its use on wooden cottages and barns. The paint originated from the copper mine at Falun in DalarnaSweden. The traditional colour remains popular today due to its effectiveness in preserving wood. In Finland, it is known as punamulta ("red earth") after the pigment, very finely divided hematite. Since the binder is starch, the paint is permeable to water.

Dalecarlian horse or Dala horse (Swedish: Dalahäst) is a traditional carved, painted wooden horse statuette originating in Swedish province Dalarna. In the old days the Dala horse was mostly used as a toy for children; in modern times it has become a symbol of Dalarna, as well as Sweden in general. Several different types of Dala horses are made, with distinguishing features common to the locality of the site where they are produced. One particular style has, however, become much more common and widespread than others. It is stoutly carved and painted bright red with details and a harness in white, green, yellow and blue.


Thank you, Jarmo !

Sent on: December 10, 2014
Received on: December 12, 2014

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