The Coolidge examiner., 1935-05-24

Sweden was a great power, and
remained one till Charles MIS- un-
lucky campaigns impoverished the
country and put an end to its domi-
natlondn the Baltic.
Among the medieval Swedish
castles touching the early Renais-
sance style, Skarhult, Vittskovle,
and Torup are the most character
lstic and best preserved. They are
In Skane, and were rebuilt In the
Sixteenth century.
Vlttskovle and Torup are laid
out on a similar plan, with four
wings round courtyard, towers at
dIagonally opposite corners, stepped
gables and firing passages; and
both were surrounded for defense
purposes by moats, over which
drawbridges were lowered In olden
times.
At Torup these moats have been
filed since the Eighteenth CEN
tury along two OF the facades, and
replaced by gardens laid out In the
old style, with sculptures, rose per-
golas. and box hedges. But the
charmlngly weathered brick walls
are still reflected In quiet waters,
among water lilies and proud swans.
The courtyard at Torup. with its
Gothic cloister and pointed arches.
Is one OF the most remarkable In
the country from the standpoint OF
art and history. A stone tablet
Is set into the wall over Its gate
way. Its Latin inscription Is dated
1882 and was composed by the
owner OF the property at that time,
Slgvard Grubbe, a scholar and a
friend Of the king. He calls upon
his successors, whoever they may
be-" TO do all In their power, as
he did, to preserve and beautify
the ancient building they have In
herited.
Baroness coyets Estate.
Probably none OF them has been
better equipped to carry out this
Injunction than Its present owner,
Baroness Henrlette Coyet. On terms
OF close friendship with most men,
bers of the royal family, she loves
TO surround herself with eminent
personalities In various branches OF
art and science, and she Is COM
pretending friend to them.
Nobel prize winners and other
foreign celebrities are received at
Torup when they visit Sweden. The
Swedes In general, the people OF
Skane In particular, have felt them
selves secure In the knowledge that
no one could represent them more
worthlly than this lively, highly cul-
tured lady.
or course, so energetic a person
does not content herself merely with
social life and the management Of
her great house. Her keenness for
the promotion Of local home indus
try and the preservation Of local
treasures has benefited the whole
province. The same may be said
OF her experience and taste In all
that concerns gardening and the
cultivation Of flowers. The exten-
sive park of Torup, surrounded by
luxuriant beach woods, the differ
ent beds, with old-fashloned roser-
les and herb gardens, are favorlte
90
purposes Of study.
Fine Country Houses.
Big country houses lie all along
the seacoasts of southern Sweden,
and still thicker in Vastergotland,
so rich In ancient memorials, south
Of Lake Vanern. On the northern
side of the lake Is Varmland, whose
old family legends and traditions
have been made known far outside
the boundaries of Sweden by Selma
Lagerlof's poetlcal descriptions.
But most Of the great country
houses Of central Sweden, and the
finest, are to be found In the prov
inces which abut on long Lake
Malaren, at whose exit to the sea
Stockholm lies.
1t was there especially that the
primeval people OF Svea lived;
thence sprang Rurik, who laid the
foundations Of Russia, and the Vik-
ings who ravaged the Mediterra-
mean coasts; and 1t was there that
Christianity was first introduced
into Sweden.
Foundations and a few massive
stone houses still survive from this
long-vanished time, and In certain
cases the same family has lived on
the same property for three or four
centuries There are estates, which,
for 500, or even 600 years, have
been handed down from one genera
ton to another without ever be-
ing sold, though these, OF course,
are rare exceptions.
Many lie far from the towns, so
that none Of the modern thirst for
superficial, exciting pleasures has
yet found its way to them; that
Is why the old Swedish traditions
in all classes Of society are more
firmly rooted there than anywhere
else.