Radio Sweden's coverage of the arts in Sweden

The sea-exploring passion of the Vikings still holds its spell over Swedes who rightly consider themselves a seafaring nation. Sweden has one of the highest numbers of boats per capita in the world. The archipelago with its thousands of islands is a magnet not only for the nature loving Swedes but also for an increasing number of foreign tourists. Small boating towns along the coast dormant in winter wake up in summer, buzzing with life and boat traffic.

Swedish followers of the ancient nordic mythology Asatro are demanding burying grounds separate from church graveyards. Henrik Hallgren, president of Sweden’s Asatro association told the news agency TT that he had contacted the church’s cemetery administration to apply for suitable property. A church spokesman said that there are no real obstacles to grant burying grounds to non-Christian congregations, even if they are of heathen nature. Recently the authorities in Norway and Denmark announced that they will allow pagan burials for Asa worshippers.

Sweden’s EU Commissioner Margot Wallström has gotten involved in the debate over the Internet and file-sharing.

She’s written to the head of the commission, José Manuel Barroso, calling on the EU to take the initiative and listen to what people are saying. The TT news agency says that in her letter Wallström, who is a commission vice president, says that issues of individual rights, copyright protection, consumer questions, and fighting crime have to be taken on in a new and broader approach.

The widespread criticism in Sweden of an EU-mandated law to stop file-sharing has led to the Pirate Party, which wants to decriminalize downloading, apparently about to win at least one seat in the European Parliament.

The Swedish government has approved returning human remains from museums here to New Zealand and Hawaii.

The Museum of World Culture will be returning parts three skeletal remains, probably of Maori origin, to the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa.

The Museum of National Antiquities will be returning five craniums from Hawaii to the organisation Group Caring for the Ancesstors of Hawai’i.

Previously Stockholm’s Museum of Ethnography, part of the Museum of World Culture, has returned aborigine skeleton remains to Australia and a totem pole to British Colombia.

The Swedish Parliament has passed a new law, establishing Swedish as the primary language of the country.

Under the legislation, as society’s common language, Swedish should be available in all areas. This is seen as answering concerns that English has begun to eclipse Swedish in the academic world here.  The law is also intended to strengthen Swedish as an official language of the European Union.

The legislation also means more support for Swedish sign language, as well as the five national minority languages: Sami, Finnish, the Finnish dialect of the Torneå Valley, Romani, and Yiddish.

When speaking of Swedish food, one has to consider different climate and geographical conditions in this long country stretching from the polar circle to the heart of Europe. So food from the fertile Skåne in the south differs greatly from the diet in the north, adjusted to the hard growing conditions. Never the less the Swedish cuisine in its variety is making its way to the top-restaurant menus now more than ever but falling out with working mums and hamburger loving kids in Swedish homes.

The house of Sweden's late film maker Ingmar Bergman on the isle of Fårö is on sale. The Bergmancenter, the foundation of the legendary Oscar-winning director, has told news agency TT that a severe lack of money is the main reason for selling the property - which among other features includes Bergman's own cinema. British luxury real estate company Christie's have been assigned with the sale. Neither the minimum price nor the expected final sum are known. (ah)

One Swedish film will be competing in the Semaine de la Critique at the Cannes Film Festival, which rolled out Wednesday, in the south of France. "Pleasure", a short film about the porn industry, is directed by Ninja Thyberg, and will screen Saturday, competing against nine other films selected from around the world.

The Pirate Party has criticized a decision by prosecutors to call on the Supreme Court to impose a prison sentence in a file-sharing case.

The district and appeals courts both sentenced the defendant to pay fines, for uploading around 60 films. But now the Swedish Prosecution Authority is appealing to the Supreme Court to impose a prison sentence, to establish a precedent about the seriousness of such cases.

The Abba Museum in Stockholm opened on Tuesday, with around 100 fans gathered outside to tour the exhibiton about the legendary Swedish pop group. Radio Sweden stopped by to find a slew of international fans, an Abba member and even last year's Eurovision winner, Loreen.

Abba The Museum has opened in Stockholm. Three of the original band members were on hand to take part in the official opening Monday night, and the general public was let into the new tourist attracting Tuesday morning.

This year's Polar Music Prize has been jointly awarded to Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho and Senegalese pop star Youssou N'Dour.

A screenplay that the legendary Swedish director, Ingmar Bergman, wrote when he was just 15, has recently been unearthed, and is now being made into a film.

The screenplay is called B.G.J. 108, and Bergman came up with it along with his classmate whose grandson, Eddie Åhgren, is now bringing the script to life.

Åhgren, 25, tells Radio Sweden the manuscript has just been sitting on the bookshelf at his parent's house for all these years, and that his girlfriend suggested he make it into a film for his college degree project.