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Visitors are greeted by an environment where the school desks, teaching materials and blackboard are still there, just as they were on the last day of school. The blackboard still bears the inscription: ”Last day of classes in this hall on 24 October 1949.” It is a place where time has literally frozen.
Preserved with care - a ”frozen world”
Since the 1960s, Gunnar and Christina Ahlbäck, a couple of teachers, have carefully preserved Morkarla Old School. Their ambition has always been to keep the school completely authentic - without added objects or modern elements.
All furnishings and artefacts have belonged to Morkarla School. No donations or additions have been accepted. The result is an unusually authentic cultural environment, often described as a ”frozen world”, where visitors have a rare opportunity to experience what a Swedish elementary school actually looked like.
Morkarla Old School can be booked for guided tours, where visitors can learn about the history of the school, stories about the teachers and pupils, and how teaching was done in the past.
As part of the experience, the documentary film The Old School can also be shown. The film, produced in collaboration with Dannemora Hembygdsförening, depicts the history of the school and Gunnar and Christina Ahlbäck's work to preserve the site. The film also features old-fashioned school lessons and revisits by former pupils, giving a vivid and personal perspective on the school environment.
Over the years, Morkarla Old School has served as a living museum and has had visitors from all over the world. School classes, associations, decision-makers and people interested in culture have come here to learn about Swedish school history.
The school desks are also well known to many Swedes, having featured in Astrid Lindgren's film adaptations of Madicken. This gives the place an additional cultural dimension and recognition for many visitors.
MARK AS FAVOURITE
