Sjölunden

Sjölunden (Swedish: sjö: lake, lund: grove) is the Swedish language camp site associated with Concordia Language Villages and is located at the Concordia site at Turtle River Lake, near Bemidji, Minnesota. After 30 years without an architecturally authentic Swedish site, the first step towards a village was taken on August 11, 2006 when groundbreaking for the new site took place. Sjölunden can house approximately 85 people at a time.

Sjölunden is a village for language immersion where American villagers come to live and experience Swedish language and culture.

History

The Swedish language was added to Concordia Language Villages in 1975 as the sixth language, following German (1961), French (1962) Spanish, Norwegian (both 1963) and Russian (1966).[1]

Sjölunden moved to Salolampi, the Finnish site, shortly after it was built in the early 1990s.

The new site

Map of planned buildings for the Sjölunden new site

Groundbreaking for the new Sjölunden site took place on August 11, 2006. Architectural inspiration has been taken from Swedish fishing villages, of which there are a lot on the Swedish west coast. The village was designed by Saint Paul, Minnesota architect Kerrik Wessel, AIA, in 2004.[2]

The new Sjölunden is located right next to the Finnish site at Turtle River Lake. Rather than being a village on its own, it is designed to complement the Finnish site.[3] Some facilities will be missing from Sjölunden, such as a soccer field, beach, and a camp store. Additionally, the three cabins will not be sufficient to house all villagers and staff.

A list of the new site buildings and the years they were completed, in order of completion.[4]

Lindas Stig

Former dean Linda Wallenberg just received her 25-Year "Evergreen" Award, and is the 5th person to receive this award. The Evergreen Award is received by contributing 25 years spent at Concordia Language Villages. To commemorate this amazing achievement, the Sjölunden students, villagers, and staff members dedicated the new pathway to the Sjölunden building site to Linda, naming it "Lindas Stig" meaning "Linda's Path."

Vävstugan

The weaving studio was the first new building, built in 2007. It was funded by the donations of the Berglund family in honor of Hilda Berglund.

Båthuset

In 2007, the boathouse was built and was dedicated to Henning Clementson.

Visby

Visby is a villager cabin which was built in 2008 with the donation of the Pro Suecia Foundation and is dedicated to Barbro Osher. The name was chosen after the ancient viking settlement Visby, located on the island of Gotland.

Biblioteket

The library, or Biblioteket, was the most recent building opened in the new site. It opened for Summer 2014 in honor of Sjölunden's 40th anniversary. There was a dedication ceremony and book drive held 3 August 2014.[5]

Matsalen

The dining hall is funded by a $1 million pledge from the Comstock Land Company of Fargo, N.D.[4]

Programs

Sjölunden offers three different major language immersion programs, held in late summer: Family Week, two-week program and four-week High School Credit program, of which the two-week program is the most popular. There is also a range of different language courses and activities throughout the year.

Family Week

Families of any shape or size may come to Sjölunden for for Family Weekend in April.[6] There is also a Nordic Family Week in July, hosted at the Salolampi site, during which participants may learn some Swedish, Finnish, and Norwegian and participate in activities authentic to any of the three cultures.[7]

One-week program

The one-week program is aimed at children aged 7-14. Children are typically live with peers who are in the two-week program in cabins of about 10-20 inhabitants. Children in the one-week program participate in the same activities as children in the two-week program and are given similar language instruction.[8]

Two-week program

The two-week program is aimed at children aged 7–18. They come to camp to live and learn Swedish, and are divided into cabins with about 10-20 inhabitants. The children get language classes as well as different activities they can choose from. Recently, Sjölunden has added a sailing program for their two- and four-week sessions.

Four-week program

The four-week program offers one year's worth of Swedish language training at high school level. The four-week program takes place at the same time as one- and two-week sessions, and even though it contains more language class they do many activities together, most notably the evening programs.

Day Camp

The day camp program is aimed at ages 6-11. They come to camp from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday while one-, two-, and four-week programs are in session.[9]

Adult Week

There are 2 adult weeks offered, one in fall and one in spring.[10]

Deans

These are the deans of Sjölunden, with their Sjölunden names in italics.

Bemidji camp

Adult Week

References

  1. ↑ "History of Concordia Language Villages". Concordia Language Villages. Concordia Language Villages. March 28, 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "A Language All Its Own" (PDF). Architecture MN. July/August 2009.
  3. ↑ "Our Site: Sjölunden". Concordia Language Villages. Concordia Language Villages. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Sjölunden Meets the Challenge". Concordia Language Villages. Concordia Language Villages. 11 July 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  5. ↑ "Building Sjölunden". Concordia Language Villages. Concordia Language Villages. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  6. ↑ "Concordia Language Villages". Concordia Language Villages. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
  7. ↑ "Concordia Language Villages". Concordia Language Villages. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
  8. ↑ "Concordia Language Villages". Concordia Language Villages. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
  9. ↑ "Concordia Language Villages". Concordia Language Villages. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
  10. ↑ "A week at Sjolunden". Nordstjernan. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  11. ↑ "Twenty-five years at Sjölunden". Nordstjernan. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
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