Those who have been to Sweden, probably drew attention to the fact that in houses and apartments there are practically no curtains, tulle and curtains. It seems that this element of décor in the country is under the strictest prohibition. From Russia, this seems ridiculous and a very strange custom, because in a country where the NKVD-KGB-MGB ruled for so many years, curtains are very popular as a means of protecting the right to privacy. In addition, in the presence of curtains is not so hot on sunny days, and furniture, carpets and walls do not fade from ultraviolet radiation.
Let's reveal the truth - in the Swedish kingdom since the first half of the XVII century, in fact, there is a ban on curtains that close the windows! In fact, this law was not abolished and de jure operates, although in fact it has long passed into the category of traditions, not strict rules. The reasons for the appearance of this ban are often written in the national media, but little is known about it in Russia, so we consider it our duty to share with you.
At that time, Sweden was ruled by the warlike king Gustav Adolf of the Vasa dynasty. He carried out military and naval reform, and also ordered the construction of the famous ship "Vasa" - named after the ruling family. This luxurious multi-deck and armed with almost fifty bronze cannons vessel went on its first voyage - and immediately sank, because it was overloaded with jewelry and scooped up water with cannon ports.
Nevertheless, the land undertakings of the ruler were more successful. In particular, he managed to introduce potatoes into agricultural use, establish the first traffic rules in Europe, and also create an army that easily conquered Denmark, Norway and the German states on the southern shore of the Baltic, for a short time making it an inland Swedish sea.
The king had a passion for unification. He brought down to a single denominator army regiments, dividing all the diverse infantry units into huntsmen and musketeers, and cavalry - into light Lancer and Hussar, medium dragoon and heavy cuirassier. He also developed a system of artillery calibers and determined how many horses and sleds were needed to transport modernized guns.
Once His Majesty's gaze was turned to the windows in a small village, when he found that all the windows hung curtains of different colors. And this at a time when his glorious army for uniforms did not have enough cloth! The fate of the curtains was sealed - they were banned as a luxury item.
But that's only half the story.
In the absence of curtains and curtains, each window in the kingdom (at least in old houses) is equipped with a dubious decoration in the form of a mirror suspended from the frame from the outside. First of all, we are talking about kitchens and rooms where Scandinavians prefer to eat.
It looks like this: the frame is mounted on a special arc similar to a bicycle mirror. There are also homemade, but in principle there is a tradition of industrial production, dating back to the XVIII century. Some of the installed mirrors are very old and are equipped with a sign indicating the historical status and state protection.
Urban legend from Stockholm says that the Swedes need such mirrors as an excuse for gossip over morning coffee: they say, one look in the mirror allowed you to find out what the neighbors are doing, where PippiLong Stocking is going and how the Moomin Trolls are doing. These "devices" are called "mirrors", or "gossip windows", and they play the same role in the country as in Russia shops near entrances and courtyards perform.
There are several other popular explanations for this strange habit.
- One is related to sexual emancipation and numerous perversions of swedes. They say they just like to peep. In Russia and other countries, this phenomenon is called vouireism and is considered deviation - that is, deviation. And the Swedes are nothing. In recent years, a similar practice has become widespread in Italy and France, where such mirrors, often equipped with remote control, are used for drawings.
- Another says that such a reflective device is nothing more than an innovative security system of the XVIII century. The cooking hostess, noticing something suspicious in the mirror, will immediately rush to protect her property, whether it is badly hanging pears or a garden hose.
- Finally, the latter option is the truth most of all: a mirror is needed to catch sunlight and direct it into open windows. In Scandinavia, most of the year is cloudy weather, and the inhabitants of local states suffer from a lack of vitamin D. By the way, French kings and Russian emperors used mirror systems to illuminate huge ballrooms and art galleries in their palaces.
This explains the ban on curtains: the rulers of the country cared about the health of the subjects - especially since there were few of them.
