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YEREVAN. – Sweden’s oldest museum, the Royal Armoury (Livrustkammaren), is hosting Days of Armenia organized jointly by the museum and the Embassy of Armenia in Stockholm.

The Royal Armoury, which is located inside the Royal Palace of Stockholm, hosted a lecture on “Armenian-Swedish historical relations.” Members of the Swedish Royal Court, MPs, ambassadors accredited to Sweden, heads of cultural institutions, intellectuals and media representatives, and members of the Armenian community attended the event.

Artsvi Bakhchinyan, senior researcher from the Institute of History of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences, who has authored monographs and articles on Armenian-Swedish relations, introduced the historical connections, and economic and cultural ties between the Armenian and Swedish peoples since Middle Ages until the beginning of 20th century, reflected on the role of the nobles, diplomats, and royal courtiers of Armenian descent in the social and political life of Sweden.

The central event organized at the museum is the exhibition entitled “Tracing the Raw Silk Trade: Armenian merchants at the Court of Karl XI.” It is devoted to the history of the first silk import to Sweden, which was carried out in 1687 by Armenian merchants of New Julfa and accompanied by the special envoy of the Swedish monarch, Ludwig Fabritius. They visited Stockholm to negotiate the northern direction of the Silk Road, which led to the signing of a trade agreement with Karl XI. The Armenian merchants were given a privileged right of import for their goods via Russia to Sweden and then to several other European countries.

The exhibition showcases the original text of the agreement, one of the seven gold-plated sabers presented by merchants to the Swedish King, the ceremonial mace of merchants, and a number of other unique artifacts.

The exhibition will be presented throughout 2016.

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