On Oct. 27, 1981, during the height of the cold war, the Swedish people woke up to an unreal situation. A Russian submarine, U-137, was stranded in the southern archipelago of Sweden.
The submarine was handed back to the Soviet Union in order to avert a political crisis. However, the well-known and controversial Swedish entrepreneur Bert Karlsson bought the sub nine years later, when the Soviet Union collapsed, and brought it to Sweden.
On arrival in Gothenburg, it was split into four parts and carted off inland to Karlsson’s theme park, Skara Sommarland, where it was reassembled.
Karlsson even hired the captain of the famous submarine as a host for guided tours of the warship. He wore a uniform jacket, a couple of medals, and carried some Russian small change in a pocket, all of which is now to be sold on an Internet auction.
The submarine was handed back to the Soviet Union in order to avert a political crisis. However, the well-known and controversial Swedish entrepreneur Bert Karlsson bought the sub nine years later, when the Soviet Union collapsed, and brought it to Sweden.
On arrival in Gothenburg, it was split into four parts and carted off inland to Karlsson’s theme park, Skara Sommarland, where it was reassembled.
Karlsson even hired the captain of the famous submarine as a host for guided tours of the warship. He wore a uniform jacket, a couple of medals, and carried some Russian small change in a pocket, all of which is now to be sold on an Internet auction.
