Ilon Wikland – a Swedish artist with Estonian roots
Astrid Lindgren's favorite illustrator celebrates her 95th birthday this year!
On February 5, 2025, internationally renowned illustrator Ilon Wikland will turn 95.
Ilon's Wonderland in Haapsalu will celebrate this momentous occasion with special events throughout the year in Estonia and Sweden and on Tallink ferries between the two countries.
On February 15, an exhibition will open at the Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, featuring the works by Ilon Wikland, Tove Jansson, Linda Bondestam, and Pija Lindenbaum. The exhibition will run until August 17, 2025.
More events are in the works — stay tuned!
Ilon Wikland during a visit to Haapsalu in 2014
In 2024, Wikland received an award from the Estonian-Swedish Cooperation Chamber recognizing her deep artistic connection to both countries.
Wikland's iconic artwork
Ilon Wikland has brought to life Karlsson and Little Brother, Ronja the Robber's Daughter, the Children of Bullerby Village, Lota, the Lionheart Brothers, the Potato Children, and many other beloved book heroes. While Estonia was under Soviet occupation, the works of Astrid Lindgren and Ilon Wikland connected Estonia with the free world.
These characters have become part of the childhood memories of older and younger generations on both sides of the Baltic Sea.
Source: Egon Erkmann
A home in the seaside town of Haapsalu
When Wikland was eight years old, her parents divorced — her father remarried, and her mother moved to Italy. She traveled to Haapsalu from Tallinn with her precious dog in 1938, where she lived with her grandmother and grandfather "in the yellow house by the church" until September 22, 1944.
Fans of her work will recognize the neighborhoods of wooden houses with woodpiles, cherry trees, and slanted houses in cheerful colors. The town's medieval castle looks exactly like Mattis Castle from Ronja the Robber's Daughter.
Source: Egon Erkmann
Egon Erkmann
Egon Erkmann
Egon Erkmann
Egon Erkmann
Egon ErkmannFleeing Estonia
On the same day the Red Army captured Tallinn in 1944, fourteen-year-old Wikland left the yellow house in Haapsalu and escaped on a two-masted sailboat to Sweden. Her grandparents were too old to accompany her; that was the last time she saw them.
In Stockholm, her life began anew. She moved in with her aunt, who was an artist, and studied painting. Wikland married naval officer Stig Wikland at the age of 21, and eventually had four daughters. Her children never learned Estonian because Wikland didn't know if returning to Estonia would ever be possible.
Source: Rivo Veber
Meeting Astrid Lindgren
Wikland was left alone with her first daughter when her husband was sent to sea. She had no job and was short of money. Wikland knew where she would go. A former classmate worked at Rabén & Sjögren publishing house in Stockholm. She knew Wikland could draw and had suggested she come and meet Astrid Lindgren, who had already published several books by then. So Wikland gathered some drawings, put her daughter in the stroller, and went to the publishing house.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Ilon's Wonderland
Wikland eventually became a Swedish citizen, though her Estonian roots always remained close to her heart. She was finally able to visit Estonia in 1887.
In 2004, Wikland donated several hundred of her original book illustrations to the Estonian state. In 2009, Ilon's Wonderland was opened, which preserves nearly 1,000 of Wikland's original works. The museum was later expanded to include a craft and activity center for children and is now one of Haapsalu's most popular tourist destinations. A yellow bag, the only possession Wikland brought with her to Sweden, is now in the museum in Haapsalu.
Source: Egon Erkmann
The historic ties between Estonia and Sweden
Wikland's native language is Estonian, and she didn't learn Swedish until she arrived in Sweden. However, she may have heard it before leaving Estonia, as Haapsalu was an important town for the region's Coastal Swedes.
Swedes lived along Estonia's western coast and islands for centuries, and their dialect of Swedish was heard around the region until World War II. By 1944, most of the community had left Estonia to escape the Soviet occupation. The Museum of the Coastal Swedes in Haapsalu is the best place to learn more about their culture and history.
During the occupation, the town was closed to outsiders. When freedom returned to Haapsalu in 1991, the decay was noticeable. Over the years, the town has recovered and regained its reputation as a picturesque seaside health resort.
Source: Julia Kivela, Visit Haapsalu
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Last updated
13.01.2025