Göran Schildt
Humanist of the day

Göran Schildt

Göran Schildt’s long sailing voyages to the Mediterranean are familiar to Finns and an international readership alike through his numerous travel books. He also wrote essays and studies on art history. In later years, as the official biographer of Alvar Aalto, he has proved seminal in the appreciation of the distinguished modernist architect.

Göran Schildt

Göran Gustaf Ernst Schildt
Born March 11, 1917, Helsinki. Died March 24, 2009, Tammisaari.

Master of Arts, 1943, Doctor of Philosophy (Art History), 1947, University of Helsinki

Reporter, Svenska Dagbladet newspaper 1950-1995

Titles
Commander, First Class of the Order of the Lion of Finland, 1980
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, 1954
Knight Commander, Grand Cross of the Phoenix, 1954
Commander of the Royal Order of the Polar Star, 1987
Honorary Doctor of Technology, University of Tampere, 1987
Honorary Doctor of Philosophy, Åbo Akademi, 1988
Honorary Doctor of Architecture, University of Lund, 1991

Awards
The Tollander Award, 1952, 1991
State Award for Public Information, 1983
Swedish Literary Society Award, 1986, 1988
Kirjallisuuden Suomi  (Finnish literary) Award, 1995

Photo: Schildts&Söderströms/Vidar Lindqvist
Written by Lauri Lönnström
Translated by John Calton

The Ulysses of Tammisaari

Göran Schildt is a particularly well-known figure thanks to his travel writing. His travels abroad got started with a year studying at the Sorbonne in Paris (1934/5) and the study trip he made to Italy with his friend, the philosopher Georg Henrik von Wright in 1937. These trips ignited a lifelong interest in the Mediterranean region.

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