Eksjo
One of the most complete wooden towns in Sweden, saved because the fire of 1856 stopped at the main street.
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Eksjo was a garrison town chartered in the sixteenth century and its northern half is a continuous quarter of timber houses, mostly seventeenth and eighteenth century, standing along cobbled lanes with gateways into courtyards behind. The reason it survives is a fire in 1856 that burned the southern half and stopped at the main street, so the town has two distinct halves: rebuilt stone and nineteenth-century blocks on one side, medieval plan and old wood on the other. The military presence lasted until the 1920s and there is a garrison museum. Around the town the Smaland highlands rise, with Skurugata's rock cleft a short drive north.
What you actually see
- A continuous timber quarter - seventeenth and eighteenth century.
- A town in two halves - the 1856 fire stopped at the main street.
- Courtyards behind gateways - the old plan intact.
- A garrison history - with a museum in town.
When to go
May to September. Half a day.
Honest expectations
Most houses are private homes - you look at facades. Museums keep short seasonal hours. The town is quiet in the evening. Getting here without a car takes planning.
Nearby
Skurugata is north; Vimmerby and Astrid Lindgren country are east.
What to pack for Eksjo
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
