Eksjo

Eksjo received its town charter in 1403, 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 town has been a military centre since the Smaland Regiment began to assemble on the heath outside it, and there is a garrison museum. Around the town the Smaland highlands rise, with Skurugata's rock cleft a short drive north.

What's there

• 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.

Before you go

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.

Key facts