Julita Manor

Arthur Bache Bengtsson left Julita to the Nordic Museum in 1941 on the condition that it continue as a working estate rather than become a display, and it has, which is why the place is unusual: an eighteenth-century manor house with its rooms as the family left them, but also barns, dairy, forge and farm buildings in use, animals of old Swedish breeds, and fields worked with the estate's own rotation. The site holds the national collection of fruit trees and a seed bank of Swedish garden plants. A Cistercian abbey stood here before the manor and its ruins are in the grounds. It covers a lot of ground and rewards a long visit.

What you actually see

• A manor kept as the family left it - eighteenth century.
• A working farm with old breeds - barns, dairy and forge in use.
• The national fruit collection and seed bank - in the gardens.
• Cistercian abbey ruins - in the grounds.

When to go

May to September; largely closed in winter. Three to four hours.

Honest expectations

The season is short and buildings open on varying days. Distances between parts of the estate are long. It is aimed partly at families. There is no useful public transport.

Nearby

Katrineholm is south-west; Eskilstuna is north-east.