Rottneros Park

Rottneros is the estate Selma Lagerlof used as Ekeby in Gosta Berlings saga, and the connection is part of why people come, though the house that stands is a 1930s rebuilding after fires. Svante Pahlson, who owned it then, laid out the park with sculpture, and the collection now runs to a few hundred pieces of Nordic work - Milles, Vigeland, Eriksson and others - set through formal gardens, lawns and woodland running down to Fryken. There is a herb garden, a rose garden and a large playground, and the ticket covers the lot. It shuts for the winter entirely and reopens with the season.

Background

The park covers 22 hectares west of Lake Fryken. Work on it began in 1932 under Svante Påhlson, then the miller in Rottneros, after a fire destroyed the old manor house in 1929, on Saint Lucy's night. During the 1950s Påhlson built a new manor modelled on Ekeby, keeping the north-south and east-west axes that cross at the house. It is the private home of his grandson and cannot be visited. With no fixed master plan, sculptures are added from time to time and now number more than 100. Milles Square holds four female figures from Carl Milles's Orpheus group, and the children's area is Nils Holgersson's adventure park.

Source: Wikipedia, "Rottneros Park"

What's there

• A few hundred Nordic sculptures - Milles, Vigeland and others.
• Formal gardens and lawns - running down to Lake Fryken.
• The Ekeby of Gosta Berling - the literary connection.
• A large playground - the family side of the park.

When to go

May to September; closed in winter. Three hours.

Practical notes

The house is a 1930s rebuild, not the original. It closes for half the year. The park is large and involves walking. A car is effectively required.

Nearby

Marbacka is north-east; Sunne is at the head of the lake.

Key facts