Huseby mill in Småland - a well-preserved time bubble

Writer: Helena Bergström

Huseby Bruk is a fine destination in Småland with old mill environments, castle, park, restaurant, shops and exhibitions. The mill is like a time bubble that shows what it looked like here when the last owner, Miss Florence Stephens, lived here.

Huseby mill

Huseby Bruk functioned for a long time as an ironworks and was also the site of the 'Huseby affair'. Today it is Kronoberg County's most popular tourist destination, with around 150,000 visitors per year.

Huseby Bruk is located in Småland, about 22 kilometres south of Växjö.

From tiled stoves to the 'Huseby affair'

In the 17th century, Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm, son of the King and Imperial Admiral, established an ironworks at Huseby Farm. They used lake ore from the lakes in the area and over time the business became large-scale, with large production of cannons and tiled stoves.

At the end of the 18th century, the mill was taken over by the Hamilton family, who built the current manor house. In 1867, the family was forced to sell the mill and the new owner was Joseph Stephens.

When Stephens bought the property, in addition to the ironworks, sawmill and mill, it also included 46 agricultural properties and about 6000 hectares of land. He left the mill for a period in India, but on his return he built up a business of farming, forestry, ironworks and horse breeding.

After Stephens' death, one of his three daughters, Miss Florence Stephens, took over. She was tragically defrauded of large sums of money - an affair known as the 'Huseby affair' - and was declared incompetent as a result. Miss Florence remained in her beloved Huseby Castle, as she called it, until her death. She then bequeathed it to the state.

Visiting Huseby Mill

We arrived at Huseby Mill after closing time, before the high season and during a period of corona restrictions. We probably did not get a completely fair picture of the destination. There are beautiful old buildings, but usually also museums, exhibitions, shops with crafts, a restaurant and a café. There are also guided tours of the castle and activities such as walking theatre, yoga, concerts and "dilemmas" to be solved.

We had a few minutes to talk to the staff inside the tourist information/shop and then we walked around on our own. We looked at all the nice old buildings, and among other things we stopped at the "Transmission House".

The house contains a so-called 'Archimedes screw', which was installed to mechanically convey water from new crops into the Holy River. The screw was installed in 1884 and the house was designed as an oriental-style gazebo. The house was also used as a playhouse for the three Stephens sisters.

Park and garden

In any case, we arrived just in time to experience the rhododendron park. Absolutely fantastic!

We also checked out the gardens with all the crops. Nice! We can definitely recommend Huseby Bruk as a destination, and the experience will certainly be even better if you come here when everything is open.

See more in the neighbourhood

• Things to do in Växjö
• Teleborg Castle
• Kronoberg castle ruins
• Granhult church