Öland Museum Himmelsberga - open air museum and art gallery

Öland Museum Himmelsberga is a nice open-air museum that shows an old-fashioned Öland row village and what life was like in the past. There is also a cosy little café, a shop and an art gallery.

Öland Museum Himmelsberga

The Öland Museum Himmelsberga offers a pleasant stop with old-fashioned farms and old-fashioned environments.

The museum is located in Borgholm municipality, on the east coast of Öland.

Himmelsberga - a double row village

The village of Himmelsberga is a traditional row village, a medieval village form that became common on Öland in the 14th century. In a row village the farms are located along the street, instead of in a cluster. The farms in a row village can be located along one side of the street or, as in Himmelsberga, on both sides. The village is then called a double row village.

Café Kaffestugan

At Öland's museum Himmelsberga you find the cafe Kaffestugan. Here we each ordered an ice cream and sat down in the shade. Not bad on this hot day!

Karl Olsgården

We then peeked into Karl Olsgården, which is one of the museum's farms. The manor house dates back to the end of the 18th century and there is also a so-called 'emergency apartment', where parents could live when their children took over the farm.

In a nearby barn, you can see a collection of old-fashioned carriages.

Norrgården

Norrgården is an old family farm and the oldest known owner in the family, Lars Olsson, was written for the farm in 1737. Now you can step inside and see the fine interior of the manor house, but also look around the barns and stables. Here you can also see a threshing machine and a pigeon loft.

Isn't it nice inside the farm! It's fascinating to think back to how people lived in the past. For many, I'm sure it was a lot of hard work, but there was no stress in the form of pinging emails or social media ...

More buildings and activities at Öland Museum Himmelsberga

In addition to the two large farms, there are several other buildings in the museum such as Malmstället, Kvarnen, the Hedvigs farm and Stacketorpshuset. There are also cultivations and gardens, and there are supposed to be Swedish farm animals, although we didn't see them. In addition, various courses, workshops, children's activities and events are organised.

Art centre

At the museum there is also an art gallery where different exhibitions are shown. We were here on the last day of the exhibition that you can see below, and then it was time for a new theme. One of the artworks I looked at the longest turned out to be made by an artist that we visited two days later, at the charming Mellböda farm. It's a small world sometimes!

Where can you park your campervan?

If you are travelling by camper van, you can choose to stay in the car park outside the museum. There is a small sign saying that in that case you can pay a small amount (I don't remember the price exactly, but I think it was less than SEK 50), and then also get access to a toilet. Otherwise there is no service.

See more in the neighbourhood

Close to Öland's museum Himmelsberga you can visit Lerkaka with lots of windmills and Ismantorp's ancient castle. It is also not far to Borgholm, where you can see Borgholm Castle and Solliden Castle.

Have you visited the Öland Museum Himmelsberga? How was your experience? Do you have more tips on nice places to visit in the neighbourhood?

Facts about Öland's museum Himmelsberga

• Address: Himmelsberga Bygata 1, Borgholm
• Municipality: Borgholm municipality
• County: Kalmar County
• Landscape: Öland
• Owners: Ölands Hembygdsförbund
• Read more: You can find more information at the museum's website.

Services and practical information

• Opening hours: The museum is open daily during the summer, and on weekends during the pre and post season. See the museum's website for exact times.
• Prices: Adults 80 SEK, children 10-15 years 40 SEK and children under 10 years free (2021). Membership in Öland's local history association, local history year card and cultural heritage card gives a discount.
• Food service: The coffee shop offers pies, sandwiches and pastries.
• Shop: The shop sells crafts, books and old-fashioned sweets.

Tours and activities

• Children's activities: Malmstället with crafts and games, the animals, the key hunt and Wednesday activities during the summer holidays.
• Programmes and courses: Vernissage, workshops, think tank and other activities according to the calendar.
• Events: Christmas market, national day celebrations, midsummer celebrations and other activities according to the calendar.
• Hiking: Långlötleden is a hiking trail that starts and ends at the Öland Museum Himmelsberga car park.

History at Öland's museum Himmelsberga

• 1683: The oldest known mapping is from this time, and shows that there were then four homesteads in the village, three of which were "crown homesteads".
• 1957: Öland's local history association bought two neighbouring farms in Himmelsberga radby in Långlöts parish, which were restored.
• 1959: The Öland Museum Himmelsberga was inaugurated.
• 1986: Additional farms were purchased for the museum.
• 1988: The art centre was inaugurated.