Kinnekulle on the shores of Lake Vänern - a springtime excursion

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Guest writers: Maria and Jöran

"This place is sweeter than any other", is how Carl Linnaeus wrote about Kinnekulle during his Wästgöta journey in 1797, and it sure is beautiful!

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It is a really nice day this Good Friday when we take a day trip to Kinnekulle. The branches of the trees are still bare, and there is actually some snow left in some places here too. The best time, according to us, is mid-May and a few weeks ahead. Then the trees are green and then the wild garlic and cherry trees bloom. Fabulous!

More cafés open in May, various craft shops and also the churches. They have a Spring Round on the first weekend in May and an Autumn Round on the first weekend in September, which are well worth visiting.

We had arranged to meet with a couple of good friends at the Café at Klostret in Blomberg. There are both sandwiches, coffee bread and soup to choose from. Very nice and good!

There is so much to see and experience of nature and history that it is difficult to include everything here! So here is a bit of everything, but more pictures and information as well as links can be found on our site. emjis.se.

At Blomberg harbour there is a Viking ship, Sigrid Storråda, which you can take tours with. During the summer you can also see Sigrid Storråda at Läckö, so check out their website to make sure you don't miss it.

It is a large full-scale longship completed in 1995 and is a model of a 10th century Norwegian Viking ship. The woman who the ship is named after is said to have lived in the 10th century in Västergötland and would have been the mother of Olof Skötkonung and a very powerful Viking woman.

After Blomberg comes Västerplana, which is the oldest village on Kinnekulle. There are three "plana" - Väster, Medel and Öster. The name plana comes from upland 'high up or in relation to surrounding settlements higher up situated land'.

Along the roadside you can see three erected stones, the Tredingstenen, which is believed to belong to the Stone Age and graves there. Nobody knows exactly and in some places it is said to be connected to the Posse family who lived here. One stone has also been attributed to King Sverker the Elder, but he died in Östergötland...

There is plenty of history here and many churches. There are no less than 20 in the Götene pastorate. We like to see churches for their art treasures and several of the churches on Kinnekulle are parts from the 11th century. May-September they are open between 8-20.

Husaby church is perhaps the most famous as Olof Skötkonung was baptised here in 1000 AD. and became our first Christian king. St Sigfrid's spring can still be seen and several royalties have been here and written their names in the stones. The spring is still used today for baptisms.

The church itself is one of the oldest buildings in the country, dating back to the 11th century. There is a lot to see inside and there are good guides if you want to know more. I don't know how it is with Christmas and New Year's mass here but many years ago I was at a wedding here one New Year and it was magical with all the lit candles.

A stone's throw from the church are the ruins of Biskopsborgen. At first it was probably Olof Skötkonung's royal estate and then a residence for the bishops of Skara. The name Husaby itself is Old Swedish and refers to a royal estate.

East of Husaby there are a large number of rock carvings at Flyhov. These are believed to have been made during the Bronze Age, i.e. 1500-1000 years BC. The best known is the Axe God, but there are people, ships, animals, wheels and river mills. It is not really known why these are here, if it was a ceremonial sacred place? It is interesting though!

Lasse's cave is a must. The original Lasse lived here with his wife in the late 1800s. He built the cave himself and they lived there for almost 30 years. There is a feature film from 2016 about this man: The Poacher. Lasse and his wife are buried at Husaby and his memorial stone shows his great interest, hunting.

Nearby are the Therese Forge and the Ouroboros Sculpture Park. Incredibly talented blacksmiths!

The view is as the name indicates a wonderful view of Lake Vänern and on the other side you can see Kållandsö. There is a café here in the summer and plenty of parking spaces. There are also pitches here as well as at Stora Stenbrottet and Kinnekulle camping. There is one at Hönsäters harbour but we would only stay there as a last resort.

There are also hostels, cottages and B&Bs if you arrive by train. There is also a guest harbour for boaters.

Yes, Västtrafik actually goes here and it's a really nice ride on the Kinnekullebanan. It runs between Lidköping and Mariestad and stops in several places. The smallest station must still be Trolmen! It was the cutest thing I've seen. Here the train only stops if you show the driver through a sign that folds out.

At Trolmen there are remnants of Råbäck's lime works and here you can "walk in the lime" as it says. Kinnekulle is a plateau mountain and is part of the plateau mountain geopark. It is an area with geology of international importance, i.e. something unique in the world.

In Gössäter, we can recommend an odd excursion to an oil coking plant. A totally unexpected experience. The buildings are reminiscent of the East German pre-war period. Surreal!

This is a ruin from the First World War where they tried to extract oil from the alum shale but it was a big flop. There was no oil but bankruptcy.

Here in Gössäter on Kinnekulle you will also meet my artistic teacher Fredrik, who I had in silversmithing at Helliden College. Lena and Fredrik have courses in silversmithing here and take orders.

If you continue further north-east, you will soon reach Forshem's church and inn. The church is mentioned in the books about Arn by Jan Guillo. and a bit from here you find Aranäs.

We end this Good Friday by going to Hellekis Manor. In spring and summer there are many perennials, a large rose garden, walnut trees and ginkgo trees. The manor is mentioned as early as 1746 by Carl Linnaeus on his journey in Västergötland.

Here you can have lunch or coffee at Hellekis Kök och Trädgård in the orangery. In the summer there are exhibitors in the large greenhouse. They also have a small flea market and a padel court.

Nearby Munkängarna is full of wild garlic in May and June. Note that they may not be picked here as it is a nature reserve! The whole of Kinnekulle is a nature conservation area with 18 nature reserves! Keep an eye on the County Administrative Board's page!

What we will visit in May will be Hjulets café, Handens hus, Forshems gästgivaregård, the interior of the churches we have not yet visited, Martorpsfallet, Gröne skogs limestone quarry, Söcke caves, Stora Salen etc.

As you can see, we still have things to discover despite all the trips here!

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Jöran and Maria Selin

Jöran and Maria are the names behind the former blog Magnolia Magis. They sold the house and lived 3 years outside first in a motorhome then a caravan. Travelling mostly in Sweden and Europe. Today they have switched to a small cabin in the forest and a camping-equipped Land Rover Defender with which they hope for many nice trips.

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