Poets and Saints

Quote of the week

“EMILY: “Does anyone ever realize life while they live it…every, every minute?”

STAGE MANAGER: “No. Saints and poets maybe…they do some.”

– Thornton Wilder, “Our Town”

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Hello,

We continued our trip north, along the west coast of Vättern. Next stop was Olshammar, the house where Verner von Heidenstam (1859-1940) was born. He was a poet, novelist and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1916. He was also a member of the Swedish Academy from 1912. I had mistaken this house for another house he built later in life, Övralid. Övralid is situated at the other side of the lake, so will have to be visited at another time. There were a few surprises with this visit.

Olshammar

HOME
I am longing for the forest:
The pathway in the grasses,
The house that on the ness is,
What orchards holds such apples
Deep-hid from eager spying?
What grain, when zephyr dapples
Can breathe so soft a sighing?
Where can I better slumber
When bells the night-hours number?

Werner von Heidenstam
From “Pilgrimages and Wanderyears”

The manor house, as it looks today, was built in the beginning of the 19th century by the maternal grandfather of Heidenstam. Today the house is an inn, but the owners have saved the room where Heidenstam was born, and keep it open for interested visitors. On one of the door trims you can still see the information of the height of Heidenstam, and other family members. His height is marked from 4 to 21 years old. In 1880 he was 191 cm tall (ca 6,3 feet). He was a tall man. The furniture is from the mid 19th century, but not the furniture of the family. It is a beautiful place in the countryside and close to a small harbour.

However, this was not all. There is a church next door called the Birgitta church, named after our one and only saint, Saint Birgitta. Her husband owned Olshammar in the 14th century, when it was a bigger farm and a brickyard. According to tradition, Birgitta built a chapel on the place where the church is today. The present day church was built in 1620 by Eric Hand, who, the information sheet tells us, was a grand child of King Erik XIV. The glass paintings are coats of arms and were produced in Riga. They represent Eric and his brothers in arms during the Thirty Year War. They are beautiful and very well preserved. The inside of the church is quite unusual with a vaulted ceiling.

No old buildings without a myth or legend. Outside the church is a stone, called the Birgitta stone. According to legend Saint Birgitta used this stone to mount her horse, on her way to Vadstena where her monastery was situated. It is said that if you look carefully you can see her footstep on the stone, and underneath the stone is the key to her cellar hidden. None of the two were visible to me.

Tiveden National Park

We left Vättern and headed to the area between the two lakes. There is a beautiful national park. The weather was not exactly on our side, but we almost managed our little trekking tour without the rain. It is a really beautiful area, including white sand beaches. To cold for a dip, so we walked along the beach and then headed inland, over hills and stones, roots and paths. We choose to take the path leading to Junker hunter’s rock. It is the largest and tallest stone in the park, left over from the ice age. No such stone, and no such name without a legend.

It is said that a young man, Junker the hunter, lost his beloved maiden. There are those who say that they have seen him miserably, walking around the stone. Others claim to have seen a headless maiden searching the area. Locals said they never heard about these people. But, visitors tell tales and the legend continues to live on. We did not notice anything out of the extra ordinary.

On the way back we visited the White Sand caves. Although they were not really caves you could walk into, but more like big stones, having been thrown around by the retreating ice once upon a time. It gave us shelter from the rain at least.

The Salmon Ladder

What is this you wonder? In Gullspång, a small village we passed by, we saw a sign towards “Laxtrappan”. We had to stop of course, to check out what it is. To save the unique Gullspång’s salmon spawn, they have built a ladder in the lower and steepest part of the river. The reason is to make it easier for salmon and trout to reach the playground below the sluice gates in the power plant dam.

The salmon living here are unique and only spawns naturally in this one place in the world. The river flows through the community of Gullspång and connects the two lakes Skagern and Vänern with each other. Side by side with the salmon you can also find the golden trout, which thrives here. It is a beautiful place, and quite unique I think.

On my blog this week

A Moveable Feast

The month of July is for the challenge Paris in July. Unfortunately, I have not had time to either read or blog about Paris and all French things. There should be a few posts coming up soon.