Erik Anders and Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Erik Anders

   The farms of Hälsingland are one of the odder success stories of Swedish history. In the nineteenth century, farmers in this part of the country grew rich on flax and linen, and they spent their wealth not on grand manor houses but on enormous wooden farmhouses with elaborate painted interiors. Rooms were reserved for celebrations, and decorated with biblical scenes, flowers and ornamental borders by travelling artists. Seven of these farms are on the UNESCO list, among them the Erik-Anders farm, near Söderhamn, whose neat red buildings stand in a clearing among fields and forest.

   Read the complete Erik Anders write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Erik Anders is where the day begins. Next is Gästgivars.

2. 2. Gästgivars

   Gästgivars is a farm in the village of Vallsta, in Hälsingland, in central Sweden, and inside its wooden buildings are some of the finest painted rooms in the country. It is one of the seven decorated farmhouses of Hälsingland inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012, recognized for the extraordinary wealth of folk art that prosperous farmers commissioned in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The name means the innkeeper's farm, and it once served as an inn for travellers along the road through the Ljusnan valley.

   Read the complete Gästgivars write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Gästgivars comes up about 51 km into the recorded legs. Next is Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland.

3. 3. Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland

   Farmers in nineteenth-century Hälsingland had money, thanks to flax, timber and good land, and they spent it on houses. Their large wooden farmhouses, many of them painted red with Falun copper-mine pigment, often contained rooms reserved for festivities, decorated by itinerant painters with flowers, biblical scenes and allegories in bright colours. Seven of these farms, including Pallars in Järvsö, Gästgivars in Vallsta and Bommars in Letsbo, were inscribed together by UNESCO in 2012, and stepping into their painted rooms is like entering a folk tale.

   Read the complete Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 80 km into the recorded legs you reach Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland. Next is back through Gästgivars.

4. 4. back through Gästgivars

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Gästgivars write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Gästgivars, late in the day. Next is Erik Anders.

5. 5. Erik Anders

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Erik Anders write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Erik Anders. That is the ride.