Holiday apartment in Jönköping – Culture, Nature and Visingsö

Jönköping combines an engaging industrial history, museums with unusual collections and diverse natural areas. The municipal excursion guide “Naturpärlor i Jönköpings kommun” presents 68 natural areas and supplements the trails with route descriptions and information about interesting features of each area. The range therefore extends from urban culture to trails by the lake and on the island of Visingsö.

Culture

The Husqvarna Museum presents 400 years of industrial history across 2,400 square metres. The Jönköpings läns museum features exhibitions on art, history and life in the province. Throughout the year, the programme also includes lectures, guided tours and creative workshops; admission to the museum and its programme events is free.

The Friluftsmuseet in Jönköping city park is also part of the Jönköpings läns museum. Several older buildings make the site a historical ensemble, including a soldier’s cottage, a wire-drawing mill, a parish granary and a bell tower. The Soldattorpet was moved to the Friluftsmuseet from Råssmäte in the municipality of Linderås in 1929.

The Fågelmuseet displays a special collection: 1,450 birds from 330 species and 2,500 eggs from 281 bird species. In summer, the museum organises activities for adults and children and lends outdoor toys for visitors’ own activities in the park outside the museum. The Tändsticksmuseet also focuses on an unusual subject. It is one of only three match museums in the world and is housed in a wooden building dating from 1848 that is classified as a listed building. Activities for children include searching for hidden giant matches and making their own matchbox covers.

Nature

Rosenlunds bankar shapes the landscape with a 35-metre-high and 2-kilometre-long erosion escarpment. The Rosenlunds bankar nature reserve has an interactive story map featuring points of interest and hiking trails. On site, the area also includes a car park, an information board, a cycle path, a walking trail, viewpoints, a picnic area, a campsite, sandy beaches east and west of the escarpment and a fire pit.

In the Rocksjön nature reserve, a boardwalk approximately 900 metres long leads through the area. There is also an approximately 5-kilometre-long paved walking and cycling path around the lake, which partly runs outside the protected area. Rosenlunds rosarium has a different character: in 2022, it became the first Swedish rosarium to receive the Award of Garden Excellence. The rosarium is open around the clock, admission is free, and it offers park, rosarium and historical tours as well as an audio guide all year round.

History

On Visingsö, trails through the landscape meet historic buildings. Brahekyrkan was built at the beginning of the 17th century as the historic castle church of Visingsborg. Its construction contains clear traces of the former medieval Ströja kyrka. During the summer season from mid-May to August, Brahekyrkan is open daily. The grounds around the ruins of Visingsborg are accessible at all times; due to the risk of collapse, visitors are not allowed to enter the ruins.

Trails on Visingsö

The green Nordslinga section of Visingsöslingan is a 7.2-kilometre, easy circular trail on Visingsö that begins near the harbour. Visingsöslingan also passes a clearing with the remains of the S:t Laurentii Chapel. In the oak forest on Visingsö, there are three marked trails measuring 3.8, 6.4 and 7.2 kilometres.

The flat Hagavägen through the oak forest of Visingsö can be explored on foot or by bicycle. In summer, Remmalag horse-and-carriage rides take place there regularly. The ferry between Gränna and Visingsö takes approximately 25 minutes and operates daily return trips all year round.

Other location pages at this level: Bottnaryd, Gränna, Huskvarna, Jönköping, Lekeryd, Mulseryd, Odensjö, Tenhult, Taberg, Lovsjö, Visingsö, Skärstad, Bankeryd, Norrahammar, Alboga, Sjöhult, Rastad.

To the overarching travel overview: Jönköping.