Holiday apartment in Flen: culture, moorland trails and swimming spots

Flen combines historic railway culture, sacred art and trails through moorland and wetland landscapes with swimming spots and events. The town thus brings together railway history and church art as well as nature trails, water activities and cultural events.

History and culture

With the expansion of the railway in the 19th century, Flen became one of the country's most important railway junctions. The Västra stambanan was completed in 1862, followed by the intersecting Grängesberg–Eskilstuna–Flen–Oxelösund line in 1877. The station dating from 1892 and the station platform roof are listed buildings. The platform roof is also included in Sweden's register of state-listed buildings. According to the local tourism information, Flen can be reached by train from Stockholm, Norrköping and Eskilstuna within one hour.

Another historical destination is Flen Church. The hall church with a nave was probably built in the 13th century with a low wooden ceiling. Its furnishings include two baptismal fonts from the 12th century. The so-called “gubbvalv” is also noteworthy: the shape of the vault ribs forms grotesque figures.

The Thuleparken heritage park is located at the highest point in Flen, in the middle of the town. The entire park is a museum with buildings from farms in the surrounding area; collections of tools and equipment from earlier times are also on display there. Midsummer, Returnees' Day, the Glass and Jazz Festival and a Christmas market are celebrated in Thuleparken. On Centralplan, the work “Tonåring” is part of the sculpture walk; the sculpture was installed in Flen in 1965. The aluminium sculpture “Vertikal strävan”, with a fountain and a water basin, was installed on 15 September 1976.

Nature and trails

At Hammartorpsmossen, a trail crosses a treeless, nutrient-poor moorland on a boardwalk. There is an approximately 1.3-kilometre circular trail there. Flen Municipality has restored a wetland landscape at Hammartorpsmossen to help reduce the climate impact, support biodiversity and promote recreation.

The Sörmlandsleden also features special trail sections: it includes a 100-metre-long boardwalk over a stream and marshy terrain. The Sörmlandsleden connecting trail begins at Hammarvallen and continues to Harpsundsvägen. An approximately 20-kilometre connecting trail leads from Flen to Hälleforsnäs. The Sörmlandsleden also continues towards Lake Orrhammaren, where swimming is possible.

Water and leisure

The Orrestaö peninsula is located on Lake Orrhammaren in Flen and has two different swimming spots. At Orrestaö, canoes, stand-up paddleboards and life jackets can be rented directly from the restaurant. The bistro at Flen Golf Club serves light lunches with a view of the lake.

The Flen swimming pool has a 25-metre pool with six lanes. The 25-metre pool at Flen swimming pool is more easily accessible via a staircase. Current films are shown at Sagabiografen; cinema tickets can be booked via the website. Fritidsbanken in Flen lends reusable sports and leisure equipment free of charge for two weeks.

Events

The culture and literature festival in Flen is an annual community event organised by the cultural unit, the library and the culture school in cooperation with Litteraturutveckling Sörmland and NBV. The “Jazz och Glassfestival” event was announced for the fifth consecutive time in 2026.

The directly linked places include Bettna, Malmköping, Sparreholm, Flen, Mellösa and Hälleforsnäs.

For the broader travel overview: Södermanland.

More destinations

More places within the same destination:

Gnesta, Strängnäs.