Skepplanda: Burial Ground, Church Art and Nature

In Skepplanda, a large burial ground, painted church vaults and a ship carving offer very different ways to encounter the area’s history. There are also ancient grazing land, forests and waterfalls. This makes it possible to discover the area through tangible traces and impressions of the landscape, rather than focusing on just one excursion highlight.

Church art and traces at Stugåsberget

The ceiling paintings in Skepplanda kyrka date from 1770 and were painted by Johan Burman. Skepplanda gravfält lies north of the church. With more than 60 graves, it is the largest burial ground in the Göta River Valley. Together, the two sites place church art and archaeological heritage in a shared historical context, although they tell different stories: one is about a painted church ceiling, the other about the size and form of a burial ground.

A walking path runs for a few hundred metres through the deciduous forest to the few graves laid out there at Skepplanda gravfält. This short, clearly defined route description gives a different emphasis from the figure of more than 60 graves: it draws attention to individual graves in the forest. Anyone interested in local history will find different scales here—from the burial ground as a whole to the few graves along the path.

Another striking trace is found at Stugåsberget in Skepplanda: a ship carving measuring three metres long and 0.6 metres high. These two measurements give the motif a tangible scale. Together with the burial ground and the church paintings, it adds another visible motif to the picture of local history.

Grazing land, forest and water

The landscape also tells a story of long-standing use. The area around Skepplanda gravfält has been used as grazing land for thousands of years. It is home to a species-rich flora with typical meadow and pasture plants. The open, agricultural landscape is therefore more than just a backdrop for the historic sites; its plant life is one of Skepplanda’s distinct discoveries.

Iglekärr, with its comparatively old forest, lies in the vicinity of Skepplanda. The pines and oaks there are up to around 200 years old. During high water, the waterfalls in Forsån are particularly impressive. The forest, old trees and waterfall each offer their own nature experience; the information does not describe them as part of a single circular route. When planning, it is therefore worth choosing the individual destinations according to whether you are more interested in old trees, the grazing landscape or the water.

Trails and other experiences

Stage 6 of the Skepplanda–Lödöse route begins at Skepplanda kyrka. The described way to reach the starting point is by train towards Älvängen station, then bus 434 to Skepplanda Albotorget, and onward to the church. Check the current timetable before travelling. This stage is a useful point of reference if you would like to combine your stay with a route that starts in Skepplanda.

Another historic route is Starrkärr–Skepplanda. Vadbackabron, an old stone arch bridge, is considered a symbol of this route. Its theme differs from that of the stage to Lödöse: here, a stone bridge shapes the route description, while there, the church is the distinctive starting point.

Skepplanda simhall adds an indoor swimming facility with a 25-metre pool and sauna to the historic and landscape-related experiences. This is a separate option to consider when planning a trip, alongside outdoor trails and cultural and historical sites. When choosing a holiday apartment, it may therefore be important to decide which of these interests you would like to focus on. If the starting point for Stage 6 matters to you, consider Skepplanda when looking for accommodation; if you want to explore different natural attractions, plan each of the destinations according to its own character.

Discover more destinations: Surte, Nol, Älvängen, Ale, Verle.

Go to the main travel overview: Ale.