Holiday apartment in Grästorp: Culture, nature and paths along the Nossan

Grästorp reveals its distinctive character through churches with medieval traces, rural cultural history, riverside paths and unique landscapes. The Nossan, the Dättern bird area and historic sites are part of the character of the town and its surroundings.

Culture

Grästorp Church combines elements of medieval, neo-Romantic and Art Nouveau architecture. Tengene Church retains original parts from the early Middle Ages. Its furnishings also include a Romanesque sandstone baptismal font from the 12th century with figures of the tree of life and animals, as well as a lily stone from the same period. A runestone is built into the north-eastern chancel wall of Ås Church; its inscription dates from the second half of the 11th century.

The cemeteries also preserve historical traces. A church has stood at the present site of Flo Church since the Middle Ages. Outside the southern cemetery wall of Sal Church stands an 11th-century runestone. The cemetery of Flo Church contains a runestone and a memorial stone. The cemetery of Särestad Bjärby Church also contains an 11th-century runestone.

Grästorp Cultural Centre offers a café, a library and free cultural evenings with lectures, exhibitions and concerts. The programme at Grästorp Concert Hall includes cinema, theatre and concerts. Ekarnas GK offers beginner courses leading to completion of the Swedish Green Card, also known as the Gröna Kortet qualification.

History

Holkkvarnen was moved in the 1920s by the Åse och Viste Hembygdsförening local heritage association from Bransölet in Särestad to Marknadsberget and restored in 1950. Today, it is one of the few mills located outside Skansen. Fridhem Church has a bell from the mid-14th century, a large bell from 1772 and a baptismal font made of two sandstone bowls from the 12th century.

Hyringa Old Church Site is situated on a distinctive ridge of rock and gravel, with views over the surrounding landscape. The site may have been used as a pre-Christian place of worship and burial even before the church was built. Särestad Rural Museum preserves more than 3,000 objects and tools. On display are historical rural household practices such as dairy processing, baking, slaughtering and handicrafts. The museum also includes an 18th-century sheep hut, considered the only one of its kind in Sweden.

Platåbergens Geopark became Sweden’s first UNESCO Global Geopark in 2022. It explains the connections between geology, biology and cultural history. At Lilla Konstgården, you can visit Kristiina’s open studio, where works by Kristiina and other Swedish artists are on display. Lilla Konstgården also offers a short art walk through the surrounding forest.

Nature

Forshalls Nature Park lies along the Nossan River and offers beautiful, accessible nature. Forshallspromenaden is an approximately four-kilometre section of the Västgötaleden trail, running along the Nossan towards Forshall. Tengenepromenaden is an approximately 3.3-kilometre walking trail along the eastern shore of the Nossan.

Dättern is a shallow, nutrient-rich bay of the lake, connected to Vänern and Brandsfjorden via the Frugårdssundskanalen. The area is important for migrating and breeding birds. There is a birdwatching tower at Sjöryd in Dättern Nature Reserve.

Experiences

Lunnevibadet has pools for swimming and playing. Together with the walking paths along the Nossan, the birdwatching tower at Sjöryd, the historic churches and the cultural attractions, it creates a destination where nature observation, exercise, art and history come together in different ways.

To the Grästorp town page. More town pages: Falköping, Tanum, Alingsås, Vara, Ulricehamn, Gråbo, Lerum.

To the overview of the wider travel region: Västra Götaland.