After the loud, lively Stockholm, the whole family felt like some sea air. That's why we slowly trudged along the east coast towards Hälsingland and spent the night in Rullsanden, the "Swedish Riviera". It was already very autumnal here and swimming was only for the hardy - so definitely for Rie. I am always surprised how dramatic the skies can be here, how quickly the weather changes and how wrong weather forecasts can be.
We only touched on the stronghold of Swedish linen production - Hälsingland is worth a trip of its own, and that is when all the museums are actually open. We didn't realise that everything was closing down in mid-August. Having become rich from linen processing in the 18th and 19th centuries, the farmers invested their money in beautiful large farms, the so-called Hälsingehöfe - richly painted walls and wallpaper, carved decorations on roofs and windows. 7 buildings were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2012. https://www.halsingelinnevaveri.se/
Wealth through linen
The visitor centre showed that between 1843 and 1847, 255 tonnes of flax and 1.5 million metres of linen fabric in all qualities were sold from Hälsingland every year.
In order to not only grow these large quantities, but also to be able to process them into fibres, the priest Olof Johan Broman had the idea around 1700 in Hudiksvall to use the power of water wheels for the two most energy-consuming steps in processing - crushing and swinging. More than 1000 of these water-powered production plants exist in Hälsingland. Today, a good dozen of them are still preserved. One of them can be visited near Växbo. You can read more about the plant HERE. HERE read up.
Växbo Lin upholds tradition in Hälsingland
Right in the neighbourhood of Trolldalen Mill stands Växbo Lin https://www.vaxbolin.se/ one of Sweden's four pure linen weavers. Founded by Rolf Åkerlund in 1990, when all other textile companies were leaving Sweden, the young couple Hanna and Jacob Bruce took over the business in 2006. The beautifully designed showroom tempts you to browse and buy, and visitors can also simply walk into the production area and listen to the machines rattle away.
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