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Welcome to Överjärva Country EstateThe Överjärva country estate offers an exiting day-out for everybody. It is an important part of Sweden’s heritage, a green sanctuary close to Stockholm, just north of the “Järva krog” in Solna. It retains its traditional rural character which most visitors find fascinating. In recent years a number of the buildings on the estate have been restored and they now accomodate a variety of users. Our aim has been to safeguard the cultural heritage for the enjoyment and enlightenment of future generations and to develop the estate as a centre for information on environmental issues, on traditional building methods and techniques and the maintenance of ancient buildings, a place where we can work together and exchange our knowledge and experience with others involved in the same field of activities. A nice place for a day’s visit.The café in the Hourseshoe Stables offers home baked produce made with ecologically grown ingredients. During the summer months the café extends out-of-doors. In the exhibition hall next to the café you can explore our permenent exibition “A changing life-style” , which is linked to an environmental trail running through the grounds of the estate. Week-ends offer a variety of events with annual fixtures such as the Easter and Christmas markets, the Swedish fiddler festival and other days organized especially for children and the elderly. There is a museum in the Estate Workers Building “Statarlängan”, once used to house the farm workers and their families, with rooms from the 1920s. Sometimes the museum organizes activities for visitors. Two threatened species live in the outhouse, “Åsbo” chicken all year round, and “Linderöd” pigs over the summer months. The society “Kultur-landskaparna” keeps sheep on the farm and runs courses in sheep-farming and wool craft. There is a shop in the Timber building, “Timmerhuset”, where the society’s produce is on display. The Överjärva stables have horses and ponies for hire and sometimes there is pony riding on the week-ends. A nature trail circles the estate; you might find traces of the old cultivated farmland, the remains of defences from the 1st world war and an iron age burial site, all evidence of the long cultural history of this place. “Överjärva Antik” has a collection of antiques for sale in the Storehouse “Magasinet”. Here you will also find “Järva Byggnadsvård” with items useful for restoring old buildings, and the “KompostCenter” for buying your compost. The Old Laundry, “Gamla Tvättstugan”, houses a pottery with ongoing exibition. Historic SurroundingsMost of the buildings in use at the end of the 19th century are still standing. The estate has an interesting past, reflecting important events in Swedish history. Around 1900, the grounds of the estate extended south a bit further than the present day golf course, east across “Sörentorp” down to “Edsviken” and west along the valley of “Igelbäcken” (the stream running across Järva common). All these areas are free from buildings and as they constitute a part of the National City Park and the “Igelbäcken” nature reserve, they stand a good chance of remaining so in the future. Part of the old orchard is still standing on the golf course,
south of the main estate buildings. The Swedish Pomology Society has
made an inventory of the fruit trees and found a unique apple tree.
“Kulturlandskaparna” has restored the groves and enclosed pasture
land with new fencing. A bridge over the “E4” was built in 1996 and there are plans for a similar bridge over the railroad toward Järva common. The bridges re-establish the historical connection between the estates buildings and its grounds. Usable environmental informationThe Solna school for Nature Studies offers more detailed courses on the natural environments found on the estate; by using discovery and research methods children and youngsters can complement their ordinary school curricula with these courses. The School organizes theme days on natural habitats and enviromental subjects for school classes and offers environmental and other educational courses for adults. In the exibition hall in the Horseshoe Stables you will find the environmental exibition “ A changing lifestyle” complete with a special environmental trail outside. This display puts our existence into an historical perspective and asks how our society is changing and what direction future development will take. How can we, through the choices we make, influence future developments and what sort of society do we want in future? The estate must set a good educational example when it comes to recycling, sustainable systems for water, power generation and nutrition. Each stop on the nature trail aims to display good examples of this. Garden and kitchen compostable waste goes into the large compost station. Energy sources reducing our dependance on non renewable energy are on show. Fresh water comes from our own well, waste water is purified locally on the estate. Encouraging an interest in local historyMany of us are curious about the history of our local surroundings and wish to find out more, especially when the neighbourhood has been extensively altered over the course of time. There are quite a number of interesting buildings on the estate, the legacy of various colourful, strong willed characters, well documented in the detailed source material. We aim to let visitors have access to this fund of fascinating information. A hundred years ago Överjärva was Solnas biggest farm estate, with a large dairy herd, orchards and horticulture, the traces of which are still visible today. By looking at the buildings on the estate you can get a good idea of how it all worked. It is, in fact, one of the few rural environments close to the city that is still intact. It is a type of cultural heritage that can awaken interest and curiosity in old farming communities. The basic principles the farm illustrates offer a good platform for discussions on how a sustainable community can be achieved today. The Estate Workers’ Building houses a museum with rooms showing how people lived and worked on the estate, and a model of the farm as it was in about 1900 is on show in the Horseshoe Stables exibition hall. Another model on show is the Bakers cottage as it was in 1925. Possibilities for the futureÖverjärva estate forms a unique heritage environment with great potential. Many of the buildings have been restored, but there are still a few left to do. The aim is to restore all the buildings, so they too can be used for activities. The green areas are to be revived as well. When the bridge over the railway line is built, the estate will be the centre of a large continuous green land area along the valley of the Igelbäcken stream. |
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Jag vill opp, jag vill opp, sa rabarberknopp! Senast uppdaterad den 19 januari 2007 av Elisabet Brömster.
Överjärva Gård, 170 68 Solna
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