The local heritage society in Mönsterås has a wonderful heritage centre (hembygdsgård) in the middle of town and we cycled over one afternoon to take a look. I like to visit these places as they provide an excellent insight into Swedish architectural history as well as a snapshot of Swedish life in pre-industrial times.



This particular place had over a dozen different buildings set in beautiful park-like grounds, each one a museum preserving a particular piece of Mönsterås history. The main entrance was through a large manor house, typical of those in Småland in the nineteenth century.



Our guide was a local man in his seventies who spent over two hours with us (we were the only visitors that day). He talked at length about the exhibits, answered all of our many questions about the town and its history as well as the history of the houses on display and he took us wherever we wanted to go. There was a fully equipped ninteenth century apothecary complete with a herb garden, analysis room, laboratory, distilling room and so on. There was also an old village shop with all of its fixtures and fittings intact.



The furniture and interior fittings were authentic pieces from that time. I did like the kitchen area with the wonderful old wooden stove, though I'm sure that I would not like the idea of chopping wood etc, especially on a frozen winter morning. Give me the convenience of modern technology at times like that. It can be so easy to romanticise the lifestyle of these simpler bygone times when we see places like this, but you have to also keep in mind that it was a lot of hard work.



One small cottage really captured my fancy. I thought it was some kind of playhouse as it didn't seem big enough for adults. It turned out to be a simple two roomed, low ceilinged crofter's cottage with a roof that made me laugh out loud. I mean, most of us in Australia grow our lawn around the house, not on the house!



He told me that it was peat (torv in Swedish) and that it was dried and packed onto the rafters that had first been covered with sheets of birch bark. It provided a cheap roof that was well insulated and easy to repair. However, during the summer months, especially when there was a lot of rain, the seeds in the peat sprouted and it looked as though you had a lawn on your roof.

Inside the house it was simply furnished, though we noted that these people were not totally destitute as they could afford wallpaper. Many poor people had to make do with newspaper on the walls instead of paint or wallpaper. We also saw that compact living was in force in those days with the large room being used as living, dining and bedroom for the entire family, with a tiny kitchen annexe at the side.



I was commenting on something to Lars-Göran in English and our guide turned and apologised that he could not speak any English. I assured him that I understood Swedish, but said that sometimes I don't know the Swedish word for something and then I revert to English. He asked where I was from and was delighted when he heard Australia. Apparently his father was born in Australia. His grandfather had a job as a cabin boy aboard one of the trade ships operating out of Mönsterås. When the ship arrived in Australia, he jumped ship and took off to the Victorian goldfields - something that was a common occurance in the goldrushes of the 1850's. He stayed on in Australia for several years, returning to Sweden to marry his childhood sweetheart and take her back to Australia with him. He owned some farmland and lived happily there for many years, started a family, later returning to Mönsterås to live. Who would have thought that anyone here even knew where Australia was, let alone had a connection with it.



The next day, again bright and sunny, we went to have a look at the church. Situated high on a ridge, it towers over the old parts of town and the warm colours of the exterior made it look very inviting. The chuch had been closed each time we passed by, but this morning we heard the bells ring out so we took a chance that it would be open. We spoke with the very friendly and helpful verger who gave us some information about the building and the parish. She also loaned us the keys to the choir loft so that we could go upstairs and look at the church from above.



There has been a church here on the hill for over 1,000 years. Initially there was a wooden church, probably constructed by the local villagers. In the thirteenth century a simple stone church was built. Unfortunately this was a politically volatile region and by the seventeenth century the church had been all but destroyed by the warring Danes. In the eighteenth century when the region had stabilised, the present church was constructed. It is a beautiful, well preserved structure and the muted colours they use on the interior give it a great sense of peace and tranquility.



In the centre you can see a glass case that contains two very old, historic bibles. There is a Latin Nürnberg bible dating from 1523 in excellent condition and a Swedish Karl XII bible from 1703. The altar painting depicts the scene where Christ is taken from the cross and is copied from the one in Kalmar cathederal.



Evidently this is a thriving parish, with over 100 people attending Sunday services, which is somewhat surprising in this day and age of dwindling church attendances. Outside in the square was a memorial display commemorating Mönsterås's most famous son, Carl Boberg, a pastor here who in 1885 composed the well loved psalm O Store Gud which has been translated into 200 languages. In English, we know the hymn as How Great Thou Art. I never realised that this was a Swedish composition.

Outside the sun shone and the huge handblown glass windows were filled with warmth, light and a sense of being out in nature as the cool green colours from the trees streamed in with the sunlight. It was a lovely church.



We've really enjoyed our few days here. The town is pretty as well as quiet and the people are very open and friendly. I was surprised by the number and variety of shops here in a town of only 5,000 people and certainly the local supermarket was the best Konsum I've been to in Sweden, both in terms of price, range of products and freshness of everything. I had to post a few postcards and bought my stamps at Konsum (which doubles as the local postal agency) and the girl at the check-out told me to quickly pop out and post them as the guy was clearing out the postbox. She said she'd total up my groceries and I could pay for them and the stamps when I got back. That was typical of the people here and I'm so glad that we made the effort to visit.

This is the final evening's view from the cockpit. It is so warm and nice that it feels like high summer again rather than early autumn.



Such a peaceful, relaxing place. To show you how relaxed one can be here, I read about one Mönsterås resident that took it really too far. This woman, Karolina Olsson (or Karlsson as she later became) fell asleep for thirty two years! Apparently, on October 20th 1875, she fell asleep aged fourteen and woke as a forty seven year old in 1908! It seems that she lived a completely normal life after that and died in 1950, aged 89 in one of the aged care facilities here in town. Now that's what I call a good sleep.

Time is ticking away, so we will be heading south again in the morning, now that we finally have suitable winds, but I get the feeling that we will certainly be visiting this town again in the future.

Oh yes, I almost forgot. They have toothbrushes! Yay!