Page 264 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Sweden

262  SWEDEN AREA B Y AREA

the falls, with a stand for t Östersund
an audience of 420. A Jämtland. * 44,000. £ @ ~
stage in the round is set n Rådhusgatan 44, 063-14 40 01.
against breathtaking _ Storsjöyran Festival (last weekend
natural scenery. in Jul), Arnljot Games (Jul).
Utanede features an ∑ visitostersund.se
exotic Thai pavilion, the
King Chulalongkorn Established on the shores of
Memorial, erected in Storsjön lake in 1786, the county
memory of the King town of Östersund lies opposite
of Siam’s trip along the Jämtland’s ancient centre of
river in 1897 as a guest Frösön. Before coming under
of King Oscar II. The Norwegian rule in 1178, the
decorative elements people of Jämtland had ruled
Thai monument in Utanede, commemor ating the King of the golden pavilion themselves and would be happy
of Siam’s royal visit in 1897 were built by Thai to do so again if the Republic of
craftsmen and seven Jämtland movement had its
r Indalsälven million parts were shipped to way. In a fairly lighthearted
Sweden and assembled. The manner, the movement protects
Jämtland/Medelpad. Road 86. £ to
Sundsvall, then bus. n Ragunda interior holds a life-sized bronze local culture – the highpoint is
Tourist Office, 0696-68 10 90. statue of the king. the Storsjöyran Festival in July.
_ Vildhussen Festival (1st and 2nd Among the churches along the The county museum, Jamtli,
weeks in Jul). ∑ ragundadalen.se river, Lidens Kyrka, dating from with its Historieland feature,
1510, has the most attractive offers an exciting picture of life
The 430-km (270-mile) long location (road 86, 37 km/23 around Storsjön. This time
Indalsälven river rises in the miles northwest of Sundsvall) machine transports visitors to
mountains of Norway and flows and contains medieval scenes from the 18th and 19th
into Klingerfjärden, north of sculptures, with a Madonna from centuries, where history can
Sundsvall. The lower stretch the 13th century. Vildhussen is be felt, heard and even tasted.
of the river from Ragunda in buried in the cemetery here. The museum’s showpiece are
Jämtland includes Döda Fallet Bergeforsen on the coast is the oldest preserved Viking
(the Dead Falls) caused the last of the river’s many power Överhogdal tapestries.
by a disastrous attempt by stations. There is an aquarium A short bridge leads to the
Vildhussen (see box) to control where Baltic fish such as salmon, rolling, green island of Frösön.
the river in 1796. sea trout and eel are raised. Its eastern parts are more like
Döda Fallet is now a nature a part of town, but the views
reserve where it is possible to P King Chulalongkorn Memorial across Storsjön to the peak
walk around the rocky landscape Utanede. Road 86, 7 km (4 miles) of Oviksfjällen inspired the
and see the giant basins carved south of Bispgården. Tel 0696-68 10 composer Wilhelm Peterson-
out by stones in the falls. An 90. Open mid-May–mid-Sep: daily. Berger to create his distinctive
extraordinary revolving open-air & 8 daily. - 0 = 7 some home, Sommarhagen, in 1914.
theatre has been created next to facilities. ∑ thaipaviljongen.se The house is now a museum and
the rich interior with decorative
paintings by Paul Jonze is
Vildhussen and the Dead Falls something of a companion to
A drama which was to have a lasting impact unfolded on 6 June Carl Larsson’s Sundborn (see
1796 in Ragunda on the Indalsälven river. Magnus Huss, known as p241). Every summer Arnljot,
Vildhussen (Wild Huss), a merchant in Sundsvall, had been building a Peterson-Berger’s drama about
log flume to bypass the 38-m (125-ft) high Storforsen waterfall when
an unusually high spring flood put pressure on the lake above the
falls. The log flume burst and the river forged a new route, emptying
the 27-km (17-mile) long lake in just four hours and sending so much
soil and debris downstream that it
formed Sweden’s largest delta at the
river mouth. The Storforsen waterfall had
become Döda Fallet (the Dead Falls).
Local people were sceptical of Huss’s
scheme from the start and despite the
now navig able river and fertile land on
the old lake bed, discontent brewed.
A year later Huss died when his boat
capsized. Rumour has it that the oars
Döda Fallet, Vild hussen’s had been hidden and his boat pushed
creation out into the fast-flowing river. Old stone fireplace in Jamtli Museum,
Östersund
For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp288–9 and pp300–301

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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.1)
Date 5th December 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm