Rottneros Park

About the museum

Rottneros Park was created by the works owner Svante Påhlson in the years 1932–1959. Påhlson married Greta Montgomery, the daughter of Rottneros, in the early 20th century, and wanted to create a manor setting that could live up to visitors’ expectations of Ekeby in Selma Lagerlöf’s Gösta Berling’s Saga. The new manor house was completed in 1932.

The park was laid out on the model of large European style gardens. Around the manor house are formal garden rooms with traces of the Baroque, while the outer parts of the park follow the ideals of the English landscape garden. The park was not built to any master plan but grew as new ideas and sculptures came along. Its basic structure consists of two north–south axes, crossed by an east–west axis through the manor house.

The park contains about a hundred sculptures and reliefs, most by Nordic sculptors from the late 19th to the mid-20th century, among them Carl Eldh, Christian Eriksson, Carl Milles, Johan Tobias Sergel and Gustav Vigeland. Newer works also appear. The park is owned by Stiftelsen Greta och Svante Påhlsons minne (the Greta and Svante Påhlson Memorial Foundation) and since 2007 has been run by the municipally owned company Rottneros Park Trädgård AB. The manor house is a private residence and cannot be visited.

Highlights

• About a hundred sculptures by, among others, Carl Eldh, Carl Milles and Gustav Vigeland
• Garden rooms with roses, rhododendrons and idea gardens (idéträdgårdar)
• Guided tour and sculpture tour via the Sagolika Sunne app
• Large play park and bathing place on lake Fryken
• The Mirror Hall (Spegelsalen) with an antique statue of Jacob med törntaggen (Jacob with the Thorn)

Permanent exhibition

• Skulpturerna i parken – About a hundred sculptures and reliefs by Nordic sculptors from the late 19th to the mid-20th century, placed among the garden rooms.

Operated by

Rottneros Park Trädgård AB

Admission & discounts

Prices apply to the 2026 season. The whole park is cashless (except at certain events). Full price is paid regardless of arrival time. The café and shop at the entrance can be visited without admission. Carts (skrindor) can be hired for SEK 45.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The park is said to be accessible to everyone, and wheelchairs can be borrowed. Dogs are welcome in the park on a lead.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Playground / play area

Large play park with a pirate ship, swings, slides, pedal cars and a trampoline for children aged 2–11, a bathing place by the lake, and the possibility of outdoor lessons for preschools and schools.

Getting there & parking

The park lies just south of Sunne, about 65 km north of Karlstad along national road 45.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Garden café at the entrance with fika, ice cream and light lunches (licence to serve beer and wine), a shop with arts and crafts and garden goods, and Rosens glasscafé (Rose’s ice-cream café) in high season. Visitors may eat their own packed lunch anywhere in the park except in the entrance café. Barbecue area at the bathing place.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events
• Weddings / ceremonies

The party hall Spegelsalen (Rottneroshallen) for weddings and other events; the park can also be hired for trade fairs and concerts.

Plan your visit