Alfta: Hälsingefarms, Museums and Tours

Alfta combines historic farms, museums and varied tours into a destination offering many different opportunities for discovery.

Hälsingegård Ol-Anders: History to Explore

An important cultural destination is Hälsingegård Ol-Anders. The Hälsingefarm has Empire-style front extensions and original interior paintings preserved from 1848. During a visit, you can therefore not only admire the architecture of the farm, but also experience a specific example of historic interior design.

At Hälsingegård Ol-Anders, the Emigrantmuseet tells the story of the arduous journey of the Erikjansarna from Alfta to Bishop Hill. The Industrihistoriska museet, by contrast, focuses on the development of ÖSA: from a village forge to a world-leading forestry machinery company. The two museums have different focuses, making Alfta interesting for travellers who want to compare technological development with the history of emigration.

Families can also plan a creative workshop for children at Barnens Världsarv on Hälsingegård Ol-Anders. Hälgegården at Hälsingegård Ol-Anders in Alfta presents the life of Lars Mortimer as the artist and creator of Hälge, Bobo and Gnuttarna. At the Bobo och Gnuttarnas museum in Alfta, you can see figures, films and information about Bobo and Gnuttarna. The museum is located in Alfta’s old railway station building and adds another independent cultural destination to the visit.

Tours for Cultural and Active Days

The 28 km-long tourist route Stora Hälsingegårdars Väg begins at Hälsingegård Ol-Anders in Alfta. Those who want to include several historic impressions in an excursion plan can treat this route as a focus in its own right. When choosing accommodation, it is therefore worth considering in advance whether a trip with longer days out or one with individual cultural stops better suits your preferences.

For mountain biking and hiking days, Vikebergsleden in Alfta offers routes of 15 and 20 km. In addition, the trail at the motocross track in Viken includes a marked MTB loop of approximately 4.5 km. The different route lengths allow you to make a considered choice based on your preferred scope, without having to structure your trip around just one activity.

Further Regional Impressions

Cultural themes can also be explored beyond the museums mentioned above. Jon-Lars in Långhed near Alfta is one of the seven farms of the Hälsingegårdar World Heritage Site. Alfta kyrkby och samhälle features extensive preserved historic buildings around the church and along Långgatan. Those who appreciate traditional crafts can explore Bopparmark Metallhantverk, where traditional blacksmithing methods are used and mainly iron is shaped while hot.

At Hälsingegård Löka in Gundbo, there is a local history museum, a shop selling local handicrafts and a café. Ida Caroline runs her workshop and shop at Hälsingegård Ol-Anders in Alfta. This makes it possible to incorporate history, crafts and regional design into the travel plans as different areas of interest.

Those travelling with a dog can use the area at Kvarnsveden in Alfta between the footbridge towards Forsparken and the start of the actual bathing area to let their dog swim.

Choosing Alfta as the Right Travel Base

Whether you are looking for a holiday apartment or a holiday home in Alfta depends primarily on which of these themes are to shape your trip. Those interested in culture and history will find numerous specific points of interest in the Hälsingefarms and museums. For active days, there is a choice of the 28 km-long tourist route and the routes of Vikebergsleden. Families can also include the children’s workshop and the museums with figures and films in their plans. For further orientation, you can also discover Edsbyn, Viksjöfors, Voxnabruk and Ovanåker.

To the higher-level travel overview: Ovanåker.