Skärplinge: Culture, Landscape and Discoveries

Skärplinge combines a distinctive local history with a flat agricultural landscape and the Strömarån watercourse. The river runs through the eastern part of the locality, while open countryside stretches to the north and south. Anyone looking to combine culture, local history and a range of day-trip ideas during their holiday will find a place here with several independent points of interest.

Watercourse, town centre and historical development

The present-day centre of Skärplinge is concentrated around a square at the intersection of Tierpsvägen and Gävlevägen. This helps you first understand the locality in geographical terms. Skärplinge has considerable cultural-historical value and shows a continuous development from the medieval marketplace through a historic large village to today’s commercial centre.

The medieval marketplace Köpstaden was located in the northern part of Skärplinge, east of the river. There is also a mill by the Strömarån, built of brick on a slagstone foundation in 1888. In the eastern part of Skärplinge, the Strömarån widens into a dam and a weir with a drop. In this way, the history of the locality and the landscape can be understood not only through dates, but also through specific structures and the course of the water.

Cultural-historical discoveries

The Österlövsta kyrka is a particularly multifaceted subject. The brick-built church was consecrated in 1451 and has a nave with a choir. In 1719, it was burned down by the Russians and was not completed again until 1726. Its history also includes a burial chapel built from 1731 to 1733 for Charles De Geer, the church’s patron. For travellers interested in cultural history, this offers insight into several phases of the region’s past.

Gammelgården, the parish local heritage museum, lies to the north-west of Skärplinge. At the Hembygdsgården outside the cultural environment area, there is a burial ground of which only three graves are visible today. There is also the fragment U 1137 near Skärplinge: it is built into an inaccessible hearth in a brewhouse. Precisely these varied traces – a museum, a historic setting and a hidden fragment – give a journey through the locality’s history different perspectives.

Active and more relaxing holiday ideas

At Sätravallen, Skärplinge has an outdoor gym with exercise trails. This is a practical way to incorporate physical activity into your day without giving up the locality’s cultural focus. During public skating sessions, everyone is welcome to skate for free at the PEK hall. Skating is explicitly subject to a public session taking place at the time.

For a quieter break, the Skärplinge library at Ol Andersskolan provides a public place alongside its function for the school. It has children’s and young adult books, non-fiction, audiobooks and much more. Nang Kitchen adds a culinary offering to the local impressions: the new food truck in Skärplinge serves authentic Thai dishes.

Skärplinge as a starting point for your accommodation search

National Road 76 runs through Skärplinge and provides good commuting connections to Gävle and Östhammar. When choosing a holiday apartment, you can therefore consider what you want your trip to focus on: the town centre and historical orientation, the landscape and Strömarån, cultural history or sporting activities. This allows you to match the location of your accommodation deliberately with your personal plans for each day, without having to commit to just one type of holiday.

Skärplinge is therefore suitable as a destination for anyone who wants to combine a tangible local history with landscape, exercise and a variety of discoveries. For further orientation, you can also visit the pages on Karlholmsbruk, Tierp, Söderfors and Lövstabruk.

Back to the higher-level travel overview: Tierp.