The Vetlanda Area

Arvingetorp farm was once in the family

Of course, not all the relatives lived on the Vetlanda farm. We spent a couple of days exploring the countryside and visiting some of the churches they would have attended. The land in these pictures was at one time farmed by one or more branches of my family.

We drove through some beautiful countryside, occasionally on dirt roads. Although the farms aren’t very large, the land is mostly flat and looks fertile with fewer rocks than we saw in Norway. It is certainly easier to earn a living here than in the fjord lands of Norway where Linda’s ancestors lived.

We saw many of these hunting towers.

Some of the land has reverted to forest.

The farms here still look prosperous.

We also visited several lovely churches. The most interesting of these was in the village of Fagerhult. As we walked through the cemetery toward the front door, one of the gardeners walked over to greet us and let us into the church. We chatted for about 20 minutes before he returned to his gardening and we explored. He told us the church had been built to replace a smaller one around 1900. Today, church attendance is down and only a few people attend services. Nevertheless, the church has been restored and money is provided for its upkeep. The problem is one faced all over the country. Because Sweden has the lowest church attendance rate of any European country, the future of these small village churches is in question. We do hope that money will continue to be provided for preserve these beautiful old buildings.

The Fagerhult church

As we looked around the interior our guide pointed out the coat of arms paid for by one of the wealthy parishioners. As he showed us the beautifully carved altarpiece he wondered why they didn’t hire equally talented local artists who also needed the work. He was proud to say that the organ was of Swedish manufacture. We found it interesting that almost every church we visited had two organs. The main organ was always beautifully placed in the loft over the entrance. The second one, usually of a modern design, was usually placed at the side of the sanctuary opposite the pulpit. A few churches even had a third organ.

Most churches have an old font either lovingly carved or cast in bronze. A raised pulpit with a canopy is set to one side of the front of the altar. Altars are often ornately carved. Most churches have a grandfather-style clock. Some were distinguished by their flowing lines while others had a more traditional look. Many have a separate bell tower. Votive ships were rare in Sweden, particularly in the farming areas we visited.

These pictures are of the church in Bringetofta.

Often old beams were preserved and displayed.

The church at Eksjö.

The church at Kråksmåla.

St. George slaying the dragon is a common motif.

Some of the bell towers are open. I restrained myself from pulling the rope.

Baptismal fonts from the churches at Lanneskede and Nävelsjö. In prior days these were by the entrance because the unbaptized were forbidden to enter the church.

The church at Nydala.

The church at Vallsjö.

This beautiful church is at Nässjö.

Vetlanda

Great-great-grandfather's fence

We spent five nights in Vetlanda, a city southwest of Stockholm where my grandmother Lillian Marie Theodora Carlson was born in 1882. He father John Peter Carlson brought the family to America the next year. She and some of her cousins had written a history of the family and the move to America as part of their contribution to the Bicentennial celebration in 1976. The book included maps, photographs, memories, and an extensive family tree so we had plenty to work with as we searched for the places where Grandma and her Swedish relatives lived, worked, and went to church. The photographs were mostly of places long since torn down as new buildings replaced them and the town grew up around the old farm. We were able to find the church in Vetlanda and the stone wall built by my great-great grandfather, Carl Johan Johansson. The only other remaining artifact may have been a root cellar nearby.

Root cellars

Vetlanda today is a small city of about 13,000. We stayed for five nights in an older hotel, now a Best Western, right in the center of town. It was not busy. On two of those nights we were the only visitors. The chef was on vacation so the kitchen was closed.They did have two special nights. Every Wednesday, the all-you-can-eat shrimp feed fills the dining room. Saturday is disco night. We enjoyed the shrimp feed, but skipped the disco beat. Our room was well-insulated from the sound, but not from the heat wave engulfing Scandinavia for most of our trip. Our room temperature never dipped below 80 even when the outside air dropped to about 60.

Too early for ice cream

I don't know what to say about these. They stayed at our hotel.
The men drove off in the cars, the women followed later.

We did enjoy spending the evenings with a bottle of wine on the hotel’s outdoor deck overlooking the town square, not that there was much going on. At least it was cooler and more comfortable than our room. We did see a few people stop at the ice cream truck on the square. Otherwise the only ‘excitement’ came when old American cars drove by with their speakers blaring 80s and 90s music. I guess that is Vetlanda’s cruising culture. Old American cars are popular in Sweden and Finland. We saw at least 20 on this trip and half of those were in Vetlanda.

The highlight of our time in town was the church. We visited it it on our first evening arriving just as the weekly summer organ concert was to begin. The German guest organists, Hartwig Barte-Hanssen, has played major concert venues all over Europe and the US. He played several short pieces and his own symphony, “Summer in Sweden.”

Note the amazing pictures on the walls

We spent just a few minutes enjoying the beautiful interior frescos by Ludwig Frid, and only had time for a couple of pictures. We expected to make a more extensive visit later in the week, but the door was locked every other time we stopped by.

Interesting rune stones on the church property

Park like area that used to be family farmland

We did have plenty of time to wander the surrounding cemetery and admire the stone fence built by Carl Johan. The church is now surrounded by parkland where the family used to live and my great grandfather managed the farm and attached tavern. Grandfather John Peter Carlson was convinced to move to America by his younger brother Sven who had emigrated in 1867. Sven returned for a visit in 1882 and convinced his older brother that he would do very well in America. It may be that John’s concerns about the impact of the tavern on his sons also played a role in his decision to emigrate. Unfortunately, he never felt like the move to America had improved his life and never forgave Sven for convincing him to move. They seldom spoke during their later years.