Kungsberg Royal Manor

Modern agriculture on land belonging to a former convent

The buildings we see today comprise a red-painted manor house building flanked by two wings, probably dating from the eighteenth century. Next to the manor house are traces of gardens which used to belong to the manor and possibly also to the convent. The older cowshed building is set slightly away from the manor house. The farm buildings are impressive considering the amount of land held by the manor today. This is explained by the fact that Kungsberg used to include large areas of land on the island of Tosterö. As the land of the farm has been split, the buildings are important pieces in the jigsaw, enabling us to understand the size and importance of the manor.

The National Property Board has built a new cowshed on the farm. After around 40 years with no animals on the farm, the National Property Board has now invested in a cowshed which will once more make it possible to keep livestock at Kungsberg. Completed in 2003, the cowshed houses 117 cows. The farm is organic and is affiliated to the Swedish organic system (KRAV). The new building is next to the farm's older farm buildings and will be used to house animals at Kungsberg for a long time to come. This will benefit the tenant farmer, the farm itself and the pasture land, which is part of Sweden's natural and cultural heritage.

From convent to royal manor

In around 1290 the Cistercians established a convent on Strängnäsfjärden. The convent was founded in the second half of the twelfth century but its original location is not known. From 1233 the convent was situated at Fogdö Church and was then known as Fogdö convent. When the convent moved to what is now Kungsberg, its name changed to Vårfruberga convent.

As was the case with the possessions of many other convents and monasteries, Vårfruberga's farm was seized by Gustav Vasa after the reformation. The farm then became a royal manor, known as Kungsberg. In 1623 the manor was sold but was returned to the crown in the restitution of alienated crown property under Karl XI. It has been run as a tenant farm ever since.

Overgrown meadow land opened up and grazed

Land use has changed over the centuries. Meadow land has been turned into arable, the old arable fields are farmed using more modern methods and animals no longer graze in the forest. Despite this the division between open and fenced land is in principle the same as in the eighteenth century. The work underway to restore the overgrown pasture land in the arable areas and in the border land between the infields and the outlying land is important in this respect. It highlights and makes clear the ancient nature of the fields, which is part of their cultural and historical value.

In recent years the overgrown meadow land has been opened up. Huge, ancient oaks grow in this formerly closed off land. Here are also wild strawberries, mountain everlasting, hawkweed and quaking grass, which are all encouraged by grazing. Now the animals at Kungsberg will graze the land and safeguard this cultural and historical value for generations to come. The meadow lands also contain ancient monuments which have become more visible to visitors now that the land has been opened up. The forest too, grazed in the past, contains remains in the form of stone walls, ancient roads and graves.