Stjernsunds Slott (castle) is situated near Askersund at the northern end of Lake Vättern. The manor was founded in 1637 and has been owned by three different noble families, and also, back in the 1800s, by the royal family. Since 1951, it belongs to The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities. The castle as museum is open to the public in the summer; and in a separate building down by the lake below the hill there is a Castle Café, where we had the pleasure of having lunch on the third day of our trip.
▲ Inside the café/restaurant ▼
After lunch we went for a little walk up to the castle and around the estate:
As decorations in the path leading up to the castle, they had used old millstones.
The front of the castle. We did not go inside (I think there were only guided tours).
There was a small exhibition in a couple of rooms next to the reception and shop in one of the wings. I did not take any photos in there but I bought some postcards.
The last owners of the castle before the estate was bequeathed to the Academy.
And this is the view they were looking at from those stairs.
Down by the lake near the café
Wooden owl on a pole down by the jetty.
Huge tree at the gable of the café.
Farm buildings on the estate
The Stjernsund estate is also known as the origin of the Swedish Red and White breed of dairy cattle. (I did not know that before our visit, though…)
This postcard shows a cow named Perla. On the back of the card is printed “f. 8/9/1895”. I think that’s the cow’s birthdate rather than the date when the photo was taken. (How old does a cow get??)
Linking (the old postcards) to Postcards for the Weekend 51
10 comments:
I'm not sure whether your question on the lifespan of a cow was serious but I thought I'd answer it anyway. In reality, according to Compassion in World Farming, dairy cows usually have a useful life of about 6 years after which they are culled. I think that practices vary very much though and some may live for less and go for beef. I think the natural span is about 20 years.
I am getting struck by the pristine neatness of almost everything we have seen so far on your trip. I am, by the way, enjoying the trip greatly.
Incredible view from the castle. I like the clean lines and simplicity of the buildings.
How wonderful to live beside this lake! The cafe looks like a house inside, not a restaurant. I love the millstone in the road. I have seen then used in several different ways, but not like this. Goodness, that tree is tilted toward the cafe at an alarming angle. I would be terrified in storms with high winds.
I love cafés set up like that, with different chairs and tables, rugs and so on, made to look more like a home than anything else.
The whole place looks beautiful and so well cared for.
If cows are allowed to live their life more or less naturally, I suppose they can reach 20 or more, like Graham said. But their "productive" years are a lot less.
Graham, the reason why the question of the cow's age popped up in my mind is that when I checked out that article about the the Swedish Red-and-White cow, it says that it this breed was "formed in 1927 or 1928". And if that is true, how does the cow from 1895 fit into the story? ... Great-grandmother or something, perhaps! ;) ...
It is a lovely place Janet and I'd have liked to see the inside of the castle as well if we had had more time. (But we already had other plans for the rest of the afternoon.)
I liked the inside of that café too so that's why I went to explore a little before we left. Luckily a couple of the rooms were empty so that I could take photos :)
love the cow post card and it is a beautiful place. I especially like those big wonderful trees in some of the photos. and the sidewalk with mill wheels is very interesting
I love that cow postcard! I believe you will receive a card from France with cows, from my recent holiday :) These photos that you shared btw make me miss Sweden!
The symmetry in the architecture is so very attractive.
And as with the others, I like the truly homey feel of the cafe!
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