A guide to ancient monuments, burial grounds and ruins in West Sweden

The vast rock carving area at Tanum contains tens of thousands of Bronze Age images. The area is so rich and unique that it has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Vitlycke Museum is an excellent starting point for your visit.

The remains of Dalaborg, the only medieval castle in Dalsland, stand on Slottskullen in Mellerud Municipality. The site is quiet and isolated today, but during the Middle Ages it stood at the centre of major events. Information boards around the headland explain the castle and its strategic location on Lake Vänern.

Interested in runes? Then don’t miss Sparlösastenen just outside Vara, one of Sweden’s most unusual runestones. The stone is covered in mysterious inscriptions on all four sides, as well as across the top, and is believed to date back to the 9th century.

At first glance, Dimbo gravfält looks like a collection of giant mole hills, but it’s actually the largest Iron Age burial ground in Västergötland, with more than 300 graves. 

Just north of Strömstad lies Blomsholm, home to Bohuslän’s largest ship-shaped stone monument as well as several other burial sites. The monument is more than 40 metres long and made up of 49 standing stones, with the tallest reaching four metres in height.

Along a one-kilometre stretch in Brastad, near Lysekil, you’ll find more than 30 rock carving sites. Most of the carvings at Backa hällristningar date back to the Bronze Age, including the famous figure known as “The Shoemaker”.

Passage graves were stone burial chambers built by farming communities during the Late Stone Age. The four-metre-long passage in Ånimskog consists of a single chamber and stands in a beautiful setting on a hillside overlooking Lake Ånimmen.

Just outside Falköping lies Karleby långa, a remarkable Stone Age burial site with eleven passage graves. These monumental tombs were built during the Neolithic period, around 3500–3100 BC. The largest, Ragnvalds kulle, has a chamber stretching 17 metres, making it the largest passage grave in Sweden.

West Sweden is home to a wealth of historic places, each offering beautiful architecture and captivating stories from the past. Step back in time as you explore castles, museums, historic industrial sites, table mountains and charming old town centres – each revealing a different chapter of the region's rich cultural heritage.