The Vicarage Outbuilding – Hantverksgatan 7

A Marriage in the Garden – And a Poem in Reflection

Bo Bergman married one of Hjo’s most admired young women – Hildegard, the daughter of the local vicar. Their wedding photo was taken right here, in the vicarage garden.

Despite this romantic backdrop, Bergman later expressed mixed feelings about Hjo in one of his poems, opening with the following lines:

“It was a tiny, tiny town,
where a little river flowed,
and in that little town
all words were so grand,
and all people so small.”

Facts about the Vicarage Outbuilding

Windows are the eyes of a building!
By studying their age and design, you can often determine the age of the house itself. Look for specific clues:

• Are there glazing bars (spröjsar)?

• How many panes is the window divided into?

• What sort of fittings and hinges are present?

These details help piece together the building’s history. And of course, preserving original windows is just as important – through careful repair and maintenance.

The windows on this outbuilding are beautifully crafted with cross-shaped glazing bars. Most telling here, however, are the corner brackets and hinges. The hinge is riveted onto the corner bracket – a style common between 1850 and 1900. In later designs, hinges and corner brackets were manufactured as separate components.

The Baggstedt Estate

A bit further north on Hantverksgatan, just before it crosses Regeringsgatan, you’ll find Baggstedtska gården – a large white-rendered house with inner courtyards and newer red apartment buildings.

The main house was built in the late 19th century and was home to Dr Wilhelm Baggstedt, who worked as a provincial physician at the spa facility in Hjo Town Park. For many years – up until the 1980s – the manor and garden, which once stretched all the way to the Hjo River, had fallen into disrepair.

Today, the manor house and nearby brown coach house have been beautifully restored and turned into private homes. The newer red residential buildings inside the courtyard are modern additions, while the recreated garden is designed to reflect Dr Baggstedt’s original layout. His water lily ponds by the river can still be seen today.

Self-Guided Tour

Take a stroll and explore the historical architecture and craftsmanship of Hjo at your own pace.

Quick Facts

• Number of stops: 17

• What to do: At each stop/sign, scan the QR code

• Starting point: Any stop

• What you need: Mobile phone and QR code scanner

• Duration: Around 1 hour

• Walking distance: Approx. 1.5 km

• Season: All year round

• Price: FREE