Pilgrim Path Skara-Husaby – An easily walked route with lots to see

The 26 kilometre long Pilgrim Path Skara-Husaby offers modern pilgrims an incredible journey through Sweden’s history, focusing on the time spanning the arrival of Christianity into the country. It’s an easily walked trail where little towns give way to pretty woodland and the wide expanses of the Skaraslätten plain.

The path leads from one medieval church to another, skirting a succession of places with a fascinating history in between. You can read more about some of the best known sights below.

10 places to see along the Pilgrim Path Skara-Husaby

1. Skara Cathedral

It’s hard to find a more magnificent starting point for the Pilgrim Path than the cathedral in Skara. It was inaugurated in the 1150s and has withstood both wars and fires to stand majestically for almost a millennium. The two towers, known as “Skara trousers”, are a famous landmark that can be spotted from far away as you approach the town. Did you know that the Diocese of Skara is Sweden’s oldest?

2. Historic Skara

As well as the cathedral Skara has many other historic places worth visiting. Check out Sweden’s oldest piece of furniture, the Suntaksstolen, in Västergötlands museum. Or visit the Veterinary Museum where the first veterinary college was founded in 1775. There’s also an open air museum in Skara - Fornbyn, containing around 30 buildings which have been moved there to illustrate what life was like for people living in the countryside in olden times.

Another interesting venue is the old library, in a pretty brick building opposite the cathedral. You’ll find Sweden’s oldest book there, Skaramissalet, and a play & learn exhibition, Bokäventyret (the Book Adventure).

Hint! You can go on a heritage walk around Old Skara with the help of maps and pictures from the past.

3. Skara for culture vultures

If you’re into art and culture then you should visit Sweden’s largest private collection of work by one of the country’s foremost contemporary watercolourists, Lars Lerin, at Skara Stadshotell. A short detour from the Pilgrim Path you’ll also find the art hotel, Skara Konsthotell, with paintings by Swedish giants like Carl Larsson, Anders Zorn, Jenny Nyström and Bruno Liljefors.

And if second hand is your thing then stroll along “Stråket” and pop into some of the lovely shops along it, including Retro@home, Heddas and Värket Ateljé & Butik.

4. Lundsbrunn Resort & Spa

The mineral spa in Lundsbrunn has been a source of health and wellbeing stretching all the way back to the early 18th century. Over time, a settlement grew up around the well, and you can still stroll around several of the resort’s old buildings, such as the Brunnssalongen, Läkarvillan and Apotekvillan. Today Lundsbrunn Resort and Spa can be found on the site, with a restaurant, hotel and spa.

5. Heritage railway between Skara and Lundsbrunn

The narrow gauge railway between Skara and Lundsbrunn passes several places along the Pilgrim Path. Trains ran on this line for almost a century, until the last freight traffic went through in the 1980s. It’s now a heritage railway line, with steam train and railcar rides over the summer for anyone wanting a nostalgia trip. Why not combine your hike with a memorable train journey?

What’s more, you can visit Järnvägsmuseet Railway Museum in the old engine room in Skara and learn more about this historic train line.

6. Sörbodalen’s gully

After you leave Lundsbrunn behind you one of the trail’s most beautiful stretches awaits, alongside the Mariedalsån river. Nature here is a leafy green, with a mixture of old spruce forests, deciduous trees, mosses and spring flowers. Information boards guide you to the different species in the nature reserve.
A river winds through the valley and during the summer there’s almost a tropical feeling to the spot, with all the tall ferns.

Hint! If you want to spend longer in the Sörbodalen valley you can walk the Sörboleden, a three kilometre long round walk.

7. Mariedal Castle

From nature to culture. As you leave the Sörbodalen nature reserve the magnificent Mariedal Castle looms into view. It’s privately owned and not open to the public, but you can admire this beautiful castle from the road. A well-preserved Baroque palace, it was built in the middle of the 17th century by Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, one of the richest men in Sweden at that time. He lies behind about 30 different castles and manors around the country, including Läckö Castle, and is buried in Varnhem Abbey Church, which you can visit along the Pilgrim Path Falköping-Varnhem.

Next to Mariedal Castle you’ll find Våffelgaraget, a summer café with lovely waffles and coffee. Perfect for a fika stop.

8. St Sigfrid’s well

The last part of the Pilgrim Path is walked with a view of Kinnekulle table mountain. At the foot of the mountain lies the little community of Husaby, which in the early medieval period was one of the most significant places in the country.

St Sigfrid’s well lies next to Husaby church. The myths about the well are many, and which ones of them are actually true nobody knows. But it is said that this is the well where Sweden’s first Christian king, Olof Skötkonung, was baptized by the English missionary Sigfrid. This is how the well got its name and it is in fact still used for christenings today.

9. Husaby Church

The Pilgrim Path Skara-Husaby truly offers a walk through history, and so what better way is there to end it than at a medieval church? Husaby Church with its three huge spires dates back to the 11th century and was Sweden’s first cathedral. It’s as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside.

During the 14th century the church’s vaulted ceiling was covered with paintings. They were however whitewashed in the 18th century, then revealed again after a restoration in 1901. The original paintings have been preserved in the chancel.

10. Husaby Biskopsborg fort

Officially the Pilgrim Path ends at Husaby Church but if you carry on walking a couple of hundred metres along the path then you’ll get to Husaby Biskopsborg, the Bishop’s Fort. It was built in several stages, starting probably around 1480. The fort consists of an immense tower with a circular stone rampart, and functioned as a defence fortress.

The Bishop’s Fort is situated on private land with housing nearby so please be respectful of that when you visit.