Hemsjö: Cultural Heritage and the Härliga Härskogen Cycling Route

When planning a trip to Hemsjö, two different themes take centre stage: church history and cultural heritage, or the Härliga Härskogen cycling route, which passes through the village. When looking for a hotel for your trip, you can consider whether historical sites and traces of settlement or a cycling tour should be the focus of your stay. The village’s history spans everything from burial mounds dating to the Late Iron Age to a 78-kilometre cycling route.

Church, burial grounds and settlement history

Central Hemsjö is designated an area of national interest for cultural heritage conservation. There are four burial grounds by Hemsjö Church; the village burial ground in Hemsjö consists of burial mounds dating to the Late Iron Age. This brings together a designated cultural heritage area and specific archaeological features. The church village of Hemsjö is notable for its extensive village settlement and very long historical continuity. This classification broadens the perspective from individual graves to the history of the settlement.

Another written record is the Hemsjö Manual. It is the only known manual for Catholic church services preserved from the Diocese of Skara that can be definitively linked to a particular church. Together, the burial grounds, the long continuity of settlement and the manual offer different points of connection to Hemsjö’s cultural heritage: archaeological sites, the history of the church village and written church records.

Old cemetery and former village location

Hemsjö’s old church and its cemetery were located by Lake Bysjön in the former church village. The foundations of the older church remain in the old cemetery. Since burials resumed there in 2009, the site has included urn graves, ash burial plots and a memorial grove. These details should be distinguished when considering the chronology: the location of the church and cemetery is historical, the foundations of the older church remain, and the resumption of burials is dated to 2009. This makes it possible to understand the village’s earlier history and later burial practices as distinct aspects of the cemetery.

The Kungsvägen and the cultural landscape

The historic long-distance road Kungsvägen is also connected with Hemsjö. Traces of the Kungsvägen can be found along the entire stretch of the E20 through Hemsjö. In places, the historic road is bordered by parallel, carefully laid stone walls. These walls add a specific landscape feature to the route information. Larger areas of open cultural landscape are found only by Hemsjö Church. The geographical locations therefore differ: traces of the long-distance road are found along the E20 through Hemsjö, while larger open areas of cultural landscape are by the church.

The Härliga Härskogen cycling route

The Härliga Härskogen cycling route offers a different focus. It passes through Hemsjö, is 78 km long in total and runs along paved roads and good-quality cycle paths. The distance refers to the route as a whole, not just the section through Hemsjö. This offers a different way to plan a trip compared with the cultural heritage themes: here, the total distance and described surfaces provide guidance, while the village’s history focuses on named places, burial grounds and historical periods.

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