Högås: Church and Historical Traces

Högås reveals several layers of cultural history. Högås Church was built in 1867–1868; outside the old cemetery is a small prehistoric burial ground. Other features include the RAÄ Högås 110:1 causeway from the 1870s and mill remains at Rotviksbäcken dating from the 1520s. To understand the destination, both the different periods and the respective themes matter: the church surroundings, the construction and the earlier use of water.

Högås Church and the cemetery surroundings

Högås Church was built in 1867–1868. Together with the cemetery’s different areas and the adjacent old schoolhouse, it forms a cohesive church setting with considerable visitor appeal. This means the subject is not understood solely through the age of the church building: the cemetery areas and the schoolhouse are also part of this setting. For a thematic understanding, the perspective thus expands from the church’s architectural history to an entire church environment.

Outside Högås’s old cemetery is a small prehistoric burial ground. It adds a much older historical layer than the 19th-century church and is also distinguished by its location outside the cemetery. This landmark is therefore clearly distinct from the church surroundings, both archaeologically and geographically.

Causeway: a different kind of construction heritage

Another dated construction heritage feature is the RAÄ Högås 110:1 causeway. It dates from the 1870s and is built of dry-laid stone. Its date follows the construction of the church in 1867–1868; both structures therefore belong to the second half of the 19th century, but represent different forms of construction. For the church, the year of construction provides the historical anchor, while for the causeway, its date and dry-stone construction go hand in hand. This makes it possible to distinguish between two landmarks that are close in date but different in construction.

Rotviksbäcken: history and nature

In the lower reaches of Rotviksbäcken, beside a small waterfall, are the remains of an old undershot mill dating from the 1520s. Grain was once ground in the mill. The remains thus link the watercourse to a specific activity from the past. They date from well before the 19th-century structures, giving the mill an older historical layer.

Ulvagropen, the remains of a wolf pit, is also preserved by Rotviksbäcken. This trace represents a different past activity from grain grinding. Sea trout also swim up the same stream to spawn. This brings two different questions into focus: the mill remains point to past use, while the spawning run describes an ecological aspect of the watercourse. History and nature emerge here as distinct aspects of the same stream.

Landscape and archaeological landmarks

Rotviksbro offers a distinct landscape perspective: valleys and farmland shape the scenery, and agriculture is important to the area’s identity. Unlike the church, causeway and mill, the focus here is not a single structure. Instead, attention turns to the landscape and the importance of agriculture to the area.

Granhoge hög is a Bronze Age burial mound in the excursion area of the Skredsvik, Herrestad and Högås parishes. Its historical period reaches further back than that of the church, while its geographical setting encompasses an excursion area covering several parishes. Unlike the small prehistoric burial ground outside Högås’s old cemetery, Granhoge hög is therefore set within a larger area.

Discover more destinations: Kamperöd, Herrestad, Uddevalla, Lane-Ryr, Ljungskile, Kärlingesund, Ammenäs, Stan

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