Alingsås - City Sights

 Alingsås Museum

 Alingsås Museum was founded in 1928 by the history enthousiast Anna Norlander, with the goal of managing the cultural heritage of the Alingsås people. The museum focuses on children and young people and enjoys hosting visitors at the exhibitions. The building which houses the museum is one of the oldest in Alingsås and was built by Jonas Alströmer in around 1730. The house was originally used as a warehouse for materials for the industries in the city, but nowadays only museum artifacts can be found here! The museum park next door is a beautiful green oasis where you can rest, have a look at the statue “Våren” (Spring) by Erik Gate, and take some time to relax. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday and amission is free, so go ahead and enter!

A famous art museum is located in New York and was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The museum also has branches in Bilbao and Venice. What is it called?
Guggenheim

 A new museum opened in Athens in 2009 and has, among other things, a glass floor where you can look down on the remains of the old city. What is the name of the museum?
The Acropolis Museum

 In St. Petersburg, there is a large art museum housed in the Winter Palace, where the tsarist families used to live. What is the name of the museum itself?
The Hermitage

 One of the world’s most visited museums is the Louvre in Paris, where among other things, the Mona Lisa can be viewed. A famous statue can also be seen in the Louvre, which one?
Venus from Milo

One type of museum displays large parts of its collections outdoors. The foundation of these collections usually consists of historic buildings. What is the type of these museums called?
Open-air museum

Other than “Alingsås museum”, what other name is this building called?
Alströmerska warehouse

The word museum originally comes from the Greek word Mouseion. What does it mean?
Sanctuary dedicated to the gods

Two museums in Sweden stand out a little more in the visitor statistics with about 1.4 million visitors per year each. Which two museums are these?
Vasa Museum and Skansen

What is the name of the statue that stands in the museum park?
Våren (Spring)

What was the building originally used for?
Material Warehouse

 What year did it open as a museum?
1928

What year was the Alingsås Museum erected in?
1730

What year was the sculpture in the museum park made?
1933

Who sculptured the statue that stands in the museum park?
Erik Grate

The Gräfsnäs castle ruin (Gräfsnäs Slottsruin)

The Gräfsnäs castle ruin and park are Alingsås’ main attractions, especially in the summer. And impressive castle that was built in Gräfsnäs in the 1550s, but after several fires, only ruins remain. Here in the park you can eat, have coffee or picnic in the open air. There is also a swimming area and a large playground for the younger visitors. In summertime, it is full of activities here, vintage car meetings, Midsummer celebrations, markets, concerts and more. Here you can hop on a steam train on the Anten-Gräfsnäs museum railway, and take the wonderful journey just like it was done in 1920s. Sit down in the grass, spread out your picnic blanket and have a nice, relaxing day!

Every summer in the park, there is regular feature of vintage car gatherings that attract crowds of visitors. How old must a car be to be called a vintage car, according to the Swedish Transport Administration?
50 years

Gräfsnäs castle ruins are beautifully situated on a promontory out in a lake. What is the name of the lake?
Lake Anten

In 1834 the castle was bought by Otto Ulfsparre and on the same day as the purchase was signed, the castle burned down for the third time. How much would Ulfsparre pay for the castle?
290,000 liters of brandy

In 1911, the castle was taken over by the local train company and restored to its present appearance. The train company wanted their guests to have something to do while loading two things into the locomotive. What were those two things?
Coal and water

In Öland, there is also a famous castle ruin left, which is one of the island’s major tourist attractions.  What is the ruin called?
Borgholm’s castle ruin

In the community of Gräfsnäs lived a Swedish musician until his death in 2016. He was best known as a member of the Reeperbahn in the 1980s, but got a boost in 2012 through his participation in “Så mycket bättre” (So much better). What was his name?
Olle Ljungström

In the summer, there is often a knight’s game in the castle park. Speaking of knights, what’s the name of the main character in a movie on knights, based on a novel by Walter Scott?
Wilfred of Ivanhoe

Many animals thrive in the castle park, including 6 of Sweden’s 19 species of a certain variety that sleep during the day and are active at night. A certain American superhero has borrowed features from this animal. What is the animal?
Bat

Margareta Leijonhufvud had many children with her husband, the King of Sweden, during her 14 years as queen. How many?
10

The castle’s last inhabitant was the fisherman Nils Andersson. What did he pay for rent per year?
About 200 kg of fish

The predecessor to Gräfsnäs Castle was the castle Loholm which was located on an island out in Lake Antem. What is the name of the island?
Loholmen

The then empty castle was used in the 1910s as a party place for the local youth, but the priests in the area put a stop to this. How?
The removed the roof of the castle.

When was Gräfsnäs Castle built?
1550s

Nolhaga Park

Central in Alingsås is Nolhaga Park, the city’s green oasis. In the middle of the park is Nolhage Castle and although the park used to be private, it is now open to everyone. The park has a romantic, English character style and is marked by avenues, many small bridges and the proximity to water. The park has both a small zoo and a playground, which makes it very popular with families with children. There are also great walking paths, beech covered forest heights and a nature reserve down by Lake Mjörn. Take a walk, buy an ice cream and have a good time in our nice park!

A Swedish singer and musician in 1955 sang “We dance rumba in the English Park”. The plot is said to take place in Uppsala, which is also the singer’s hometown. What’s his name?
Owe Thörnqvist

Alingsås new bathhouse, Nolhage park bath, was inaugurated in the park in the spring of 2019. The bath includes a large relaxation and spa section. The word spa comes from a city of the same name, but in which country is that city located?
Belgium

Another famous park in the central parts of a city is Hydy Park. In what city is it located?
London

Another park that became a huge biosuccess in 1993 was “Jurassic Park”. The film about the dinosaur park was made by Steven Spielberg and is based on a book written by, well who?
Micheal Critchton 

At the top of one of the hills in the park, there is still a military facility from the days of World War II. What type of facility is it?
An air defense tower

 In several parks in England, there are specific places where anyone can stand and give public speeches. The most famous example is probably the one in Hyde Park. What are such places called?
Speakers’ Corner

 In Sweden in 2018 there were 30 national parks across the country. The latest one opened for the public in the spring of 2018 and is located in southern Småland. What is it called?
Åsnen National Park

In the 18th century, several barrels of nuts from a special tree were picked up from Skåne and planted in the park, where they still remain budding and green in the spring. Which type of tree was it?
Beech

In the park there is a small zoo with parrots, ducks, horses and sheep, including many old country breeds and other things. Which of these pigs is a Swedish country breed?
Linderödssvin

Nolhaga park is mainly inspired by English parks. What mainly characterizes an English park, as opposed to, for example, a French one?
The park is romantic and lush

The current castle in Nolhaga was built in 1879-80 in Italian style by then owner Claes Adelsköld. He was also a member of parliament, and an architect who constructed what?
Railways

The Nolhagala labyrinth is a labyrinth with 33 plaques with information about Alingsås history. Speaking of labyrinths, what was the name of the man who killed the Minotaur in a labyrinth according to the Greek heroic myth?
Theseus

The Säveån river meanders through the park and in some places small lakes have formed where the river used to reach. They are now though cut off from the river. What is such a lake called?
An Oxbow Lake

What is the name of the natural course that a river takes in flat lands, that leads to more and more winding?
Meander

What is the name of a shallow bathing area with a long sandy beach, located on the end of the park?
Playa Mjörn