![Bexellska stugan vykort](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Bexellska_stugan_vykort.jpg)
The Bexell Cottage (
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
: ''Bexellska stugan'') is a small cottage in
Varberg
Varberg () is a locality and the seat of Varberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 35,782 inhabitants in 2019.
Varberg and all of Halland are well known for their "typical west coast" sandy beaches. In Varberg the coast changes from wi ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. It has been turned into a historical heritage mini-museum. In Bexell Cottage there are
furniture
Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...
s and painted wall
tapestry
Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...
from the 19th century. The tapestry cover the walls and ceiling of the cottage. Originally, they were only used for
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
, but today they are posted all the year around. Bexell Cottage can be visited by the public at the shows of the cottage that are arranged by
Halland Museum of Cultural History
Halland Museum of Cultural History ( Swedish: ''Hallands kulturhistoriska museum'') is a museum of cultural history in Varberg, Sweden. The museum was formerly known as Varberg County Museum (Swedish: ''Länsmuseet Varberg''). The name was changed ...
.
History
The Bexell Cottage was originally built in 1785 at
Harplinge
Harplinge is a locality situated in Halmstad Municipality, Halland County
Halland County ( sv, Hallands län, link=no, ) is a county (''län'') on the western coast of Sweden. It corresponds roughly to the cultural and historical province of Ha ...
. In 1876, it was bought by member of
parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
and local land owner Alfred Bexell (1831–1900) from its owner Jöns Jönsson (born 1828) together with all interior possessions. Jönsson was only allowed to retain his day dress, according to the purchase agreement. Even Jönsson's
snuffbox
A decorative box is a form of packaging that is generally more than just functional, but also intended to be decorative and artistic. Many such boxes are used for promotional packaging, both commercially and privately. Historical objects are u ...
passed to the ownership of Bexell. Alfred Bexell was the first in Sweden who bought and protected a Swedish peasant's home with the intent of turning it into a
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
. He inspired
Arthur Hazelius
Artur Immanuel Hazelius (30 November 1833 – 27 May 1901) was a Swedish teacher, scholar, folklorist and museum director. He was the founder of both the Nordic Museum (''Nordiska museet'') and the Skansen open-air museum in Stockholm.
Ba ...
to establish the open-air museum
Skansen
Skansen (; "the Sconce") is the oldest open-air museum and zoo in Sweden located on the island Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It was opened on 11 October 1891 by Artur Hazelius (1833–1901) to show the way of life in the different parts of S ...
in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
.
After Alfred Bexell's death, his widow Cecilia Bexell (1843–1929) moved the cottage to Varberg in 1907. The museum continued until 1915 after which Cecilia Bexell sold most of the items in the Bexellian collections at auction. Many of the auction items were bought by a local association formed with the intention of operating a museum. In the 20th century, it was called ''bålastugan'', a
Halland
Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömsebro ...
ic name of the type of cottage. In 2003, it became a part of
Halland Museum of Cultural History
Halland Museum of Cultural History ( Swedish: ''Hallands kulturhistoriska museum'') is a museum of cultural history in Varberg, Sweden. The museum was formerly known as Varberg County Museum (Swedish: ''Länsmuseet Varberg''). The name was changed ...
. At present it is named Bexell Cottage.
Bexell's Stones
Alfred Bexell also created a different kind of "museum" in a forested area which he owned, east of Varberg (northeast of the smaller village of
Rolfstorp
Rolfstorp is a locality and former parish situated in Varberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden with 513 inhabitants in 2010.
The name is formed out of Rolf (a male name) and thorpe (a new settlement). The latter part makes it likely that ...
.
[The forested area is north of the Rolfstorp golf course, at 57.1690N/12.4813E.]) The area has become famous, after visitors in 1925 began discovering rocks engraved with sayings, names of noted people of the time, or mottos. They were all commissioned by Bexell during the end of the nineteenth century, and were carved by two stonemasons whom he hired for the purpose. His diaries describe his causing the engravings but do not explain his motive.
[
In 2014 an effort was mounted to discover the extent of the engravings; as of 2016 some 600 names of famous writers, philosophers, scientists, politicians and statesmen have been identified in the carvings, as well as more than 180 aphorisms, sayings, quotes from literature, and Bexell's thoughts. The messages include: "Do not say all you know but always know what you say"; and "What is sleep but the image of death."
Bexell's own tombstone is inscribed with: "Man’s history is his character."][''Bexell's Talking Stones'', Atlas Obscura (December 2016)]
/ref>
References
Other sources
*Margareta Strömbom (2007) ''Bålastugan: Bexellska ryggåsstugan, föregångare till friluftsmuseet Skansen i Stockholm ; ett unikt svenskt kulturarv'' (Varberg: CAL-Förlagets)
External links
Halland Museum of Cultural History website
Bexellska stugan website
{{Authority control
Buildings and structures in Varberg
Museums in Halland County
Historic house museums in Sweden