Winter Minimalism II

Today's Winter Minimalism photo comes from Fors, just outside Västerhaninge. A scene I just had to capture. Oh, and I would also like to thank Pixsy that sent me $470 today after someone used one of my flickr photos without my consent.

Just in time

The moose hunting season gets under way here today. So I was safe on the day earlier in the week when I took these Autumn photos at Husby, Ormsta, Fors, Berga, Stav and Nedersta. From today, it is not safe to just wander around on the forests as I often do. Oh and if you look closely, you can see a hunting blind in the top photo.

Dirt

Becuse I am such a down to earth guy I decided to go with Dirt for the Theme Day. And because I enjoy to complicate matters I decided to shoot my theme day photo on a dry field at Fors in Haninge as a bokeh panorama. Snapped while out on a somewhat chilly bike ride two hours ago.

Winter activity

Mid-Winter in Sweden. Food-loving golfer out practicing his golf game at the driving range at Fors Golf in Västerhaninge.

Marieberg

I showed you a few photos of Marieberg back in February when I noticed that a lot of trees had been cleared around the old abandoned houses. Here is a photo from this week. A digger parked on the field in front of the old houses. Not sure what was going on so I asked my friend the local historian Sune Nilsson and he told me that two new houses will be built here in the near future.

Fuchs Lubricants Sweden AB

A few more photos from Fuchs Lubricants new plant currently under construction at Vitsåvägen in Västerhaninge. Looks like good progress, I showed you a few snaps from this construction site last month.

The Off Season

Still a bit icy at the driving range at Fors Golf.

Marieberg

I'm guessing these old buildings at Marieberg in Fors, Västerhaninge will be gone soon. For many years the property was hidden behind a little forest. But the trees have now been cut down and as the new owner is a builder chances are that we will see something new here soon. Marieberg has a well documented history thanks to Sune Nilsson. He was born in the red cottage and his family and several generations of his family have lived here. Sune was only four years old when he moved out from Marieberg but half a century later he started researching his family history and if you understand the local lingo you can read more at haninge.org. Here and here.

Construction Dialogue

Byggdialog. That is the name of the builder. And that word works well here at Vitsåvägen in Fors, Västerhaninge, as there have been a long and heated dialogue between the unhappy neighbours and the Haninge municipality about this project. Fuchs Lubricants (previously Statoil owned), with 70 employees decided to close their, (unmodern), factory in Nynäshamn and build a new one here at Fors. The workers, (and politicians), in Nynäshamn were of course very unhappy to see the company go. And the neighbours in Västerhaninge were equally unhappy to see a factory being built so close to their homes. They claimed that the traffic to and from the plant would ruin their lives, more or less. But the County Board soon approved the plans and as you can see the new plant is now under construction. The factory will produce at most 100,000 cubic meter lubricant oil per year. Friction free, who knows.

The bookbinders cottage

Many years ago a bookbinder called Ragnar Numan worked in this cottage or"enkelstuga" at Fors in Haninge. His wife Sigrid Numan was a very talented photographer. Her ICA camera from 1926 has been donated to the local historical association and can be seen at Tingshuset in Västerhaninge. The couple lived in a nearby building called Gästgiveriet.

Autumn Golf

I'm no golfer but that has to be one of the shorter tee shots I have ever seen. As seen at the Fors golf course in Västerhaninge earlier in the week. I had been out shooting Autumn photos when I got a flat tire, despite my new kevlar tires, so while I was waiting for my ride home I snapped away at the course. Second photo is from the golf course at Husby. That tee shot looked much better.

Smedstugan

After a week in bed with the flu I have been out on the bike twice to document Autumn. First photo here shows the old road towards Fors. Second photo is a panorama made from four photos taken with the new zoom lens. It shows a cottage at Fors, sometimes refereed to as Smedstugan. It has an unusual roof design, unfortunately you can't see that detail on the panorama as the birch tree is in the way. There's another house just behind it, Gästgiveriet, where for many years a photographer lived. Her name was Sigrid Numan and it is thanks to her that there are lots of photos from this part of Haninge from the time around the second world war. Her ICA camera from 1926 has been donated to the local historical association and can be seen at Tingshuset in Västerhaninge. Sigrid's husband Ragnar, was a bookbinder and he worked from this building. Larger version for Lowell at flickr. More facts about Fors at Haninge.org here: Fors.

Roth & Junius

The piano company was founded in 1889 by August Roth in Germany. This old piano was abandoned at a golf course in Västerhaninge 2016.

A Green Christmas

13C on Sunday. A little colder yesterday, but not enough to stop the golfers from playing a Christmas round at the Fors golf course in Västerhaninge. It will be a green Christmas this year. Foooooooore!

A game of golf?

Anyone up for a game of golf? Okay. Lets try the golf course at Fors in Västerhaninge then. This is the 11th hole. A Par-3. Playing into the snow today so you better bring a shovel. And a pair of snow shoes. Oh, and try not to use white golf balls. Half the course is on the other side of the road, so mind the traffic when you cross the road to get to the 14th tee, okay?

A Green Winter

This really is a green Winter. The green grass here are the greens at the Fors golf course. The red buildings in the background belongs to the farm Östergården.

No Topless Actress Today

Had you been here that sunny day last summer you would have met Quentin Tarantino's favorite actress Christina Lindberg, and TV host Hanna Hellquist as they rode topless down this old road. Sadly no such happening on this visit. If you continue up the road you will be at the old village Fors.

A Little Cottage

I enjoy visiting old farms and cottages. Some of the photos I shoot will end up in the archives at the local historical association in Haninge. This visit was totally by chance. From the bike I chatted with another cyclist. When he told me that he owned Westerfors, a little cottage at Fors near Västerhaninge I asked him if I could tag along for a photo shot. Christer inherited the property from an uncle. He uses it as a summer house. The place has an interesting history. It is said that the old farm house was destroyed in a fire back in 1719 when the Russians attacked, but it is hard to find the evidence for that. If it is true the building here dates back to around 1720. I had a look inside, and Christer told me that the house have undergone many changes in the last centuries. Back in 1884 Anna Sofia Lindblom, a young girl who grew up at Westerfors marries the boy from the neighbouring farm Skarplöt and the two farms become one for a long time. I visited that farm last summer. For many years this place was also known as the Shoemaker's place, as a shoemaker from Norway, Lauritz Rasmussen lived here. More facts and photos in the slideshow.

The Cellar Door

It's a new month and that means Theme Day. The November theme is Doorways. This old iron plated door can be found at Stenkulla in Fors. It's a door to an old root cellar. That cellar is the only remains of Stenkulla, a place with an interesting history. It is said that when the railroad from Stockholm to Nynäshamn, the Nynäsbanan was constructed, a little over a century ago, the owner of the the grocery store here, a man called Svante Vitus Karlsson (1868-1946), decided to move the building from Fors to Tungelsta, three kilometres away. The reason was obviously the location. Karlsson figured most people would now travel by train, and that his store along the old road, just south of Västerhaninge, wouldn't attract customers any more, especially as there was another grocery store just next door. People still debate whether the building was actually moved. What I do know is that Svin-Kalle ( he was a pig farmer), built a beautiful house near the railway station in Tungelsta. It's still there today. Although it has changed color and owners a few times over the years Today the building houses a few apartments and a pub. You can see a photo of the house here. And meet two of the people that live there. If you understand Swedish there's a PDF article about Stenkulla to read at Haninge.org.


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Golf Babes

There are 9 million Swedes. 500.000 of those can be seen and heard (Foooore!), on the 500 golf courses around the country this time of the year. Golf has become one of the biggest sports here over the last 20 years. With the help of Annika Sörenstam, Jesper Parnevik, Henrik Stenson and all the other Swedish golf pros. In Haninge you can choose from quite a few good courses. This is Fors golf club in Västerhaninge.