No More Birch Forest

Back when the highway, (Nynäsvägen), to Stockholm was built the municipality planted birches along what was supposed to be a green alleyway for pedestrians. For some reason the project was never finished. Later this part of Söderby in Handen was transformed to a shopping area that today houses ICA, Systembolaget and Biltema. One little birch forest was saved from the building plans and I can't remember how many photos I have taken there over the years. This past Winter the forest was levelled to make room for a bigger Biltema store. I have tagged a few photos from here with Söderby björkskog.

The Red Nestbox

This was the scene in the little birch forest near the old Söderby Gård in Handen earlier in the week. It was a big hit on flickr, generated 13 000 views in just a day.

A Relaxing View

Walking in a birch forest is always relaxing I think. And sometimes just looking at a photo of birches can have that same effect. I just read about that in my morning paper today. They have a room called The Calming Room at a hospital in Stockholm. You can sit there for a while, listening to sounds of the forest or the summer while looking at the wallpaper that shows a birch forest in summer. This is probably the worlds most narrow birch alley at the Söderby Estate in Handen.

The Missing Mansion

Before 1750 this tree lined avenue led up to the Söderby mansion. That was the year that the building was destroyed in a fire. For some reason the 100 year old mansion was never rebuilt. Luckily all the other buildings at the farm survived the fire, and you can see a few of them on the second photo. The third photo shows a typical detail from another building at the farm which closed in 1979. On the property you can also see the rune-stone that I showed you last week. And a burial field with 100 graves from the Iron Age.

A Viking Legacy

This rune-stone from the Viking Era stood by the side of a road near the Söderby Farm in Handen for a few hundred years. In modern times it was rediscovered on a field belonging to the estate, back in 1921, when a farmer was out plowing a field. Today you will find the rune-stone next to a bulding at the old estate. The inscription reads: Hjälmvid reste stenen efte rTorgöt Hjälmvidsson , sin son, Amunde ristade runorna. Or in English,Hjälmvid had the rune-stone raised after Torgöt Hjälmvidsson , his son, Amunde was the runecarver. It is hard to see the inscription today, but if you look closely you can see two snake-like creatures.

The Double Perspective

The very narrow birch alley at Söderby in Handen. The left photo shows the upward path toward the old estate, and the right half the same path from the top looking down. No idea who planted the trees like this, and why, but it's a nice alley to walk through, and perfect for this months theme which is Perspective.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

The old Mill

This is what's left of the mill at Söderby Farm in Handen. The farm, Söderby Gård closed in 1979 when the mill was destroyed in a fire. In the old days the miller lived in the white cottage. In the background the silo/ grain storage building. The farm had been around for 350 years. There are more old buildings belonging to the farm on the other side of the motorway.