Åkesta Observatory — VARF

Anundshög is Sweden’s largest burial-mound, 9 m high and 64 m in diameter. The mound is from the 10th century, and although it is said that King Bröt-Anund is buried there, it has never been proven. For centuries this area was a cultural centre for the entire west Mälardalen region.

This beautiful and unusual park in central Västerås gets its name from ”djäknar”, as students of the old upper secondary school used to be called. It is more than just the name that serves as a reminder of days of old though. The park has almost 500 stones with inscriptions, thoughts or names of honourable…

Engsö Castle is renowned all over the world for its ghosts and for the thin five-foot-long ”Engsökedjan” chain embedded in the wall of the castle, which, according to legend, was won by Johan Sigismund Sparre, the last of his line, in a game of dice with the devil himself.

The settlement gives visitors the opportunity to learn more about the Viking Age by getting involved in activities such as baking flatbread over an open fire, making ropes and shooting catapults. Sweden’s largest floating boat museum is also being built here, with over 20 traditional boats. Frösåkers brygga is a highly unique and genuine tourist…

Kyrkbacken, or Church Hill, is an ideal place for historic walks, either as part of a guided tour or single-handedly, where you can imagine what life would have once been like here in the 17th century. There are also several galleries and craft shops in the trendier Kyrkbacken of today.

The last three years have been spent breathing life back into Västerås’ old steam power station and the opening day is fast approaching. Kokpunkten is a incredible fun water park filled with thrills and a fantastic view of the Västerås archipelago. Kokpunkten is an adventure! The water park boasts a number of new and unique…

Prison Island is full of cells with tricky challenges to solve in each one. Every cell has challenges to be solved using creativity and cooperation in groups of 3-4 people. There are challenges for small and agile and big and strong alike.

Skultuna Brassworks, 10 km north of Västerås, was founded 400 years ago and has museums, a riverside café, a factory shop and outlet stores. The museums have collections of unique and unusual objects. At the Skultuna outlet stores you can buy well-known Swedish brands of glass, textiles and jewellery.

Tidö Castle, with its beautiful sandstone portals, is built in a tight Dutch renaissance style.

Vallby Open Air Museum is one of Sweden’s largest with around 40 buildings from the county of Västmanland. The museum also has a live exhibition in the form of animals and plants that were typical of these environments.

Have fun on the slopes without having to travel to the mountains! Vedbobacken is Västerås’ very own urban ski slope. Weather permitting, Vedbobacken is open from mid-December to mid-March and offers several runs of varying difficulty, from green to red, two lifts, a sledging slope, ski hire, a café and public barbecuing facilities. There is…

Västerås Art Museum mainly exhibits Swedish art from its own collection. The temporary exhibitions held at the museum focus on contemporary art by Swedish artists. The museum also has an extensive education programme, with activities that include tours and studio work for different kinds of groups.

This castle, dating from the 13th century, is situated just a stone’s throw from the city centre. From 14 June 1573 to 16 October 1574, Erik XIV was imprisoned at Västerås Castle. He sat in this ”dark prison” separated from his consort Karin Månsdotter and their children. The king was then moved to Örbyhus and…

The oldest parts of the Cathedral date back to the 13th century. Its art treasures and modern contrasts are unusual in a shrine of this kind. There are 163 intact gravestones in the cathedral and Erik XIV is buried here. Västerås Cathedral has been awarded three stars by Guide Michelin, with the explanation ”worth making…

Västerås Flygmuseum (Aviation Museum), housed in a hangar from the 1930s, has 25 aircraft, the majority of which can still fly. The museum is open on Sundays and has a flight simulator where visitors can test-fly a number of different aircraft, including a J 35 Draken.

The museum aims to improve and convey knowledge about the cultural heritage of Västmanland, to improve insight into the past and to enrich the perspective of the present and the future. Västmanlands läns museum (Västmanland's county museum) is now situated at Karlsgatan 2, where it shares its premises with Västerås Art Museum.

Åkesta Observatory was built in 1939 by the amateur astronomer Åke Odelberg, and this ”star house” is one of Sweden’s oldest privately owned observatories.