Page 10 - Naked Foodies - July 2021

In 1984 all land and buildings on Stufvenäs were purchased by Anna-Lisa Bergström, who established a rest home for returning missionaries. The thought was good, but the economy was too tight and the company went bankrupt.
In the autumn of 1986 Sigvard Johansson purchased Stufvenäs and after an extensive renovation, Stufvenäs Country Hotel was reopened during the spring in 1987. After that followed decades of construction and intensive development together with his two children Helena and Magnus.
In 2019, Stufvenäs Country Hotel was sold to Marcus Thell who is looking to further develop Stufvenäs Country Hotel, along with his employees.
Stufvenäs' beautiful and historic surroundings offer several nature experiences to enjoy. In Kalmar Stait, very near Stufvenäs, you will find an island called Svartö. On a map from 1678, one can see that Svartö is marked ‘cemetery’. A connection can therefore be made to the year of 1677, when Danish and Dutch enemy vessels engaged in rages on Öland and along the coast of Möre. Enemy fleets made several unsuccessful landing attempts along the coast. The Dutch fleet was also affected by the plague and about 40 Dutch people are said to have been buried on Svartö.
In the 1940s, Svartö became the parent colony for the cormorant birds, who would later spread north along the entire Swedish coast. In this area there were at one point about 30,000 of them, but their droppings killed all the trees where they lived and they had to relocate.
Furthermore, Stufvenäs is located at the Värnanäs seal protection area, which extends over rocks and reefs a few kilomitres out at sea. Here you will find the largest population of harbour seals (also known as common seals) in the entire Baltic Sea. So, keep an eye out and see if you can spot them.
Just south of Stufvenäs you will find the nature reserve Örarevet. With its moraine archipelago it is the breeding ground for several different species of birds. The vegetation is unique with wild junipers and pine trees as well as old oaks that are believed to be about 600 years old. This place also has high cultural-historical values in the form of several ancient remains, for example mounds (fortifications) built by the Swedes to protect the coast against the Danes and the Dutch during the war 1676–77. Also, among other things, there are physical remains from eel fishing in the shape of the stone-built narrow arms that extends into the water from land, the so-called eel bridges. Each farm had one or more eel bridge, depending on the size of the farm. Fishing with fixed gear was carried out from the eel bridges. Reportedly, the eel bridges were in use until World War I. Subsequently, the gill nets came to dominate as a fishing method. Eel bridges and boathouses testify to the ancient use of sea and fishing, especially eel fishing. At the boathouses, there are remains in the form of a number of upright holes in stone where one would have put their nets to dry on high poles in so-called net gardens. These are regarded as both important and ancient remains, an important piece of the puzzle in understanding the history of the coastal countryside. In summer and autumn, the water warms up along the shallow sandy beaches that stretch for several hundred meters into Kalmar Strait.
At Stufvenäs one should witness and contemplate the "Stufvenäs oak" which according to the County Administrative Board is Sweden's second largest oak tree with its perimeter of 9.7 meters! This oak is said to be 700-800 years old and also the home for badgers, so keep your eyes open.
Not far from Stufvenäs oak you find our outdoor table which is a part of Visit Swedens concept The Edible Country. Here you can take a seat at a very special table, under the oak trees and right next to the glittering Kalmar strait, set on a scenic and historic land.
Here, right by the sea, underneath one of the most beautiful oak trees, among windswept juniper bushes and blooming sloe bushes, and with only the sky above you, you will sit down and enjoy the flavours of the county of Småland. Accompanied only by the sea breeze, the seabirds’ song and the whisper of the reed.
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