Åsle Tå Museu­mis the lar­gest group of pre­ser­ved labou­rers’ cot­ta­ges in Swe­den. Take a stroll along the pictu­res­que Tåga­tan lane, lined with a dozen labou­rers’ cot­ta­ges which still stand in their ori­gi­nal loca­tions.

A “Tå” was ori­gi­nal­ly a com­mon area of land in a Swe­dish vil­lage whe­re catt­le could be kept and wate­red. Over time, pau­pers who owned no land were allo­wed to build their own cot­ta­ges on this com­mon land. The­se Tås grew in size throug­hout Swe­den, but as a result of growing indust­ri­a­li­sa­tion, urba­ni­sa­tion and emi­gra­tion at the end of the 19th cen­tu­ry they were gradu­al­ly aban­do­ned. In most are­as the cot­ta­ges were enti­rely demo­lished. But not in Åsle, whe­re a heri­tage asso­ci­a­tion set up in 1923 deci­ded to pre­ser­ve the site for futu­re generations.

This is a pla­ce to learn more about the pover­ty of 18th and 19th cen­tu­ry Swe­den, see the authen­tic inte­ri­ors and sha­re the touching tales of the peop­le who lived here. The expe­ri­ence at Åsle Tå is rein­for­ced by the fact that seve­ral of the cot­ta­ges are now popu­la­ted­by life­si­ze figures.

The old smit­hy and the mill have been rebuilt, and at the far end of Tåga­tan the­re are now a store­house and a reloca­ted post-and-plank barn.

The site also has an agricul­tural muse­um and an infor­ma­tion shed that tells you more about the rich histo­ry of the area. The­re is a café next to the museum.

Learn more at asleta.se (swe­dish)

Hit­ta Hit