Kungsgård barns at Ladugårdsplan

The new barns at Kungsgården were unlike any other buildings on Visingsö. They were built around 1730 using a half-timbered construction, with one of the barns being so spacious that a cart could drive straight through it.

When rye and barley were to be delivered, the large gates were thrown open and the grain rolled in.

The barns were among the buildings commissioned by General Meijerfeldt at Ladugårdsplan. The Crown leased Kungsgården itself and brought the half-timbered construction technique from the south. The method saved timber, with the gaps between the timbers filled in with brickwork. The northern barn and the two western ones were built in the new Danish style, whilst the eastern barn housed both stables and feed stores. All the barns were fitted with pitched roofs.

Kungsgården was a large estate formed from the lands belonging to Visingsborg Castle during the 1680s. The castle’s barns were also located here, but Ladugårdsplan may have older origins still. As far back as 1545, Gustav Vasa decided that a royal estate should be established, with Husaby Church and Strå Church placed under the Crown to secure the necessary land. The church still stands today, having been converted into a castle church – Brahe Church.

Kungsgården’s agriculture was focused on cereal cultivation, as is clearly shown on the map from 1799, where the fields around Ladugårdsplan are marked. When the grain trade took off in the 19th century, the land of the royal estate expanded significantly, eventually covering over 56,000 acres.

Today, the barns have roof tiles dating from the 1860s and are used as stables for the horses at Visingsöremmalagen. The barns of Kungsgård form part of our shared cultural heritage and are managed by the National Property Board of Sweden in collaboration with the Swedish National Heritage Board.

Administrators: Swedish National Heritage Board and National Property Board of Sweden and Swedish church Gränna – Visingsö parish.