Open-air museum at Grännaberget

Launched in 1912, the open-air museum at Grännaberget was the first museum activity in Gränna. Initially, the area served primarily as a town park for the residents of Gränna, but from 1916 onwards, older buildings began to be gathered here

The aim was to create an open-air museum in the same spirit as the one Arthur Hazelius founded at Skansen in Stockholm. Buildings threatened with demolition were therefore moved to Grännaberget to be preserved.

One of the buildings in the area is the bell tower, which was erected in 1923. The bell tower houses the town hall bell of Brahe Grenna and its accompanying clockwork, both donated by the town’s founder, Per Brahe the Younger. The bell had previously hung in the clock tower of the town hall’s on Gränna Square. The bell tower itself was gifted by manufacturer A. E. Bolling and the metalworker Viktor Fong, a master of repoussé and chasing, and was inaugurated at the midsummer festival that same year. The bell is still rung today on special occasions, such as Christmas Eve and the town’s privilege day on 24 January.

Here you will also find the soldiers’ croft, which was probably built in 1684 as part of the allotment system. The cottage originally stood in Bohult, marked with the number 101, and belonged to the Vista Company of the Jönköping Regiment. It is a so-called enkelstuga, basic cottage, a common type of dwelling historically, comprising an entrance hall, kitchen and living room. Several soldiers lived here with their families. In 1962, the croft was moved to its current location. The interior has no connection to the original building. The soldier’s croft is now owned by the Grenna Museum Foundation.