Story and photography by Bo Zaunders
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BRUNSBO GÄSTGIFVERI, AN INN STEEPED IN HISTORY
Gunilla’s eyes shone with enthusiasm. After telling us about the preparation of an uncommonly good apple tart with whipped cream, she had now launched into her favorite topic, Jesper Svedberg, a Swedish bishop who lived in this very house some 300 years ago. We were in the manor-like old building outside the small city of Skara that Gunilla and her husband Mats converted into an inn in 2006. Earlier 
we met Mats. In fact, he was the one who had taken us to our room and introduced us to Brunsbo’s history.
The bishop of Skara had bought the property in 1423. A hundred years later, King Gustav l – better known as Gustav Vasa – changed it into a stud farm, and, in 1577, it was once again turned into a home for bishops, the most famous of which was Svedberg, the father of the noted 18th century Swedish scientist, philosopher and spiritual explorer Emanuel Swedenborg. Of the Diocese of Skara (the oldest and one of the most important in Sweden), Brunsbo was for centuries not only the bishop’s residence but also a stopover for some of the country’s most notable figures, including royalty.
We were traveling in the province of Västergötland, between Sweden’s two major lakes Vänern and Vättern. Staying at Brunsbo had been the natural choice; the area abounds in historical monuments, especially from early medieval days before there was even a country called Sweden. Lately, the region has become famous as the home of writer Jan Guillou’s fictional hero Arn Magnusson, a Knight Templar from the 12th century. One film has already been made about him and another is on its way. From what we heard, Arn’s training in archery, swordsmanship and horsemanship had taken place at the nearby Abbey, one of the sites we visited earlier in the day.
Dinner at Brunsbo had been satisfactory indeed. Tournedos with a red wine sauce, topped with a roasted tomato and a mere touch of béarnaise. Part of the reason we picked meat over a highly recommended fish chowder was Mats, whose early career as an expert butcher assured us of a perfect cut.
Inquiring about the Arn phenomenon (the movies are the most costly ever produced in Sweden), we were told that practically every restaurant in the area, including theirs, used to have a special “Arn Menu,” featuring medieval dishes. “So what, in particular, did you serve?” I asked Gunilla. “Pork,” she said, “the outer filet, marinated in honey, with a little red wine, and with a gratin of root vegetables.”
At which point she got busy, having other guests to attend to. I was becoming increasingly in awe of the way she and her husband ran the place, very hands on, and with just a couple of employees. After all, this was a pretty substantial operation: 10 rooms, 1 suite, 3 dining rooms, and two conference rooms, not counting several accommodations in the surrounding buildings. The dining room of our choice was once the downstairs kitchen, and featured an enormous 18th-century stone hearth. Come morning, it will be laden with all the accouterments of a good Scandinavian breakfast.
Climbing the staircase to our room, we noted with interest the paintings with floral motifs that decorated the walls, and which also included depictions of 
Brunsbo at various stages of its existence. From our window we could see a small cannon and a giant ash tree. What a tree - probably a young sapling at the time the nation turned Protestant!
After a hearty breakfast next to the ancient hearth, we had yet another talk with Gunilla and Mats. Once again, Gunilla spoke with passion about her idol, Jesper Svedberg, whose portrait, incidentally, is on prominent display in one of the public rooms. “I believe he was a more interesting man than his son,” she said, “He had special healing powers, and many of his views were just as groundbreaking. But, unlike Swedenborg, he was part of the church, which, in fact, censored much of his work. By the way, did you know that when he visited with Swedish people in America he wrote an entire hymnbook, which is still in use?”
Before we took off for more sightseeing the two them informed us of a plan they have for the re-creation of a garden, built by Svedberg after his visit to France. A little Versailles, no less, right here in the beautiful countryside between the two big lakes.
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FOR A ROYAL TREATMENT, TRY MÖSSEBERG
It was quite a spectacle.
As the train from Stockholm, bound for Gothenburg, pulled into the small town of Falköping, people gathered outside the station, hoping for a glimpse of nobility. Alighting was not only a smattering of aristocrats, but - his tall and gangly figure easily recognized - the King himself. And, lo and behold, wasn’t that Prince Karl, his younger brother? Like everyone else in those days, his Majesty was going to Mösseberg, the fashionable spa resort just outside town. Horse carriages stood 
waiting and, swiftly, the highborn guests were swept off, out of sight of the public eye.
For us, arriving at Mösseberg in a rental car a century later, there was little fanfare but still a good deal of style. Except for a short period during the 1870s, after the spa burned to the ground and had to be rebuilt, it has been in continuous operation since 1867, and the aura of its historic past is palpable. Just walking through some of its public rooms was a treat. Notably, Mösseberg boasts the country’s largest collection of Art
Nouveau furniture – gorgeous pieces of fine wood, with ornate inlays, copper, brass, and flowery patterns. Produced by a local manufacturer, these pieces were originally made at the request of the Russian Tsar, but somehow ended up right here. The main dining room, with its painted wooden chairs, pastel colors, and stained glass windows looked like something out of a coffee-table book on Scandinavian country homes, and our room was light and airy, with large windows opening onto the leafy greens of the surrounding parkland.
As my wife, Roxie, enjoyed a full-body massage, I prowled the premises, inspecting pool, jacuzzi, sauna, various rooms for treatments and relaxation, even the century-old viewing tower, built so that guests could enjoy the high, clean air along with a stunning view of the countryside. It was somehow reassuring that Mösseberg has been the setting for pampering and relaxation for such a long time, and so much has been allowed to remain the same.
Well, not quite. Apparently, at the time the king, Gustav V, was here, the property was strictly off limits to the general public, except on Sundays, when the townspeople, for a small fee, could walk in the park and gape at the gentry.
© October 2010 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
Issue:
January
2012
