Sandy moors and deciduous forest

Riddarborg became a castle in the Middle Ages

Already in the Middle Ages there was a wooden castle, Heireholm, on the island of Hägerholmen in Snogeholmssjön. However, the island's early history is shrouded in obscurity. The castle belonged to the archbishops of Lund and was probably the seat of the church's bailiffs. The castle later became the residence of a knight, Holger Gregersen Krognos. In the later Middle Ages it was ravaged by fire and Heireholm was replaced by a forest farm called Snogeholm. During the late 17th century, the farm was transformed into a castle-like building with wings. Only in the 1870s did Snogeholm become a castle and get its three-towered shape.

Estate that attracted German emperor

Snogeholm is an old estate landscape, and everywhere in the area you will find remnants from the time when Snogeholm's estate had its heyday. The ruin from the estate's windmill at Möllefoten is one of the places, and from here you get a nice view of Romeleåsen. During the 19th century, the population increased and new farming methods were introduced, as in the rest of Scania. Villages disappeared and large-scale farming units were built. Snogeholm became its own village with a barn, state residences, forge and brickyard. The estate had 26 farms, a mill and 42 street houses. A sawmill, horticulture, nursery, wood wool factory, dairy and coal furnaces grew up. Many were erected in Snogeholmstegel. The farmers who worked the land had to choose between moving or becoming state workers with wages in kind. The German Emperor Wilhelm II also came to Snogeholm's estate in 1899 to hunt. In several places in the area you will find memorial stones where he took his imperial wives and the place where he felled his first Swedish roe buck.

Mighty big trees in Snogeholm

Trees with wide crowns bear witness to a time when the forest was allowed to grow sparsely. In Snogeholm there are also unusually many large trees, which are several hundred years old. This is due, among other things, to the fact that the landowners on Snogeholm's estate took good care of the forest, as it was important for hunting and cattle rearing. Until the 19th century, Snogeholm had many lakes and waterways. The estate's then owner, Count Alfred Piper, carried out a large excavating enterprise, planted forests and built roads. In 1966, the Foundation bought O.D. Krook's donation in M ​​County (our sister foundation) this area. Today, among other things, continuity forestry, so-called clear-cut forestry, is carried out in the eastern part of the area. Trees of different ages and development are felled to favor adjacent younger and better trees, and at the same time allow new seedlings to self-sow. This is done continuously in order to create a forest with trees of different ages and heights.

The Big Five - our meeting places about different animals

There are four different “meeting places” for animals in the recreation area: for example Frog, Kite and Fallow Deer, which are open during different parts of the year.

Learn more about trees

Follow the excursion path and learn more about trees. The Landskapslabbet is a collaboration with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), where different tree species have been planted in order to be able to follow their development over time. Information boards tell more.

Former Visitor Center in old villa

Until 2021, we had a Visitor Center in the so-called Yellow villa, but have closed this down. Today there is instead Café Villa Vandra, who rents the house from us.