Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1714 - which destroyed much of Västerås - and the wholesale restructuring of the
1960s. At the top end of Djäknegatan, the main street of the district, look for a
narrow alley called Brunnsgränd, along which is a house bearing the sign
“Mästermansgården”: it was once the abode of the most hated and ostracized man in
the district - the town executioner.
Stadshuset
A quick walk past the restaurants and shops of Vasagatan in the city centre will bring
you to Storagatan, and eventually to the eye-catching modern
Stadshuset
in Fiskatorget
- the building is a far cry from the Dominican monastery which once stood on this
spot. Although home to the city's administration, the Stadshuset is best known for its
47 bells, the largest of which is known as “the Monk” and can be heard across the city
at lunchtimes.
2
Västerås Konstmuseum and Länsmuseum
Art museum and county museum • Karlsgatan 2 • Tues, Wed & Fri 10am-5pm, Thurs 10am-8pm, Sat & Sun noon-4pm • Free •
W
vasteraskonstmuseum.se;
W
vastmanlandslansmuseum.se
In new premises at Karlsgatan 2, the town's compact art museum, the
Västerås
Konstmuseum
, is rather disappointing. It's worth a quick look for its contemporary
collections of Swedish and other Nordic art - but don't expect too much. Sharing the
same building, the
Länsmuseum
unfortunately also lacks direction, containing a rag-tag
collection of obscure items such as children's dolls and old typewriters, plonked in glass
cabinets; you'll glean little about the province's history from this load of junk.
The Anundshög burial mound
To get here, take bus #40 from the centre of town (bus times are at
W
vl.se); buy your bus ticket at the tourist office, as it's no longer
possible to buy them on the bus.
Whilst in Västerås, try not to miss nearby
Anundshög
, the largest royal burial
mound in Sweden, just 6km northeast of the city. Dating from the sixth century,
the mound - at 60m in diameter and 14m high - is said to be the resting place of
King Bröt-Anund and his stash of gold. Although unexcavated, the mound is widely
thought to contain the remains of a cremation burial and a stone cist. Anundshög
was also used for sessions of the local
ting
, or Viking parliament, and several other
smaller burial mounds nearby suggest that the site was an important Viking meeting
place over several centuries. Beside the main mound lie a large number of
standing
stones
arranged end-to-end in the shape of two ships measuring 53m and 50m in
diameter. The nearby
rune stone
dates from around 1000 AD though it's not
thought to be connected to the burial mound. The stone's inscription, when
translated, reads “Folkvid erected all these stones for his son, Hedin, brother of
Anund. Vred carved the runes.”
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
VÄSTERÅS
By plane
The airport, served by Ryanair flights from
London Stansted, is just 6km east of the city, from where
pre-booked shuttle taxis (
T
018 18 50 00;
W
taxivasteras.
se) run to the centre (50kr).
By train
The train station is on Södra Ringvägen, with a
sea of bicycles neatly standing in racks right outside.
Destinations
Stockholm (hourly; 1hr); Gothenburg (6
daily; 4hr).
By bus
Arriving by bus you'll be dropped at the terminal
adjacent to the train station.
INFORMATION
Tourist To
ce
Kopparbergsvägen 1 (Mon-Fri 10am-6pm,
Sat 10am-3pm; also July to mid-Aug Sun 10am-2pm;
T
021 39 01 00,
W
www.vasterasmalarstaden.se).
Barely a 2min walk from the train station, with plenty of
information and internet access.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT
THE UTTER INN, LAKE MÄLAREN(P.92). GÄLLNÖ, STOCKHOLM ARCHIPELAGO (P.81); TRADITIONAL
WOODEN BUILDINGS, NYKÖPING (P.101); THRONE ROOM, DROTTNINGHOLM (P.85) >
