Skinnskatteberg, Sweden – STF Kolarbyn/Eco-lodge
Re-established in the Winter: 1996
Photography: Skogens Konung and Claudia Deglau
The word “hotel” doesn’t have to mean lots of fixed glass, endless corridors and air-conditioning. If you want to escape all of those trappings and the city, Sweden’s most primitive hotel will appeal. The “rooms” were built by locals using timber, sod and earth.
Room service? Not here! In fact , there are no staff, which means you get to cut wood, fetch your own water, and cook your own meals. For an over-worked city-dweller, it’s a total break from all the daily stressors. And when you’re tired of the cooking, fetching and chopping, you can catch your own dinner in the adjoining river or go hiking and find some ‘bush tucker’.
“The story goes that Kolarbyn has been used as a site for charcoal burning by locals for over 400 years. Here, forest workers constructed small rustic huts to sleep in during their winter work with logging and burning charcoal for iron production. Several generations of huts have existed here, with these particular ones only 20 years or so old, they are still constructed in the same traditional style as their ancestors once built them.
A refuge for silence, wilderness and adventure, only a couple of hours away from the capital Stockholm. STF Kolarbyn/Eco-lodge is owned by the community and part of the proceeds of your stay will go toward protecting area wildlife.”
– Jack Eidt, Co-founder, Wild Heritage Planners
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