Hällingsjö
Hällingsjö | |
|---|---|
Village | |
  Hällingsjö  Hällingsjö | |
| Coordinates: 57°37′N 12°26′E / 57.617°N 12.433°E | |
| Country | Sweden |
| Province | Västergötland |
| County | Västra Götaland County |
| Municipality | Härryda Municipality |
| Area | |
• Total | 0.43 km2 (0.17 sq mi) |
| Population (31 December 2024)[1] | |
• Total | 1,512 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Hällingsjö is a locality in the southeastern part of Härryda Municipality, Västergötland, Sweden. It lies by Lake Gingsjön near the border with Marks Municipality. The settlement has around 1512 inhabitants (2024)[1] and is surrounded by forest and farmland. Historically, Hällingsjö served as a junction of roads and a guesthouse stop, developing from an agricultural hamlet in the 19th century into a small locality with housing, a school and some light industry.
History
[edit]Prehistory and early history
[edit]The area where Hällingsjö is situated has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Archaeological finds indicate human presence some 5,000 years ago. During the Iron Age and the Middle Ages the district formed part of the old Björketorp parish, although few documents mention substantial settlement exactly on the present Hällingsjö site. Lake Gingsjön and its surroundings were likely used by farmers and herders already in prehistory.
18th–19th century development
[edit]The Coaching Inn
[edit]Hällingsjö emerged as a small local centre in the 18th and 19th centuries. Until the late 1700s, the official coaching inn (gästgiveri) for the area was located in the village of Stora Bugärde (Bygärde), northwest of present-day Hällingsjö. At that time, Swedish law required inns to provide horse-post services (skjutshållning) for travellers. This system proved impractical at Stora Bugärde, as the participating farms were situated far from the inn. Each farm followed a fixed rota and was summoned by messenger when a traveller requested onward transport. For a set fee, the farmer was required to arrive at the inn within a given time with horse and driver, to carry the passenger either to a destination within the parish or to the next posting station, where another holder would take over.
To improve efficiency, the coaching inn was relocated in 1829 to Hällingsjö, at a road junction where several important routes met: to Borås and Göteborg as well as to Skene and Kungsbacka. Period signs outside the inn also listed more local destinations such as Flässjum and Bonared. The new site had previously held the croft known as Hällingsjö soldatstom, whose occupant had in the late 1700s applied for a licence to sell spirits — a venture initiated by the local sheriff, Ternstedt, of Hällingsjö.
The new coaching inn was built and owned by merchant Johan Björnvall from Borås, who had purchased Hällingsjö gård in 1811. The building was a single-storey timber salsbyggnad (central-hall house), later raised with an additional floor during the Engström family’s tenure in the 1860s. Björnvall leased out the innkeeping business, with Erik Hultgren serving as innkeeper until 1844. The five-year lease then passed to D. L. Signeul. In 1846, Björnvall sold the inn to Gustav Engström of Göteborg. Since the existing lease ran until 1849, Engström could not take over operations until that year. By then, Björnvall had already sold Hällingsjö gård (in 1844), separating the coaching inn as an independent property.
Engström proved an enterprising owner, opening a general store and a small tannery adjacent to the inn on land belonging to Hällingsjö gård, under the oversight of its then-owner Dahllöf. However, they had neglected to apply for the required permits for retail sales and tanning, leading to Dahllöf being fined in court. The inn complex included stabling both for travellers’ horses and its own, and a substantial storage building for goods and supplies. By the mid-1850s, between 30 and 60 people were registered at the property, including those working at the associated tannery — a considerable operation for a rural parish.
Some examples of pricing at the inn
[edit]In the mid-19th century the district court (häradsrätt) fixed uniform tariffs for the inns serving Bollebygds härad. A schedule adopted at the autumn assizes of 1832 for Fläskjum, Hällingsjö os and Töllesjöholm priced a three-dish meal with butter, bread and a dram at 20 skilling; a simple “husmanskost” meal at 12 sk.; a dozen boiled eggs at 18 sk.; a kanna of beer at 10 skilling 8 runstycken; an overnight heated chamber with made bed and clean sheets at 16 sk.; a summer room at 12 sk.; and a candle one-finger thick at 2 skilling 6 runstycken, with fodder and fuel likewise itemised.
In 1860 the court updated the unified tariff: a three-course meal cost 1 riksdaler riksmynt, a single-course meal 50 öre; a dozen eggs 1 riksdaler; a pitcher of beer 37 sk.; porter 50 öre; an overnight heated room 50 öre (37 öre in summer); and set prices for a candle (12 öre), oats by the pitcher (19 öre), hay per lispund, about 8 kilograms (50 öre) and other horse provisions.
The post office addition
In 1875, the Hällingsjö post station was established at the inn, making it a key communications hub. The inn also held a licence to sell spirits to local residents, who could purchase alcohol in their own ankare casks of 20–40 litres. Prices were higher than in Göteborg or Borås, leading some locals to pool resources to buy barrels directly from distilleries. Alcohol consumption in the countryside was notably high during the late 19th century.
With the arrival of the railway to the district in 1894, the number of road travellers declined sharply. In 1913 the coaching inn was converted into a café. During the major motor hillclimb competitions held at Hällingsjöbacken between 1918 and 1934, the inn served as a base of operations and saw a large boost in trade. The Engström family continued to run the café in the old inn until the early 1970s, when the rerouting of the main road prompted the construction of the modern Källarbacken café, still known today.
The historic setting is partly preserved: a milestone and the old stable wings still stand near the inn, recalling its role as a posting station for horse-drawn traffic.
The Tannery
[edit]A tannery[2] was established in Hällingsjö in the mid-19th century by Gustav Engström in connection with his purchase of the Hällingsjö coaching inn. It began on a modest scale, operated by one of Engström’s sons with a few employees. In 1851, parish records note the arrival of a trained karduansmakare (currier), Johan Peter Pettersson from Gothenburg, together with his wife Anna Maria Johansdotter. Pettersson’s professional expertise helped develop and improve the tannery’s operations.
Around 1863, a residential building named Marieberg was constructed on land belonging to Hällingsjö gård, then owned by von Mentzer. The tannery itself was a two-storey structure with a full basement. Raw hides came from oxen, cows, calves, and sheep slaughtered on local farms. The salted or dried hides were first soaked in a large pond to remove hair and residual flesh or fat. They were then placed in large oak vats sunk into the ground, layered with crushed oak bark whose tannins contributed to the curing process.
By the standards of the time, the business was substantial. Surviving statistics show that in 1874 the tannery processed 65 sole leathers (sulläder), 400 “smorläder” (a specially tanned work-shoe leather), and 600 skins, with a total production value of 2,950 kronor. In 1872, Pettersson purchased the land for the Marieberg property from Hällingsjö gård, ending his formal partnership with Engström, who found it too demanding to run both the tannery and the coaching inn. From that point, Pettersson owned the property and operated the tannery independently.
Pettersson and his wife had two daughters and a son, the latter of whom died young. Daughter Gerda Maria married Carl Mellander; in 1883 the couple bought Hällingsjö gård from Olof Andersson. Daughter Josefina Emilia married Lars Claesson, a journeyman tanner who had worked at the facility for several years. Claesson leased the tannery from his father-in-law from 1882 until Pettersson’s death in 1908.
In its final years, the tannery’s activity declined, and it ceased operations in 1909. The Claesson family remained in residence for many years thereafter. Only in recent decades did the property leave the family’s ownership. Today, the site retains only the stone foundation of the tannery, standing as a reminder of Hällingsjö’s early industrial era.
20th century
[edit]At the start of the 1900s Hällingsjö remained a small rural settlement, but the arrival of motorised transport brought unexpected attention. Shortly after the First World War, a motor club from Göteborg arranged motorcycle (and to a lesser extent car) hillclimbs on the Hällingsjö slope.
Hällingsjö Hill-Climb (1918 – 1934)
[edit]The story of Sweden’s best-known inter-war “backlopp”
1. Setting
[edit]The Hällingsjöbacken is a 930 m stretch of the old Göteborg–Borås highway that rises 65 m in a series of sharp gradients just south-east of the Hällingsjö gästgivaregård, a coaching inn first mentioned in the late 1700s.1 Its commanding views and already infamous steepness made it a natural laboratory for early motorists—and, from 1918, for organised hill-climbs. For spectators the site was convenient: the inn served food, the broad farmyard became a paddock, and trains to nearby Rävlanda plus hired char-à-bancs from Göteborg moved crowds of several thousand on big-race days.
2. Origins (1918 – 1923)
[edit]1918 – The motorcycle section of Svenska Motorcykelklubben (SMK) held a trial that included an uphill speed test at Hällingsjö—the first documented competitive run.
1920 – SMK Göteborg added the hill to a two-day Göteborg–Landskrona economy rally. 120 motorcycles started, making it “Sveriges största motortävling” according to the press; the hill-climb winners were Th. von Reis (Ariel) solo and E. Johansson (Harley-Davidson) with sidecar, times being hand-clocked.
A crude handicap formula (weight × speed × constant …) still determined results, but by 1923 classes based on cylinder capacity had replaced it.
3. Expansion and Golden Years (1924 – 1928)
[edit]1924 – Göteborgs Motor Klubb (GMK) took over local promotion and staged the first stand-alone Hällingsjö Hill-Climb. Around 150 entrants and 6 000 spectators turned the by into a fairground; Allan Blomqvist (Douglas) set a solo record of 36.6 s.
1925 – GMK, Göteborgs-Posten and SMK jointly branded the event “Sweden’s Grand Prix of hill-climbs”. Mass crowds, electric timing and a separate car programme arrived; Jewett, Chrysler and Bugatti racers duelled the motorcycles.
1927 – International stars appeared: Gunnar Kalen (Saroléa) lowered the solo mark to 35.4 s, while heavy rain could not stop crowds estimated at 5 000.
1928 – Side-car specialists Per Nyström and Erik Westerberg pushed the three-wheeled record to 28.3 s; women competed for the first time, notably Ingrid Johansson in a Moon touring car.
4. Rivalry and Consolidation (1929 – 1931)
[edit]The late-1920s motor boom spawned rival climbs at Limmerhult and Lackarebäck. Hill-owners in Hällingsjö demanded road repairs and felling of trees in return for access, raising GMK’s costs. Nevertheless two meetings per season were kept: in May 1929 Ivar Skeppstedt (F-N) and Gunnar Carlsson (Rex) shared fastest times, both clocking 23.8 s—the first sub-24-second runs.
Economic doldrums in 1931 forced a one-year hiatus; no event was held.
5. Final Seasons (1932 – 1934)
[edit]1932 saw a popular comeback, but record books remained closed. In 1933 Skeppstedt equalled Nyström’s solo record (23 .1 s) yet car entries were already thin—only Bugatti driver S. Storckenfeldt and Chevrolet pilot Folke Hjelm faced off.Backfräsare_s91-126
1934 – The thirteenth and last Hällingsjö Hill-Climb was run in July. Fewer than 40 machines started, and wet weather discouraged spectators. When wartime fuel rationing loomed and state funds were diverted to straighten the old road (opened 1940), GMK quietly retired the meeting.Backfräsare_s31-60
6. The Course
[edit]| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Length | 930 m |
| Total ascent | 65 m |
| Average gradient | 7 % (max ≈ 10 %) |
| Surface | packed gravel, later oiled |
| Start altitude | 153 m a.s.l. (by the gästgiveri park) |
| Finish altitude | 218 m a.s.l. (near present Rv 156 crest) |
Spectators lined both verges, kept back only by ropes. Timing evolved from hand-held stop-watches (1918-24) to engineer Sten Agrell’s electric chronographs (from 1925).
7. Notable Competitors & Machines
[edit]- Allan Blomqvist – Douglas & HRD solo specialist, 1924 record-holder.
- Gunnar Kalen – Saroléa works rider; smashed records 1927.
- Erik Westerberg – Harley-Davidson side-car ace; benchmark 28 .3 s (1928).
- Henry “Du Rietz” – Jewett & Dodge car racer; fastest car 1928 (46 s).
- Ivar Skeppstedt – FN all-rounder; matched 23 s barrier in 1930.
Typical machines ranged from 173 cc two-stroke Ebe lightweights to 1 000 cc Harley twins and super-charged Bugatti Type 35s.
8. Legacy
[edit]The old hill is today bypassed by a 1940s realignment, but its memory lives on in local archives, the preserved gästgivaregård and the richly illustrated Bland Backfräsare i Hällingsjöbacken[3] book compiled by Hällingsjö residents in the 1990s. Within Scandinavian motorsport historiography Hällingsjö is remembered as the crucible where Swedish riders like Kalen and Blomqvist honed the techniques that later won Six-Days golds and TT trophies. The event also helped normalise large-scale motor-sport organisation, pioneering electric timing, medical cover and dedicated parking in Swedish hill-climbs.
Hällingsjö Zoo
[edit]Another unique chapter in Hällingsjö's 20th-century history was the creation of a small private zoo in the 1950s. Local resident and animal enthusiast Billy Nyqvist founded Hällingsjö Zoo at his farm, Eriksmyst, just outside the village. The zoo began modestly with guinea pigs, chickens, and tropical birds but quickly expanded after Nyqvist began importing exotic animals from Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg, Germany. At its height, the zoo housed over 100 animals, including parrots, llamas, monkeys, goats, an ocelot, and its most famous resident—a lion named Leo.
Nyqvist, a skilled handyman and entrepreneur, built nearly all the animal enclosures himself, including a walled habitat for Leo instead of a traditional barred cage. The zoo became a popular destination, attracting busloads of visitors during summer weekends. For a time, Nyqvist could even walk the young lion on a leash around the property. However, as Leo grew larger, safety concerns increased, and only Nyqvist could enter his enclosure.
The zoo closed in 1963, shortly after the opening of the larger and more professionally operated Borås Zoo. Financial challenges and the high cost of feeding a lion—reportedly 20 kilograms of meat per day—led to its closure. Most of the animals were sold to other zoos in Sweden, and Leo was sold to a planned private zoo on Kållandsö in Lake Vänern. There, Leo and another lion named Ludde lived for a time before the project was abandoned. According to local oral history, Leo's roars could be heard across the island until the mid-1960s.
Today, the legacy of the zoo lives on in local memory and family stories. The original buildings still stand, and domestic animals once again graze the land that was home to one of Sweden’s most unusual rural zoos[4].
Industry and economy
[edit]Despite its small size, Hällingsjö has seen varied economic activity. As noted, a tannery[2] operated in the late 19th century, reflecting early small industry linked to the agrarian economy. In the early 20th century, however, farming and forestry still dominated livelihoods.
After the Second World War a sawmill industry was established. Bröderna Svenssons sågverk[5] (Svensson Brothers Sawmill) started in the 1950s and became an important local employer. The wood industry around the village grew: Hällingsjö Träkonstruktioner AB[6] (Hällingsjö Wood Constructions), founded in the early 1900s by Martin Andersson, originally made wooden ladders and flagpoles. Over time the family firm broadened production (including wooden rollers for the carpet industry) and it remains a part of local industry today.
In 1952 a factory building in Hällingsjö was put into use by Mölnlycke AB, a major company known for hygiene products. Photographs from 1952–1953 show textile work (including sewing quilts) in the “Mölnlycke factory” on site, part of a decentralisation of some production from the main works in Mölnlycke. The operation did not remain long‑term; the plant changed owners and lines of business several times.
From the 1980s the factory property was repurposed for house manufacturing. Hällingsjö Hus AB[5], founded in 1994, took over and since then runs a house factory there producing timber modules and villas. Hällingsjö Hus is today one of the locality’s largest employers; it has its office in Mölnlycke but keeps production in Hällingsjö.
Today the economy remains small‑scale. In addition to house manufacturing and wood processing there are local contractors, service companies and some farm‑based enterprises. Farming and forestry persist around the village, though at a smaller scale than in the past. Many residents commute to jobs in larger towns such as Göteborg, Mölnlycke or Marks kommun. Hällingsjö has a general store in the gas station and some basic services, but no major retail or large workplaces. Proximity to Göteborg Landvetter Airport (about 20 km to the northwest) and to county road 156 make the location relatively accessible for businesses and commuters. Bus route to Göteborg is reliable and around 30 minutes.
Culture and associations
[edit]Hällingsjö has an active voluntary sector for a village of its size. A key hub is the sports club IFK Hällingsjö, founded on 28 May 1933[7]. The club focuses mainly on soccer and has around 150 members. It runs youth teams and a senior women’s team. The men’s team merged in 2012 with neighbouring Ubbhults IF and has since competed as Ubbhult/Hällingsjö in the lower divisions. The home ground, Björkängsvallen, is used not only for football but also for events such as car bingo (drive‑in bingo). In summer IFK Hällingsjö organises weekly drive‑in bingo that attracts visitors from both the village and farther afield; it has become a cherished local tradition and an important source of revenue for the club[8].
Beyond sport there is a village association (byalag) and other civic initiatives that foster community. The Hällingsjö Byalag formed in the late 20th century and has worked on heritage matters, local amenities and documenting the village’s history. The byalag published the booklet "Bland backfräsare i Hällingsjöbacken 1918–1934 (2002)"[3] preserving the memory of the motor hillclimbs. Many residents are also active in the Björketorp parish local heritage society, which covers the old parish area (Hindås, Rävlanda and Hällingsjö). The society runs the open‑air museum Gammelgården by Björketorp Church in Rävlanda and also arranges storytelling evenings and historical walks in and around Hällingsjö.
Hällingsjö has no church of its own—the locality belongs to Björketorp parish and the church is in Rävlanda.
Education and schools
[edit]Hällingsjö’s first permanent school arrived relatively late. Until the mid‑20th century children in the district often attended small farm schools or went to the school by Björketorp Church in Rävlanda. In 1949 Hällingsjö gained its own school building, providing a modern elementary school on site. The school was extended in 1955 with a gymnasium hall to improve teaching and extracurricular facilities. Pupil numbers rose in the post‑war period and the school was organised with combined classes in years 1–6 (for example 1–2, 3–4 and 5–6).
Today the school is Hällingsjöskolan, a municipal primary school for the preschool year and years 1–6. It has roughly 120–130 pupils and sits centrally in the village next to the sports ground. With nature close at hand, the school uses the surrounding environment in its teaching. After year 6 pupils usually continue to lower‑secondary school at Rävlandaskolan, with which Hällingsjöskolan is grouped under the municipality’s school structure. Adjacent to the primary school is Björkängen Preschool, serving younger children in Hällingsjö and nearby areas; the preschool and after‑school centre cooperate with the school to ensure a smooth transition.
Historically the school has played a central role in the community, serving not only as a place of learning but also as a venue for gatherings. The school building has hosted everything from village meetings to sports activities and church children’s hours. Many older residents recall how the village school functioned as a hub in community life in the latter half of the 20th century. Teachers often became well‑known local figures; for example the teacher couple Karin and Gösta Jansson served at Hällingsjö school from the 1960s into the early 2000s, embodying the continuity and close relationship between school and community.
Geography and nature
[edit]Hällingsjö’s surroundings are characterised by a mix of forest and agricultural landscape. Gingsjön, the lake located right next to the village, is the largest in the area and has given the locality its name (formerly spelled Hellingsjö, referring to a lake or marshland). The waters of Gingsjön reflect the forested ridges around it, and along its shores there are both open fields and the bays Gingsjöviken and Långeviken. The lake drains via the Gingsjöbäcken stream, which flows toward Storån to the southeast.
Southeast of Hällingsjö, the landscape opens into gently rolling farmland with fields, meadows, and old farmsteads. Several historic crofts are found here, including those once belonging to Dalagården and Björkhult, which testify to settlement in earlier times. Field islets, clearance cairns, and stone walls in the countryside around villages such as Stora Bugärde and Sjönnered tell of a long continuity of agriculture. In summer, cattle and horses still graze these lands, helping to keep the landscape open.
Northwest of the locality, the forest becomes dominant. Here the land transitions into large, continuous woodland stretching toward the neighbouring community of Hindås and further north. The forests consist mainly of conifers (spruce and pine) with patches of deciduous trees in hollows and along streams. The terrain is hilly, with ridges about 150–200 metres above sea level and rift valleys between them containing bogs and small lakes. The woods are rich in wildlife; moose, roe deer, foxes, and wild boar roam the area, while cranes and other waterfowl rest at the smaller lakes.
The Storån valley between Hällingsjö and Rävlanda forms a scenic cultural landscape with meandering water, grazed pastures, and groves of deciduous trees. The valley is considered of national interest for both nature conservation and cultural heritage due to its combination of biological values (such as the protected freshwater pearl mussel found in the river) and well-preserved agricultural environments. In some places along the river, remains of old mills and dam walls can be seen — among them a former water-powered sawmill at the Hällingsjö mill site. Today the valley is a popular destination for hiking and fishing; trout from Lake Lygnern spawn in the river, and beaver have been recorded in the watercourse[9].
There are no formal nature reserves directly in Hällingsjö, but several protected natural areas lie within a couple of dozen kilometres. The nearest include Finnsjön Nature Reserve north of Hindås and Härskogen west of Landvetter, both offering wild-feeling forests and lakes. Hällingsjö itself is part of the green belt of forest and small lakes that runs through southern Härryda. The long-distance Vildmarksleden hiking trail, which forms a loop from Hindås, passes through the countryside near Hällingsjö.
The small-scale landscape — contrasting open pastures with deep forest — shapes Hällingsjö’s geography. In spring, wood anemones and cowslips bloom abundantly in the coppices near farms, and summers bring lush greenery along gravel roads. In autumn, the forests on the ridges turn vivid red and gold, leaving Hällingsjö nestled in a colourful landscape. The surrounding natural values and the relatively unspoiled environment are among the reasons many choose to settle in Hällingsjö and commute to work — enjoying a rural idyll with forest walks, swimming and fishing in the lakes, and a tranquillity much appreciated by residents.
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Statistik". www.harryda.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-08-08.
- ^ a b Rosenberg, Carl Martin. "684 (Geografiskt-statistiskt handlexikon öfver Sverige / Förra bandet : A-K)". runeberg.org (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-08-08.
- ^ a b Bland backfräsare i Hällingsjöbacken 1918-1934. 2002.
- ^ Mehmedagic, Enes (2023-07-16). "Berättelsen om Hällingsjö djurpark – och lejonet Leo". Härryda-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-08-08.
- ^ a b "Vår fabrik". Hällingsjö Hus (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-08-08.
- ^ "VÅR HISTORIA". Hällingsjö Träkonstruktioner (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-08-08.
- ^ "Fotbollsklubbar Göteborg A-K". www.klubbmarken.com. Retrieved 2025-08-08.
- ^ Mehmedagic, Enes (2023-07-08). "Bilbingo i Hällingsjö – en succé sedan 80-talet". Mark-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-08-08.
- ^ "Storåns dalgång". www.harryda.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-08-09.