September

September has been quite uneventful from an house perspective. After the school start, also all the activities for the whole family starts and the every day puzzle can be already quite exciting without adding major house chores.
So, everything has been quite standing still.
I haven't even managed to pick up properly the apples during this month, so a lot have gone wasted (and it is not like October is looking so much better).

One of the big things that happened during September, have been though the "Kullavägen party" where most of our neighbours reunited themselves at our place, as per tradition (the tradition dictates that every 2 year someone living on the street should host the event).

The party!

The weather was not the best, but we managed to pull this together with the cooperation of few other neighbours. So this was definitely not single handed, although it was handled in our garden.

The weather since then has kept being worse and worse and right now it is almost as winter cold. 

There are still some sunny days, but I am not daring (neither managing time wise) to paint more, while I have been doing some minor gardening.

A beautiful Dahlia just blooming

I managed to put more stones on the slope behind the pool, although there is still more to put and I have to find a way to remove the ground elder from the area.

My experiment both from a agricultural perspective and culinary are always involving Mattias who gets additional tasks.

This year I have decided to experiment with some rowan-berry, which is now in the freezer.

I had an ocean of tomatoes, that never got ripe, which are being used in different ways. 

Yesterday I did 1.5 kg of them as a jam.

We got delicious hazelnuts this year and as always, we can pick up some occasional mushrooms which I can tolerate despite my aversion to them.

The harvest of September - without the apples

Let's see how it will go with the apples this year, but it doesn't look very good right now.

Literature & Collections

Lately, I have spent a lot of time with yet another task. After I went to Hasselagård and wrote that post about it, I have found extremely interesting to look more closely at the history behind the different villas in Åkarp.
So far, the results have been very exciting. Not that I have found something that is revolutionary, but it seems a lot of "important" (from a small Swedish town perspective) people have been living here and that this has always been a quite dynamic small town, despite the fact that today there is very little that could make life interesting.

In order to fulfill my research I have collected few books more, to the ones that I have had purchased.
"Åkarp genom seklerna" (Åkarp through the centuries) was actually a 2012 Christmas gift from Mattias. It is a small book that summarizes the most important facts from even ancient history to more modern times, but it is very incomplete.
"Burlöv Kommun Historia Del I och II" (The history of Burlöv's Municipality part I and II) is currently borrowed but I am planning to get it into the collection as soon as it appears around the market with a good price. It is a very comprehensive book with a rich chapter about Åkarp and its farms. There is also a small chapter about the "merchants" in town.
"Kring Lund C" (About Lund Central Station) focuses on Lund Central Station history and the railway. For this reason, Åkarp is mentioned in some parts of the book and that underlines the importance of the railway for Åkarp's development.
"Hvilan Historia om en skola" (Hvilan, history of a school) narrates the development of Hvilan, which is an important folkhögskolan (a sort of higher education school), the oldest one in Sweden if I have understood right, located in Åkarp. Due to this reason, Åkarp's history is definitely interwined with the one of the school

Literature

On top of this, I have finally put the hands of the so called Åkarps samling (The Åkarp Collection), a collection of about 100 Åkarp postcards that I have been looking carefully at for a couple of years. First and mostly, I have been interested in those postcards were Villa Bellevue was visible.
At this point in time, I have realized that except for some postcards depicting just the pond and some swan, all the ones with the houses were relevant for my curiosity.

The Åkarp collection

Now, I would just need some extra hours every day for being able to dig into everything...

Escape moment

Sometimes, one doesn't need to focus on what's going on on the roof of his own house.
So, what we did today was visiting few of the shops that there are here in Åkarp: Erikshjälpen and the one in Möllegården (Pehr Pehrsson's house from the start).

Our shopping tour results

From the first, we got a postcards album. Jugend style. Very torn, but still pretty.
From the second, "Bygga och Bevara i Burlövs Kommun". Something that maybe should be more popular literature when renovating an house in Åkarp, it seems!

Hasselagård

It was 1912 and Åkarp was just blooming.
The main streets, Alnarpsvägen, Byvägen and Kullavägen were getting populated with grand villas. The location was, as today, very appealing - afterall, Åkarp is just in between Lund and Malmö.
On the southern part of Åkarp, Fritjof Hazelius (1882-1963), one of the teachers  at Hvilan Folkhögskola and writer, built his own villa, Hasselagård.
He entrusted the danish architect Ivar Bentsen (1876-1943) for drawing the building.

Hasselagård, 1915

It is an interesting detail that Hazelius was author of a magazine for building care (Tidskrift för HEMBYGDSVÅRD Årg.1920 - 1932) where the focus was about building art and environment, for example. He was also relative with Artur Hazelius, who founded Skansen, in Stockholm.
Bentsen was mostly working in Copenaghen, teaching at Kunstakademiet, but he was also the architect for some of Hvilan Förlhögskola buildings (Högahus - the high building - and Västerhus - the western building).
Typical for the period and the architect is the pitched roof and clean lines. This was in line with one style which was strong in this period: with the war approaching building fancy villas was less fashionable and simplicity was preferred.

Amtmandsbolig, architect Ivar Bentsen 

For sure, Hasselagård is a majestic mansion, indipendently of the architectonic style. Why it is called so it is not certain, but there is possibly a connection with the parish of Hassela in Hälsingland.
Back in the days, it was dominating the southern part of Åkarp, with about 22000 m2 of area which was possibly populated by an enourmous orchard.
Today, the property is "just" 4349 m2 and there are still plenty of fruit trees and bushes that can provide some fruit supplies. The vegetation has just gone wild, though, since the last owner died at 93 this March.

Gottfried Kockum moved into Hasselagård after having been studying and working in the USA. There, he was with his wife, Birgit Way Matthiesen.

         Gottfried Kockum (1895 - 1972)

He first studied at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration and then worked in several banks. 1923 he went back to Sweden and landed in Hallstahammar until 1943. He moved then to Åkarp since he was working as manager at Kockums Mekaniska Verkstad in Malmö.

Hasselagård during the 50s most likely, on the lower part of the postcard (ref1).

From Hallstahammar he brought not only himself and his family, but also a playhouse which is still in Hasselagård soil and which is very particular since it has the roof made of peat. In Emmi Bergkvist's "Gamla Åkarp och hur det var förr", it seems that this comes from Hassela on Hazelius' commission and it is 200 years old - while Burlöv's municipality preservation plan states that it was Kockum's. I am more prone to believe that the playhouse comes from Hallstahammar and it is from the 30s, rather than from 1700...

Playhouse, picture taken by Cecilia Gagge

It is most likely at this point in time that the building simmetry got broken. Looking at two postcards (ref1 and ref2), although it is really hard to see the details, it is possible to see a serie of differences in the building. In ref2 (which is the oldest picture) one observe many windows on the top floor right wing, there are no niches on the roof on the southern side and there is no balcony on the right wing.
All these details are change in ref1 and they are still there today.

In the left bottom corner it is possible to see Hasselagård. This picture must be from the beginning of the 40s (ref2)

Year 1999

When looking at the building from the front side, one get disappointed by that little extension on the left side. Today that hosts the kitchen and possibly, the kitchen has always been there, since in the first postcard from 1915 it is possible to see a little chimney on that roof.
The fact that the amount of windows has changed leads me to believe that there were more rooms where today there is a big master bedroom (it seems the mansion had 18 rooms when Kockum moved there). Which makes sense. The stairs that lead upstairs from the kitchen didn't go to the main bedroom, but to the maid bedroom. More, there was an extra door (visibile in the floor plan still) which would have a purpose only if the master bedroom was not a gigantic room.

Kockumsområdet took part of the land that was south of Hasselagård and most likely belonging to the beautiful orchard that can be seen in ref1.
The area was planned 1958 and it was Gottfried's Kockums Mekaniska Verkstad that asked the permission to build the 63 houses there.

Kockumsområde, 1965. Hasselagård is visilbe on the center right (ref3).

On the old area belonging to Hasselagård, Kockum built also an house (Kockumsvägen 10) where he moved (the house is visible in front of Hasselagård in ref3). He died there, at the age of 76. His wife instead continued to live in Åkarp until 1989, but her last days were at Åkarpshemmet (the hospice Harakärrsgården).

It's 1968 when Gunda and Nils Nielsen move to Hasselagård. Back then, they did a total renovation. Most likely they renovated heavily the kitchen and the bathrooms.

The kitchen, courtesy of Bukowskis Real Estate

The kitchen shows sign of an attempt to be traditional, but has a questionable electric blue color which I have also seen in the 70s style pantry of Villa Bellevue.
The main bathroom is up next to the master bedroom. My guess is that that room back in the days was the maid room - and simmetrical, opposite to it, there must have been the gardener room (a little, tiny, cute staircase goes out of that room, down in the heart of the garden). But this is just my guess and fantasy.
Today the bathroom is far from being modern. The water heater is a very interesting machine connected to the tap of the bathtube and pipes are running through the room in a very peculiar pattern.
No one has had the time to fix a banister to the improvised balcony - I suppose this is a confirmation that the couple didn't have kids.
Tretex has though not been removed from the walls (probably, it was installed in the 40s).

May 2014, courtesy of Bukowskis Real Estate

Nils (Niel?) Nielsen moved to Malmö 1955 after working in Copenaghen under intense stress and was Skåne first and only psychoterapist for a decade.
Together with Elise Ottesen Jensen he founded RFSU (Swedish Association for Sexuality Education) 1933.
In Göteborg, 1948, he met Gunda who became his third wife. Later, when in Malmö, she worked at Malmö Stadsteater as speech therapist (at that time, the theatre director was Ingmar Bergman).

Nils Nielsen (1905 - 1990)

They worked then together in the psychotherapy field, hosting also their reception in Hasselagård. They both loved travelling and that is clear also by the furniture that is spread all around the house. Kimonos and beautiful exotic textiles are hanging on the walls, mixing old and designed furniture with more than few pieces in oriental style.

Gunda Nielsen (1936 - 2014)

After Niel's death, Gunda kept living in the house. I can imagine she loved her garden and she had a passion for flowers and I wish that her efforts will be respected by the next owners.
When walking in the overgrown forest that the garden is today, one can see beautiful flowers peaking out from the high grass and the weeds. The house was enriched by plants and there are traces of more plants also in the basement.  My guess is that they were resting during the winter ready to be taken out for the spring to come.

Octagonal veranda, built 1992. Courtesy of Bukowskis Real Estate

Despite living on her own, Gunda decided to modify once more the floor plan of the house, adding to the "kitchen wing" an octagonal building. Beautiful in its shape and filled with light, but sadly, not mixing properly with the original style of the mansion and badly connected inside with a threshold between the original floor and the one of the newest part (underwhich there is water based floor heating).

First floor plan, courtesy of Bukowskis Real Estate

The first floor is dominated by big rooms for the "social activities". Even though the rooms are quite big, one detail that struck me was that the ceiling is quite low for being such an old and grand building. Precious wallpaper, often torn with humidity stain, decorates the dining room and the living room. Details from another epoch are still visible in the joinery.
An harmonic staircase leads to the basement and to the second floor (and even to the attic).

Second floor plan, courtesy of Bukowskis Real Estate

The second floor is enriched by a beautiful dressing room, with a niche and an enormous bedroom. Sadly, in my opinion, it is clear that there has been some heavy modifications in this floor and the atmosphere is closer to the 60s than "another epoch". But of course, it is also a matter of taste.

Basement and attic are typical for these buildings. The basement is humid and the attic is ventilated. In the basement it was also possible to see in the laundry room and old basin where clothes where washed and an oven. The rooms are spacious also there and the floor is very beautiful for being a basement. A lot of old books (and plants) give a very peculiar smell to this storage place, where a very energy consuming oil boiler is occupying one of the rooms.

Basement plan, courtesy of Bukowskis Real Estate

When passing Hasselvägen today it is hard to spot the big mansion. Instead of the beautiful white fence, one is discouraged by an enormous beech hedge. Two wooden white gates are still the "official" entrances to the area, but one of the paths in the garden is completely hidden in the grass. There is also a mysterious metallic gate on one corner and instead of using the gate, one can go directly in the garden by passing next to the garage. The building is near the road and there is no fence between it and the gate. But by walking on that path, it is finally possible to observe the beauty of the massive white building, which hopefully will end up in the hands of some "old buildings" lover and won't destroy the soul of this beautiful mansion.

North garden. Hasselagård, 5th August 2014

Villa Hemmet

Last week we had the opportunity to pay a visit to Villa Hemmet thanks to its owners' kindnenss. This villa is also located in Gamla Åkarp, not too far from ours and it is incredibly beautiful.
We took this as a great opportunity to learn on how also other families have renovated their house and get some inspiration for ours.

A picture from 1997 of Villa Hemmet

Villa Hemmet was built 1915, based on some drawings by an architect more accostumed to churches than villas. The current owner had the opportunity to meet Hans Ingemanson (who lived in our house when it was built) who defined Villa Hemmet as "the new one".
Luckily, not so many owners have lived there and that has made it possible to preserve a lot of original details.

There is a story behind this house: two sisters fell in love with the same farmhand. Some sources report that the one that was not so lucky in love decided to use the  inherited fortune to build this house and move there, other sources instead that the one who had the chance on the man, built the house and moved there with him and a maid. In both cases, the maid inherited the house after the couple's death and after her the house was bought by a priest family.

The house is full of very nice details. From the little niches on both sides of the entrance, to the kakelugnar (a tiled stove). What strucked us mostly was that the floors are original in most of the house and look very different from our pine tree floor, which is the "under floor"!
On each threshold there were some metal bars with decorations. When looking at our threshold I can see that there are some "holes" and I wonder if such metal bars (I suppose to protect the wood to get consumed) were there as well.
The owners have decorated the house with very beautiful wallpaper and site-built bookshelves that melt in between the original windows. Between the inner and the outer window, considering the season, they had put some material that would prevent drafts. That is a smart way to have a better indoor climate! It is not necessary to change such windows into modern ones!
The presence of a little steep stair nearby the kitchen made us also realize that there must have been one like that in our kitchen too, to reach the maid's room, which was probably the room that today will be Oscar's. I had wondered many times about the pipes rests we found in that room and it is clear that the bathroom we have newly renovated didn't exist from the start.
Their kitchen has been renovated with a checkboard floor and a new furniture in old style. It looked definitely more practical than ours and despite the years (about 10) in a much better state!
They also renovated the maid's room, changing the planning of it, to a bathroom with the laundry facilities. It is a pity since the "maid stairs" now are the only way to the attic (and this is possibly an obstacle to use the attic as additional room) but on the other hand, the bathroom is comfortable and one doesn't have to go down to the basement to wash clothes.
Very nice also the new banister on the balcony: as it is possible to see in the picture above, before it didn't exist, but the new one looks like it has always been there.
Also Villa Hemmet has a veranda, quite similar to ours in style. The difference though is the access: there are additional windows between the adjecent room and the veranda. So, I went and looked at the drawings of Villa Bellevue from 1953 and saw that between our veranda and the "fireplace room" there was a door. And I think I know where the rests of some part of that construction are: in our attic, hopefully!
We also visited the basement and noticed that one didn't have to be a dwarf to go around there, differently from ours! This gives me hope that it will be possible to fix the basement so that one can walk there without too many problems.

The room that was absolutely breathtaking though was the dining room. Original wallpaper is still there from 1915 and looked very close to something that is called gyllenläder (Cuir de Cordoue/cordovan). On one side of the room, there is also a table with benches around three sides of it. Textile work typical from Skåne is decorating the wall just behind the sits. The whole room is a masterpiece!

I couldn't stop to stare at details like the doors handles (although I think some have been changed during the years - there was some clear funkis one!), or even the radiators (and the fact that the thermostat looked very old) and by being there, I got so many ideas and dreams on how villa Bellevue looked like and could still do!