Omgivningarna vid kulturreservatet Smedstorps dubbelgård i Ydre kommun

Smedstorp's double courtyard farm

Östergötlands museum
Our open-air museums
Smedstorp's double courtyard farm

A few hundred years ago, Smedstorp's double courtyard farm was a farm like any other. Today it is a cultural reserve with timbered and unpainted buildings that form an unusual feature in the surrounding landscape. Here you can wander around and view the houses in a unique cultural-historical environment. Check in where it's open. In the summer there is the opportunity to participate in shows and various activities.

How to get here

Drive along road 134 towards Österbymo, follow separate signs to Smedstorps dubbelgård.

Farm and buildings

Smedstorp's double courtyard farm has a double set of almost all buildings because there are two yards on the same farmstead. The enclosed courtyard is divided into a homestead and a barnyard.

In the homestead there are residential buildings and greenhouse sheds. In the barnyard there are stables, lodges and carriage houses. The homestead and the barnyard are kept separated by a slatted fence. The farm's oldest building is a storage shed whose ground floor is dated to 1697.

Introbild till film om Smedstorps dubbelgård

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Byggnader vid kulturreservatet Smedstorps dubbelgård i Ydre kommun

White house shed on poles

At Smedstorp, there are several antiquated buildings of the kind that were common in the 18th century. The post shed from 1741 is a greenhouse shed that stands on posts, this is to keep it dry and airy and so that pests cannot access food and household utensils that were stored in the shed.

Life and movement

Previously, the road went over the barn hill between the houses. Back then, there was a considerable amount of activity here, the cows were going out to pasture and in to be milked. The horse was harnessed to the wagon and the wood was cut and stacked on the barn hill. The harvest was driven into the log houses for storage and the leaf collection would go into the leaf barn.

The croft around the farm

If you follow the dirt road north, you will find the farm Hagalund, which is open to visitors. Two more crofts and a mill used to exist on the farm, but these are gone.

If you follow the dirt road in the other direction, you pass two burial fields and then you also get a view of the beautiful agricultural landscape with tamed trees and grazed pastures.

Interiörer i och vid byggnader vid kulturreservatet Smedstorps dubbelgård

Brothers shared a farm

Twin cottages and double farms have been common in southern Östergötland and in the northern parts of Småland. Most often, it was two brothers who used to own their farm in a so-called mutual inheritance settlement. Sometimes the farm was used by a family.

The farm underwent a legal transition as late as 1942 as one of the last in Östergötland. Smedstorp was owned by a pair of brothers where one brother had to move out and built the whitewashed villa that is located south west of the older buildings.

The farm is still used today

In 1953, Östergötlands museum bought all the ancient buildings and the grounds. In this way, the buildings were saved from being moved or completely falling into disrepair. Descendants of the two brothers still own and use the farmland. Smedstorp is a building monument and cultural reserve.

When you visit the farm, remember to show consideration for those who live there.