Gävleborg between wilderness, coast and cultural heritage

Gävleborg offers experiences connected with wilderness, mountains, archipelagos, deep forests and the region’s cultural heritage.

Culture and history

The Swedish Railway Museum in Gävle is Sweden’s national museum of railway history and railway heritage. Its collection includes more than 300 vehicles, more than 25,000 objects and almost 500,000 photographs. It includes Prins August, considered the world’s oldest operational steam locomotive.

The Gävleborg County Museum presents exhibitions about Gästrikland and Hälsingland from prehistoric times to the present day and offers various programmes as well as digital tours.

The Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland World Heritage Site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2012 and is Sweden’s 15th World Heritage Site. Seven Hälsingegårdar were selected as representatives of Hälsingland’s building tradition. These farms are characterised by many well-preserved residential buildings whose rooms are richly decorated with wall paintings and wallpaper. The World Heritage Site includes four visitor centres. Of the seven selected World Heritage farms, all except Fågelsjö gammelgård can be visited to varying extents.

The cultural landscapes along the Gävleborg coast include fishing villages, lighthouses and small chapels. Axmar Bruk was designated a cultural reserve in 2011. Högbo Bruk is a living historic ironworks site with origins in the 1630s; guided tours there convey the history, buildings and events of the ironworks site.

In central Gävle, the Gävle Goat, a Swedish Christmas straw goat standing 13 metres tall and measuring seven metres in length, is displayed from the first Sunday of Advent until after New Year.

Nature and landscape

Hamra National Park preserves untouched forests, wetlands and naturally flowing waterways. Trails lead through primeval forests and marshland. Färnebofjärden National Park is suitable for activities including nature watching, canoeing and recreational fishing. All entrances to the national park have been designed with accessibility in mind; the surfaces in the entrance areas are paved.

Naturum Färnebofjärden in Gysinge offers exhibitions and activities about the nearby natural landscape and national park, as well as maps and hiking tips. Axmar Nature Reserve covers approximately 4,500 hectares and is the largest nature reserve in Gävleborg.

Wij Trädgårdar in Ockelbo is a modern garden park in a forest clearing. The park combines modern garden design with the surrounding forest and agriculturally shaped landscape and offers guided tours.

Transport and regional context

In Gävleborg’s public transport system, the X-trafik app enables journey planning, ticket purchases and real-time bus tracking. On weekdays, X-trafik and SJ offer approximately hourly train services on the Gävle–Ljusdal and Gävle–Sundsvall routes.

Gävleborg’s direct subregions are Ockelbo, Söderhamn, Strömbacka, Bergvik, Los, Åshammar, Hofors and Gävle. The direct regional surroundings also include Hudiksvall, Ovanåker, Sandviken, Ljusdal, Trönödal, Bollnäs, Nordanstig and Furuvik.

Activities

Högbo Bruk has trails and tracks for hiking, paddling, cycling and skiing. Kayaks and SUP boards can be rented at Södra Skeppsbron in Gävle. Kungsberget offers downhill skiing on 25 slopes with 16 lifts.