Discover Öljehult

In Öljehult, natural and cultural heritage take concrete forms: a Natura 2000 site with a water-filled kettle hole, trails through the landscape around Lake Båtasjön, and an octagonal church with a documented construction history. In the wider regional area, the documented crofts of Öljehult parish add another perspective. When planning your trip, you can distinguish the topics in Öljehult—such as the landscape and church architecture—from the documented crofts in the wider regional area of Öljehult parish.

Landscape around Lake Båtasjön

The Öljehult Natura 2000 site covers 8.3 hectares. Fiskekorran, a water-filled kettle hole, lies in its southwestern part. The area figure describes the size of the protected site; Fiskekorran refers to a single landscape feature within it. Those interested in natural landforms can therefore take in both the protected site as a whole and a particular feature within it.

The Båtasjörundan trail runs through the landscape around Lake Båtasjön in Öljehult. Large clearance cairns can be seen along the trail. Information points cover nature, culture and history, giving the route a cultural and historical focus as well as a connection to the landscape. There is also a wind shelter by Lake Båtasjön along the Båtasjörundan. The lake, clearance cairns and information points thus show different aspects of the landscape through which the trail passes.

Other trails and landscape features

The Gummagölsmåla Nature Reserve, in the wider area around Öljehult, lies beside a 40-metre-deep rift valley. The river Bräkneån flows through the valley. The Vildmarksleden hiking trail passes by the nature reserve in the vicinity of Öljehult; Gummagölsmåla is in Öljehult parish. The two trails therefore differ in the landscape features described: the Båtasjörundan focuses on Lake Båtasjön and the traces along the trail, while the Vildmarksleden passes a nearby nature reserve with a valley and river.

Öljehult Church: design and construction history

The present-day octagonal Öljehult Church was completed in December 1840. Its floor plan is octagonal: the sacristy is to the east and the tower to the west. “Octagonal” describes the building’s eight-sided shape; the details about the sacristy and tower also indicate the orientation of these parts. This gives a sense of the architecture through both the exterior form and the arrangement of the building.

A later phase in the building’s history was its restoration in 1883–84. Among other things, Bengt Nordenberg’s altarpiece was added to the church during this work. The completion of the present-day building and the addition of the altarpiece therefore took place at different times: 1840 marks the completion of the church building, while the restoration decades later added part of its furnishings. If you are interested in architecture and art, the floor plan and altarpiece offer two different ways to explore the church.

Crofts in the wider regional area

About 375 crofts have been documented in the villages of Öljehult parish. Each documented croft has its own number and is marked on a local map to help visitors find it. The map shows where each site is located; the numbers help distinguish the entries.

The signs at the documented crofts provide library data on people who lived in Öljehult over a period of about 150 years. The signs thus complement the location information with details about people from the area’s history. The documented crofts and their signs are part of the wider regional area of the villages of Öljehult parish.

Discover more destinations: Balganet.

Go to the main travel overview: Hallabro.