Photographer: Ateljé Clas

Skräckle Park
Vänersborg

Beautiful park on the shore of Lake Vänern

Skräckleparken or Skräckle Park is located in the northern part of Vänersborg city center where the city meets the vast Lake Vänern, the biggest lake in Sweden and third largest lake in Europe. Here you can take a leisurely stroll and look out over Lake Vänern, eat a shrimp sandwich at Skräcklestugan cafe, let the children play in the playground or take a dip in Lake Vänern from one of the several bathing spots.

In the beginning of Vänersborg's history, the Skräckle Park was a wilderness, but in the early 1900s, a walking path was laid out and flowers were planted. Today, the park consists of 54 000 m2 of cut lawn and has over a thousand trees. Here are plantings of rhododendron, summer flowers, perennials and a water lily pond with fountain. In the park there are also several bathing areas, boat ramps, playgrounds and a cafe open during the summer months.

The park and bathing areas is handicapped accessible and there are accessible toilets available.

Frida statue
On the northernmost tip of Skräckle Park is the famous statue Frida, the girl mentioned by Birger Sjöberg. Birger Sjöberg is a famous local poet, composer and author that sings about the girl Frida, that represents Karin Lustine, Birger Sjöberg's first love.

Here Frida looks out over Lake Vänern towards Dalbobergen (The Dalbo Mountains), where Birger Sjöberg and his friends often went to enjoy themselves. On the front of the statue there is a portrait relief of Birger Sjöberg. It has become a custom that passersby put a flower in Frida's right hand.

Skräcklestugan
Stay in the Skräckle Park for a cup of coffee with a lake view. Here is a summer-open café called Skräcklestugan that offers waffles, prawn sandwiches, home cooked food and homemade bread. Inside the cottage there is room for about 60 guests and with beautiful weather, about a hundred guests can sit outside with a beautiful view of Lake Vänern. Read more about Skräcklestugan here.

The playground
The Skräckle Park playground is the most popular in Vänersborg and offers many fun activities, a boat and a group swing with fall-protection mat, which even disabled children can use. The playground is close by Skräcklestugan café.

Bathing sites
On Skräckle Park there are several bathing sites, for example Barnbadet (swimming area for children) is close to Fisketorget square and is a small beach where children can walk in the water. It is not very shallow but the bottom is soft.

Otherwise, you can go to Jacob's cape or Jacob's Island. On Jacob's cape there is a ladder and the water is quite shallow close to the shore. On Jacob's Island the is both ladders and a diving board, here the water is deep on all sides.