A 22,000 square metre new land featuring a turn of the 19th/20th century farm is planned for Astrid Lindgren’s World in 2013. The Swedish park is ploughing (pun intended) SEK 95 million ($14m/€11m) into the Katthult project – its largest ever investment.
The Swedish park is ploughing (pun intended) SEK 95 million ($14m/€11m) into the Katthult project – its largest ever investment.
Guests will be able to stroll under hundred-year-old oaks and see the animals, hayfields, pole fences and stone mounds in a recreation of the Småland countryside. They will also be able to meet the character Emil and his family and sample homely local produce in a new restaurant. Next year will mark 50 years since Astrid Lindgren – the park’s inspiration – wrote his first book about Emil in Lönneberga.
“In our attempts to bring stories to life, it feels important to be able to show a farm and the Småland farmers’ countryside, the way it looked in Emil’s day and when Astrid Lindgren grew up,” says the park’s managing director Mikael Ahlerup. “It feels important, not least today, when many children grow up in a town environment and may not go to the country very often.”
