Norrviken´s Gardens

Rudolf Abelin created Norrviken when interest in gardens in Western Europe was at its height. Inspiration was sought, as it still is, in history. No one person did this with greater consistency or ambition than Abelin.

Between the slopes of the Halland ridge and the expanse of water that is Kattegatt, he created gardens to portray the different eras of gardening history: Renaissance, Baroque, Japanese and oriental landscaping, the romantic English style etc.

Each style was personally interpreted and carefully adapted to the location. Interplay with the countryside was the focus of Albin’s landscaping. The foundations of Norrviken were laid in 1906, and it became one of the country’s most magnificent gardens of that period, now of significant historical interest.

Trimmed symmetry in harmony with the countryside

Rudolf Abelin’s work as a whole, and Norrviken in particular, is a treasure - trove for us now. As one of the country’s leading gardening figures, Abelin accomplished much within the gardening sphere, but Norrviken is his most prominent work.

Influenced by Italien Baroque, which he claimed was his prime model, he placed the formal parts of the garden on the plateau, and those that were inspired by the countryside on the slopes of the Halland ridge. The garden’s clear, simple lines with their views and mirror ponds, frame the vista of the hills in the distance, and the topiaries are an arresting contrast to the more unchecked vegetation.