October 31, 2010: Just before Bjärsjölagård castle, when you come from the village Bjärsjölagård, is a sign "Beritzholm" pointing north onto a gravel road. Turn in, set the car in front of the limekilns Adam and Eva. In the past there was a quarry nearby. The ovens are still there, but the building is gone. There is a narrow dirt road to the north.

I walk the dirt road past a cattle barn, the cattle guard on the road, which is muddy after rain. It is about a kilometer walk on the dirt road up to the oak grove with the remains of Beritzholm. The area is fenced, a stile leads in. The castle is first mentioned in 1363, and was the seat of often unpopular bailiffs. The castle was stormed by the rebellious peasants, and the castle was demolished in due course. In the 16th century it was used as a quarry to the construction of the Svaneholm castle. The castle was on an islet in a now-drained lake. The islet was divided by a moat in two hills. Throughout runs a moat. In a few places are stones, perhaps the remains of the walls. On the hills are a few depressions. Eat my own picnic sitting on a rock, thinking about how life could have been here. So different from our present. On one side is a forest, with a stile into it. Between the forest and the moat is a kind of plateau. A quiet and somewhat remote spot. I do not think many people find their way here.

Go back and drive home. Stop at Sjögården coffee house at the northern part of the lake Vombsjön. Inside is a birthday celebration. I sit down in a corner with coffee and a pastry Margaret. Drive home as dusk falls, it is the standard time again and then early sunset.

Map