Granna and Visingso

The Small Wooden Lakeside Town Famous For Polkagris Peppermint Rock And For Andree'S Balloon Expedition, With The Ferry To Visingso, The Island Of Medieval Kings And Horse Drawn Carriages · Granna, Jonkoping County

Granna is a small town of wooden houses on the steep east shore of Lake Vattern, founded in 1652 by Count Per Brahe the Younger, whose family also held the island of Visingso just offshore. It is known across Sweden for two things. One is polkagris, the red and white peppermint rock said to have been first made here in 1859 by Amalia Eriksson, which you can still watch being boiled, pulled and twisted by hand in shops along the main street. The other is Salomon August Andree, the Granna-born engineer who set off for the North Pole by balloon in 1897 and never came back, whose story is told at the Grenna Museum. From the harbour a ferry crosses in about 25 minutes to Visingso, a flat, green island of castle ruins, medieval churches, an oak forest planted for the navy and horse-drawn carriage tours. The E4 runs just above town, which makes Granna a classic stop between Stockholm and the south. The honest caveat: in July it is crowded, the candy street feels touristy, and much of Visingso closes outside summer.

Granna on the east shore of Lake Vattern, beside the E4, with the ferry to Visingso island leaving from the harbour, Granna, Jonkoping County, Sweden

Granna itself is always open. Polkagris shops and cafes open daily in summer, roughly late June to mid-August, and keep shorter hours, often weekends only for some, in winter. The Grenna Museum is usually open daily in summer and on fewer days in winter - check the current schedule. The ferry to Visingso runs all year and takes about 25 minutes; departures are said to be frequent in summer, often every 30-60 minutes, and much sparser in winter - confirm the timetable. Carriage tours and bike hire on Visingso are mainly summer-only. Brahehus is an open ruin, free at all hours. Getting there: Granna has no railway station. Regional buses run from Jonkoping in about 40-60 minutes, and some long-distance coaches along the E4 stop above town - confirm. By car it is about 35-40 minutes north of Jonkoping, roughly 3 hours from Stockholm and 2-2.5 hours from Goteborg. Book summer carriage tours and car space on the ferry ahead where possible.

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