Surroundings
It is close to the forest for walks, berry and mushroom gathering.
Nearest neighbours are some farms. At the closest neighbour you will find sheep and hens.
Forestry Motor Roads
Sweden’s forests are vast. If you walk north from Brunkulla, you can walk for a whole day without seeing any other villages. You might see a few cottages by the lakes but no permanent residences. However, you will find a lot of narrow gravel roads. These are forest tracks that were built to meet the needs of a modern and mechanized forestry industry. Often they don’t go anywhere but rather end up in a dead-end. They are used for wood machines and to transport the primary product to the lumber mills, pulp factories and paper mills. It may go years in between the use of these routes. They are excellent for walks, riding and cycling even driving, but do not expect to find them on your GPS.
The other track on your left hand side from Brunkulla (about 150 metres east) is a forest road. If you walk upwards you will pretty soon see that it is splitting into yet another track.
Forest roads are private and the owners may close them to traffic with barriers, walkers are permtted but you are using them at your own risk. Places where two cars can pass each other conveniently have a road sign with a large M.
Pilgrim trail
On July 29 in the year 1030 Olav Haraldsson, previous king of Norway, was killed in action during an attempt to regain his crown. There were miracles at his graveside and he was declared a saint. Soon pilgrims from northern Europe started to seek their way to his grave in Trondheim. A pilgrim road went from Finland and Norrland’s East coast along Indalsälven over the Ragunda and Stugun and further towards the mountain passes at Storlien.
It was a simple trail where you travelled by foot or horse. When Gustav Vasa introduced the reformation in Sweden, he also forbade pilgrimages. But the trail was naturally still used by anybody with an errand to the area. In 1713 between Stadsberget and Sundsjö it was provided with pillars for 10Km, 5Km and 2,5Km, this to minimize discussions about the length of the trail between roadsman and horseman. Just west of the cottage Brännan, there is a large cairn that probably has been groundwork for one of the 10Km pillars. At Stugun’s hembygdsgård stands a copy of a pillar that was retrieved from the trail. In the village folk dialect it is called ”fjärdingskabbe” (fjärding = quarter and kabbe = pillar).
The trail is nowadays marked in many ways, among others thin pillars of European larch, which stand a little away from the trail since during the winter it is used as a snow scooter trail. At sites in connection to a car road the pillars bear the mark of pilgrim road. At the map these locations are marked with a red circle. (Robert Fresk about Att vandra efter Pilgrimsleden, To Wander Along the Pilgrim Trail)
Nowadays walks on pilgrim trails are done for many different reasons. For example when registering as a pilgrim on the way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, one will mark if your reason for pilgrimage is religious, cultural or athletic. Upon arrival you can receive a pilgrim diploma if you have walked, ride 100Km or cycled 200 Km for religious reasons.
Strånäset
One farm in the village is a listed (protected) building.
The farm Strånäset’s buildings are built between the years of 1880-96. The boost of the saw mills at the end of the 19th centruy resulted in increased prosperity for eastern Jämtland. Many of the buildings were built with extravagant and rich wood architecture, that was made possible through new sawing skills. The main building at Strånäset is dominated by a couple of large two and a half storey glass verandahs with a multitude of fret saw decorations. Within the listed area there is also an octagonal henhouse built in "gazebo style". (From the county administrative board, Länsstyrelsen’s website.)
Sometimes during the summer, there is a coffee shop in the main building.
Brunkulla
Brunkulla (Nigritella Nigra) is a rare orchid and the province of Jämtland’s official flower.
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Sheep at nearest neighboring farm
Forestry motor road
Lingonberries and blueberries
Nigritella nigra
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