WELCOME

Experience Hilma's Alaska

How to travel to Alaska

Hilmas Alaska is located on the Swedish west coast in the northern archipelago of the small town Strömstad. You can visit her life's work by passenger ferry, rent a boat or come here by your your own boat. The garden is in full bloom during the summer, but also has its charm with nature's spring feelings and autumn's colorful splendor. The story of Hilma and her buildings is just as fascinating all year round.

Food and drinks

Hilma was not only good at gold prospecting, rowing and building her own paradise. She was also good at baking.

Kiosk

In summer, the kiosk staff bakes and prepares pastries according to Hilma's recipe. Freshly baked waffles, prawn sandwiches, ice cream, coffee and other snacks are served for you.

The kiosk's opening hours follow the passenger boats first arrival and last departure from Alaska. You can find the departure times here

Barbecue area

There is a prepared grill for those who want to cook on their own. Bring your own charcoal or buy from the kiosk when it is open.

Catering

The tenants that charges Hilmas Alaska will be happy to help group bookings to arrange food and drinks. They have full rights for closed societies.

Outdoor life in a nature reserve

Alaska is located in the nature reserve Nord Långö and is a perfect starting point for nature and outdoor life. On the island you find hiking trails, swimming areas, viewpoints, barbecue area and an interesting flora.

A nature reserve means that special regulations apply. You are welcome to visit the nature reserve Nord Långö, but keep in mind that it is not allowed to:

• bring an unleash dog

• make fire.

• tenting or camping

• use radios, loudspeakers, musical instruments or the like in a disruptive manner.

Read more about the nature reserve, the regulations and download the hiking map here (in Swedish).

Right of public access

In Sweden, everyone is allowed to be in nature, even in areas that someone else owns. It is called common law. Thanks to the right of public access, you can move almost everywhere in nature, as long as you do not disturb or destroy. Read more about it here.

Alaska 2.0 Alaska 2.0 – An EU-financed project to develop Hilma’s Alaska

Alaska 2.0 is an EU-funded project whose aim is to secure Alaska's unique natural, cultural and especially women's historical qualities and to elevate it as a prominent visitor destination for Strömstad and the Västra Götaland region.

The initiator of the project is the association Trädgårdsresan, which visited the site with the aim of recruiting the destination as a member garden to its association. The chairman, Agneta Olsson, saw the potential in this place and contacted the Vuxenskolan Väst Study Association to get a project application.

This website is a result of the activities that have been carried out in the project. Likewise the barbecue area and handrails that are now available at Hilmas Alaska. In addition to these efforts, investigations have been carried out and reports produced for further development of the cultural site.

The project is financed by EU funds from Leader Bohuskust and the border region and the Swedish Agency for Agriculture. Strömstad Municipality, Bohuslän Museum and Västra Götaland County Administrative Board are co-financiers in the project. The association Trädgårdresan is the initiator and the project owner is Studieförbundet Vuksenskolan väst. The association Friends of Alaska (Alaskas vänner) in the spirit of Hilma Svedal sprung from this project.

The association Friends of Alaska (Alaskas vänner) in the spirit of Hilma Svedal

On November 28, 2022, the Friends of Alaska was formed in the spirit of Hilma Svedal.

The purpose of the association is to operate for development and conservation of Alaska as well as spread the story of Hilma Svedal's fascinating and adventurous life.

Join Friends of Alaska

Do you want to become a member? Please ontact us at alaskasvanner@gmail.com.

Find us on Facebook

The association sprung from the EU-funded Leader project Alaska 2.0 and supports the projects purpose:

"...to secure Alaska's unique natural and cultural historical and especially women's historical qualities and elevate the island as a prominent visitor destination for Strömstad and the nearby region."

Friends of Alaska will also recruit members and would like to work together with the members and other stakeholders for Alaska's conservation and development.

About Hilma

Hilma Svedal (née Wounsch) was born in Strömstad October 2 in 1870 and is known for being a gold prospector and her life’s work called Alaska. Hilma and her family lived on the island Syd Hällsö next to Nord Långö where you find her own Alaska. She helped her mother with household and her father with fishing and worked as a herring salter.

She grew up in a large family on the island of Syd Hälsö in Strömstad's northern archipelago, the neighboring island of Nord Långö. It was very rare for women to study and take up work. Hilma was an exception. At first she helped with household chores and the family's fishing. Hilma's mother was very good at sewing and embroidery. So was Hilma. After a while, she started working at a herring saltery and later also studied at the folk high school at Blomsholm, which is 6 kilometers from the center of Strömstad.

The family acquired Nord-Långö to be able to use the fishing rights around the island and to have grazing animals on the land. In the place that became Alaska, they planted oats. During her upbringing, Hilma participated in the work both with animal husbandry and out at sea. She learned to row, sail, fish and take care of the cattle. It's a tough upbringing, which should be of great help during the adventures to come. When she was 26, her younger siblings were old enough to take care of themselves and Hilma decided to emigrate to America.

During her time in America, Hilma sent many letters to her loved ones. She cared a lot about them, but there is not much to read about how Hilma herself was as a person. In the letters she sent, she told mostly about what happened, what she did and one or two tips from the great country in the west. Among other things, sister Anna received a letter with a pattern for her wedding dress and Hilma said that it should be in white like they had in America. At that time, wedding dresses were mostly black in Sweden.

That Hilma was creative, adventurous and strong, we can probably all state based on the history that is available to take part of.

Hilma was a healthy woman. She herself says in an interview that she passed 70 years before she met a doctor. She became 94 years old and her life’s philosophy is carved on her gravestone: Don’t worry! The gravestone you find on the cemetry of Skee church.

The garden

During Hilma’s life time the islands on the Swedish west coast lack a lot of vegetation so Hilma’s garden became a unique verdant oasis. She filled her pots with flowers and even planted seeds that she brought from her time in America.

Hilma got the inspiration for the garden, among other things, from Japanese gardens she had visited in San Francisco. She also got many of the ideas out on Nord Långö. She brought exotic seeds home from the US which she planted. There are few lists of which plants these were, but one plant that was certainly in her flower beds and is still there is bramble (Artemisia abrotanum). The ferns (Dryopteris filix-mas) next to the kiosk are also from Hilma's time. The garden was also adorned with cherry trees, cress, wormwood and petunia. The birch alley that runs alongside the open grassy area is planted by Hilma.

Hilma created an irrigation system with pipes underground that went to pots, urns and flower beds. With the self-pressure from the ponds that she built up in the mountains, the flowers and plants got water when they needed.

The system is no longer usable, but the ponds remain and the garden staff still use the rainwater for their plants. Have a look when visiting Hilma’s Alaska and see if you can find any remaining pipes.

Hilma’s buildings

In the garden there are beautiful and odd buildings. In addition to the wall and three terraces, you will find an igloo and a sofa, the Temple of the Winds and beautiful urns and pots - all made of stone and cement.

The Igloo

Hilma and her husband was used to live in tent from their time in Alaska, US. When they came back to Sweden to settle down on Nord Långö in 1925 they lived in a tent here as well. John was longing for more gold prospecting and went back to Alaska but Hilma stayed on her plot. The Igloo was the first creation that Hilma constructed. It was a square stone building of about 10 square meters with a fireplace. She lived in this Igloo for around a year.

Why Hilma named the building ”The Igloo” is unknown, but maybe it was as cold as the ones in the real Alaska? 

The Bungalow

After just over a year in her Igloo, her new home was ready to move into, a bungalow. It was one of the few wooden buildings. She lived there for around 20 years before moving to the mainland. The bungalow was located where the small kiosk is today.

The Golden Inn

In 1934, the Golden Inn was completed. It was a grand building with a dining room facing the sea, a bakery where countless pastries were baked and not least a corner with Hilma's belongings from her time in Alaska and a guest book filled with greetings from visitors. The Golden Inn was one of the main reasons why the garden had ten thousands of visitors every season during the golden era. Hilma among with her staff baked pastries from early morning and waitresses served the guests in the garden and in the Inn.  

Tragically, the inn, which was built of wood, burned down in 1962, probably after the house was electrified.

The inn has never been rebuilt, despite attempts by previous tenants.

Temple of the Winds

The first thing most people see when they arrive or pass by by boat at Hilma's Alaska is the Temple of the Winds. On the top of the small mountain south of the garden is this unique buildnig. It is also one of the most mysterious constructions because no one knows where Hilma might have gotten the inspiration for this hexagonal construction. The pillars are beautifully decorated with seashells, some were replaced with new ones during a restoration of Alaska in 1992-1993.

The pavilion and the fountain

The pavilion is the building with the well-shaped arches, terrace on top with beautiful railings and space for cafe guests.

Between the pavilion and the now terrace deck, where the Inn once stood, Hilma built a fountain. Also the self-pressurized one from her underground stormwater system. The fountain still works today, but is now powered by electricity.

Terraces, walls, seats, urns and flower beds

Hilmas Alaska is built in three terraces with walls, stairs, urns, pots, seats and flower beds in stone. All work is merged with the ancient Portland cement that she bought in town and then rowed back to her Alaska.

“In the winters I made the pots that were put out in the spring. So it was never slow without work either”. - excerpt from a radio interview with Hilma Svedal in 1958.

The sofa just inside the gate to the garden, also built in stone, is said by many visitors to be very comfortable for its material. Come and try it yourself!

The Golden Gate Bridge

From Alaska, a path leads to the western side of Nord Långö with nice swimming spots. A few hundred meters into the path you will find the world's first Golden Gate Bridge. It was completed in 1935, two years before its namesake in California. Opinions about how Hilma got the inspiration for this are scattered. For her construction of the bridge, Hilma was helped by a horse that pulled the large stones there. The horse was one of the few on the island that did not thrive so it swam back to the mainland after only a day or so.

If you cross the bridge to the south, and keep on walking 50 meters you will come to a great viewpoint. There you can keep your eyes on the Koster Islands and marine National Park. Just be careful, you have to walk from rock to rock. 

The beach on the west side

If you continue the path under the Golden Gate, you will come to the heritage castle that belonged to Hilma's sister Anna. There you will find nice swimming opportunities and rocks for sunbathing. Anna built a kiosk and changing room here and the place was filled with bathers. The kiosk and cabins are no longer there, but even here Hilma built in stone. Parts of these can still be seen.

Kiosk and souvenir shop

Between the quay and the imposing stone wall at the entrance to the garden, there were once staff quarters, a kiosk with hand made souvenirs. The kiosk and souvenir shop probably burned down at the same time as the inn.