Kerstins Ateljé is run by the multifaceted Kerstin Ljungqvist. Her studio is located in the old church hall at Brunnsparken in Dals Rostock and is an excellent destination just a few minutes away from our bed and breakfast. Brunnsparken is a short walk through the village from Kroppefjäll.
Kerstin spends much of her time drawing botanical illustrations, in both watercolor and oils. She also sells paintings, books, gifts, paints furniture using traditional decorative techniques, works with calligraphy, sewing, cardboard models and makes signs. Her studio is also a boutique filled with products, both her own and other’s. Next door in the former parish office you will find Antikvariat Stockrosen selling fascinating and unusual second hand books on gardening, botany, nature, culture and much more. The store is run by Kerstin and her sister Ingrid.
During the summer months you can purchase plants beside the greenhouse and just up the slope visit the orangery art gallery that is used in winter for housing plants that find the northern climate just a little too northern. Kerstin also leads guided tours, holds courses and lectures and is author of the book “Nyttans Växter” (a reference book with 1350 plants and telling the history of Swedish medicinal botany). On top of this she also runs the herb gardens in Dals Rostock.
Just over 30 years ago, Kerstin built Brunnsparken’s herb gardens together with Kroppefjälls Hembygdsförening. You will find about 250 different plants, all with informative signs about their uses and cultural history. At the herb gardens there is also a pond, stream, traditional beehive and display of Dalslands’s former slate roof industry. And believe it or not, this is just some of what Kerstin keeps herself busy with. We can truly recommend a visit down to Brunnsparken to meet her yourself and see what she is up to this coming season. For more information feel free to ask us at Kroppefjäll B&B or go to www.rostock.se
Meet and join Kerstin Ljungqvist for a guided tour
Kerstin knows nearly all there is to know about the history of the area. She is also an inspiring guide who will happily show you around the wonderful park and tell you all about it. You can hear about the plants in the herb garden and see the old apothecary in the museum. Kerstin also offers guided tours around Kroppefjälls Parken where the Bed and Breakfast is situated and can recount the history of the Sanitorium. Much from the time of the sanatorium can still be seen today, such as ‘Doctor Saedén’s Runda. The Sanitorium’s history is heavily linked to Brunnsparken and the village’s history as a spa resort. For 250 years people came to the village to drink from the well, but also to be cured or revived with a host of different methods. Dals Rostock became one of Sweden’s foremost centers for the farming and harvesting of medicinal plants.
