In the late 18th century, the lord of the castle at Hovdala Slott, Michael Ehrenborg, dreamt of a new library to house his many book in a natural setting. He found what he considered the perfect place in the woods high above the castle.
fairytale forest1
His architect designed an octagonal building with very tall windows, looking out onto the park and its woods. Alas, the project was stopped when Ehrenborg died suddenly in 1795. Today, the beautiful stone walls of the ruin in the beech forest have taken on a fairytale air….
Mystical library 1
Change your position just slightly, and it becomes a little clearer:
Mystical library2
Now we’ve moved to the back of the ruin, looking through one of the windows:
Mystical library3
Moving around a little more, this is my favourite view, nature has really taken over here, the sunlight is creating a dance of shadows, and I can hear the little folk whispering amidst the ferns….
Mystical library4
Thank you, Ann Christine, for introducing me to this magical, atmospheric place!
WordsVisual 
A woodland library. How divine!
Best wishes, Pete.
The idea was lovely, this ruin most atmospheric!
Mystical library indeed, Sue. Lovely shots.
Thank you, Tish..I was luck to see it on a sunny day, the light filtering through the trees!
Interesting post, and great photos!
Thanks, Marco!
Makes me a bit sad that it was abandoned. What a glorious setting for reading.
Wouldn’t it have been a great reading experience!
Magical, indeed.
It really was, Sally!
Stunning!
Thank you, Fraggle! Glad you like it! A truly magical, atmospheric place….
Ah, the little folk will be right at home here, Sue 🙂 🙂
Won’t they just!
Lovely take on this, Sue!
Thank you, A C…and I’ve created one of my longest posts – Meg should be very happy when she sees it!
I am sure she will!
I am. In your case, quantity is always quality as well. After admiring the photos and the concept, I began to wonder whether windows or bookshelves would’ve won the battle for wall space!
A fair point! But I imagine in the two hundred and some years of ruination, more of the stonework has been lost, so we don’t altogether know how much room there would have been for books!
Beautiful 🙂
Thank you!
Ruins that actually look like ruins are one of my favourite things and discovering them in the middle of a forest, without a thousand other people around is pure magic!
Totally agree! It’s surprising to have no one around at a place worth visiting!