Visit us

The Bergman Center is closed during the winter season. If you want to make group reservations of our tours please contact Monica Kahlström, phone +46 498 22 68 68 or e-mail info@bergmancenter.se.

Read more about our tours!

For our far-away guests, we have put together a guide on how to get from the mainland to Gotland and Fårö, and how best to get around on the islands. If you travel from abroad, you’ll first have to make your way to Stockholm. From there, we can guide you to the Bergman Center.

How to get to Gotland from the mainland

You can get to Gotland either by air or sea. Flights and ferries both arrive in Visby. Stockholm offers the most departures.

By Air

Gotlandsflyg and SAS (from most parts of Sweden)
Skyways, Norwegian, Nextjet (from Stockholm)
Wideroe (from Oslo)

By Ferry

The Gotland ferry to Visby departs from Nynäshamn and Oskarshamn. If you plan to depart from Nynäshamn without a car, you can either take the commuter train from Stockholm or a bus from the central station. You can bring your car or bike along on the ferry. More information is available on Destination Gotland’s web site, www.destinationgotland.se, where you can also book your ticket.

How to get from Visby to Fårö

Bus 20 goes between the bus terminal in Visby and Fårösund where the Fårö-ferry departs. In the summertime, some buses continue to Fårö, going all the way to Skär on the northern part of the island. A timetable is available at www.gotlandskommun.se (in Swedish).

A car ferry departs from Fårösund to Broa on Fårö every half hour. For departures later than 10 PM, you need to make a reservation in advance by calling +46 8 544 41 572.

Rental cars

A wide selection of car rental agencies are available in Visby, both at the airport and the harbour.

Useful links

For further information about travel and activities on Gotland, please visit these sites:

Gotland.net has lots of information about Gotland and Fårö.
Destinationgotland.se where you can, among many other things, book your ferry tickets.
Gotland.info is Gotland’s official tourist information site.

Fårö Info Center

The info center is strategically located – in the middle of the island, right next to the church and close to the Bergman Center. Here you can get help with almost anything relating to Fårö. At the info center you’ll find a shop, tourist information, a copier, a fax machine, help with printouts and internet access.

Fårö Info Center is open:

May 1 – Midsummer’s Eve (Fri–Sun) 10 AM – 5 PM
Midsummer’s Day – August 31 (daily) 10 AM – 5 PM
September 1 – 16 (Fri–Sun) 10 AM – 5 PM

Phone: +46 498-22 40 22
Fax: +46 498-22 40 12
E-mail: info@faroframtid.com

Landscape and climate

Water, salt as well as sweet, is an omnipresent feature of Fårö. The coastline constantly shifts between jutting headlands, deep bays and softly bulging layers of fine-grained sand or beautifully barren shingle beaches. In certain places, the limestone bedrock is visible, formed into strangely shaped ‘rauks’. Further inland on Fårö, the many marshes (lakes) are a prominent feature of the environment.

Here’s how Bergman described his annual arrival on Fårö

“In mid May we move to Fårö. There, the long struggle between winter and spring has just begun. On some days: bright sunlight, shimmering mirrors of water and newborn lambs skipping around on the recently thawed ground. On other days: storms from the tundras, horisontally falling snow, raging seas, windows and doors get jammed and the electricity goes. Wood fires, portable stoves and battery-powered radios.” (from Laterna Magica, 1987)

Conservation

An area with Fårö’s unique character has be protected through different means, in order for it to be preserved as well as possible for generations to come. The entire islands has been classified by the Swedish parliament, The Swedish National Heritage Board and the Swedish EPA as being of national interest , with certain areas deemed especially valuable, in terms of nature as well as culture. The island boasts a total of eleven nature reserves or protected areas. The ‘freedom to roam’ clause (‘allemansrätten’) applies here, but with important restrictions. The Fårö Framtid Society provides continual updates on what rules to follow, and also monitor the reserves through their supervisors.

Architecture

From the late 18th century on, practically all buildings on Fårö have been built from stone. The big farmhouses are usually two-storeyed with tile roofs,  whereas the smaller farms (known as ‘ställen’ in the local vernacular)  are simpler constructions. Many crofter’s holdings (known as ‘torp’), simple one-room cabins, have been preserved and now serve as summer houses. A characteristic feature is the annexes with their ag-covered roofs. Ag is a sedge often found in Gotland’s bogs and marshes but uncommon in other parts of Sweden. Today, special regulations for construction on the island are in place, regarding for example new summer houses.

Population and occupation

Today Fårö has 546 permanent residents. During the brief summer season, the population is many times that. From time out of mind, Fårö residents have based their livelihood on small scale production and multiple occupations. Nature leaves room for nothing else. Hunting, fishing and livestock keeping. The portion of land fit for farming is insignificant and thus the cultural landscape mostly consists of pasturage. Many Fårö residents have employment on Gotland alongside their own farms or businesses. Today, tourism is by far the biggest source of income. Some forty companies, many of them only active during the summer months, provide services for visitors and residents.