About the listed building Nääs
Just visiting Nääs is a great experience in itself. The castle and buildings are beautifully situated in lush green surroundings by lake Sävelången. Nääs became known around the world at the end of the nineteenth century when an education institution was built to develop a modern, innovative method for teaching practical subjects.
Craft education seminar
The Nääs teaching method was a mix of manual and intellectual work, alternating between lectures, dance, games and crafts in order to stimulate the senses and increase the capacity to learn.
A dozen or so beautiful wooden buildings were built for the school in the period between 1870-1920. The large wooden building that houses Crafts & Building Preservation is called Källnääs. It was originally a gymnastics hall and crafts classroom, and the upper floor had summer accommodation for teachers. The building was designed by Bjerke & Swensson architects and was built between 1914-1917, partly on the foundations of an older building with the same name. Most of the materials from the previous building were used for the new building. Nowadays the gymnastics hall is used as space for building preservation exhibitions and our offices are in the old accommodation rooms. The shop is in the crafts room.
Click here to find more information in English about the history of the craft school.
Listed building
In 1991 the Nääs area and buildings were listed as historic buildings, byggnadsminne in swedish. Most of the original interior fittings remain at Källnääs, such as the ropes and wall bars that can be seen above the screens and shelves in the exhibition hall, which are from the time when it was a gymnastics hall. As the current users of the building, we try to preserve and maintain the building in the same way that we advise our visitors to do with theirs, so that Källnääs and the other buildings at Nääs become part of our building preservation exhibition.
