Stiftelsen Övralids guided tour of Nobel laureate Verner von Heidenstam's last home

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Verner von Heidenstam was born on 6 July 1859 on the Olshammar farm in Närke by Lake Vättern. His parents were Magda and Nils-Gustav von Heidenstam. His father constructed lighthouses, several of which still exist along the Swedish coast, including the Swedish Highlands in the Stockholm archipelago and Pater Noster off Marstrand. Verner von Heidenstam spent summers at his grandparents' Olshammar and winters in Stockholm, where the family lived. 

After finishing school, Heidenstam travelled around the Middle East where he decided to study as an artist. He attended art school in both Rome and Paris. At the same time, he began to write, and eventually writing took over and in 1888 he published his debut book Vallfart och vandringsår. 

Heidenstam's best-known works are the historical novels Karolinerna, Folkungaträdet and Heliga Birgittas pilgrimsfärd. In the early 20th century, Heidenstam's historical novels made him a national treasure. In 1912 he was elected to the Swedish Academy and in 1916 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature with the motivation "in recognition of his importance as the architect of a new stage in our literary history."

In 1923 he buys the Övralid farm and designs the house himself. He wants the house to be a mixture of a Swedish Carolinian farm, a Swedish bishop's castle and an Italian villa. In September 1925, he moves into Övralid. 

Verner von Heidenstam died on 20 May 1940 and is buried at his Övralid. The house was to be the last home of the national poet and Nobel Prize winner Verner von Heidenstam.