Backåkra
Dag Hammarskjöld's farm at Backåkra, close to Ystad in southern Sweden, was bought in 1957 as a summer residence by Hammarskjöld, then Secretary-General of the United Nations (1953-1961). The farm was in decline and its restoration came to last until after Hammarskjölds death in 1961. It is maintained by the Swedish hiking association Svenska Turistföreningen as a museum displaying artifacts of his tenure at the UN. The south wing of the farm is reserved as a summer retreat for the 18 members of the Swedish Academy, of which Hammarskjöld was a member. There is an outdoor meditation site on the property.
Backåkra is the name of the village the farmstead belongs to. Due to a land reform in Scania, decreed in 1803, farms were moved out of the village that now remains chiefly a land register entity. Its local school, the folkskola, is today a summer hostel run by the Swedish Hiking Association. The lands of the village are situated less than a mile from the shores of the Baltic, in the Österlen area of Scania that most of all serves as a district for recreation, tourism and summer cottages.
External links
- Backåkra farmstead tourism information by the City of Ystad
- Backåkra Youth Hostel by the Swedish Hiking Association
Coordinates: 55°23′20″N 14°07′48″E / 55.389°N 14.13°E