Discover Håltebyn
A handful of homes, a web of gravel roads and a great deal of forest. Håltebyn is small — and that is exactly what makes it special.
The village
A Village at the Edge of the Forest
Håltebyn lies in the north of Årjäng Municipality in western Värmland, close to the Norwegian border. A gravel road leads through the village and on into the forest towards Lake Rinnen, and on the high ground just west of the village lies Håltebyns brandfält, a nature reserve created after a forest fire in 1994.
The full story of how Håltebyn came to be is still being gathered from the people who know it best. If you have old photographs, family stories or memories of the village, we would love to hear from you.
The community
An International Micro-Community
Swedish, Norwegian, German and English are all spoken on the gravel roads of Håltebyn. Families from four countries live here side by side, sharing tools, harvests, advice and, of course, fika.
It is a community that knows what it means to arrive somewhere new — and that makes it easy for visitors to feel welcome from the very first day.
Countryside architecture
Red Walls, White Corners
The red wooden house with white corners and window frames is the classic image of the Swedish countryside, and Håltebyn is full of it. The deep red colour, falu rödfärg, has been used on Swedish farmhouses for centuries and gives the village its warm glow against the dark green of the forest.
Rural living
Traditions That Follow the Seasons
Life in the countryside is shaped by the year: berry buckets in late summer, firewood stacked before the frost, sheaves of grain hung out for the birds at Christmas and candles in every window through the dark months.
Craft and creativity
Faces in the Forest
Walk the forest around Håltebyn and you may find yourself being watched — by a bearded face carved into a pine trunk, a wooden eagle on a stump or mossy stone heads among the blueberry bushes. Creativity is part of village life here, from woodcarving and baking to small businesses built by hand.
Editorial feature
People of Håltebyn
A village is its people. In this series we meet the residents, craftspeople and small businesses that give Håltebyn its heart — always in their own words, and only with their permission. The first portraits are being prepared.
