At the heart of the castle park lies Sofieholme – a small island created in the spirit of Romanticism at the end of the 18th century, when Gräfsnäs Castle was surrounded by a flourishing English landscape garden.

The islet is named after the writer Sophie von Knorring, who was born here at Gräfsnäs on September 28, 1797. Her father, Court Marshal Christian Göran Zelow, leased the estate from his brother-in-law, and the family lived at the castle for several years.

As a child, Sophie wandered through the park, listened to old legends, and played in the halls of the castle. The impressions stayed with her – and years later, Gräfsnäs would find its way into her literary world.

In her book Minnen ur mitt lif; En glad dag she describes Sofieholme so vividly that you can almost see the scene unfold:

“A pond and a canal had been dug, a dam constructed,
and a small mill, a sawmill and a nail hammer,
with their little cascades, brought life and motion to the picture…
On the islet, there were spots, paths, and resting places…
and at the far end was the most delightful of all – a small treehouse.
Covered in bark on the outside, from which it got its name: the bark hut.”

The Gräfsnäs of her childhood never left her. Sophie von Knorring would become a pioneer of Swedish literature, known for her realistic novels – but perhaps it all began right here, on a small island in the middle of the park

Photo: Solveig Areschoug Pettersson
Portrait: Sophie von Knorring, drawing by Maria Röhl