Museum

Saltarvet

Website: www.saltarvet.se

Seagulls gossip about proximity and distance like winged lords and ladies who, when suddenly given the ability to soar high in the Bohuslän light, gleefully share their secrets above ground. They giggle and laugh in correspondence with the contemporary crowds of people who momentarily pause on the nearest veranda. Wherever you are here, it’s the light that triumphs over matter freely and effortlessly flowing in and out of renovated wooden villas and more dreamy boathouses.

I wonder, if a storm were to come, wouldn’t the perpetually nearby water, in a sweeping wave, transform Fiskebäckskil into a sleek submarine on a hunt in an seemingly endless ocean of light?

But everything remains still, for that is how it’s meant to be. Guests, dressed in white, on business trips or vacations, seamlessly blend into the similarly white or subtly colored wooden houses inland. Peace reigns here. Even though this place capriciously pushes its winding street fragments here and there, more often than allowing the streets to lead in a clear direction, it shuffles wandering strangers onto private property and into dead ends.

The dwellings are tightly gathered, as if they belong to a flock of the Snickarglädje species. The once-innocent woman, Göa, sentenced to death as a witch, surely roams here day and night. Like one of several revenants from the past, she changes her location in such worldly matters as day and cardinal direction. This confusion in which to wander slows down both the pace of walking and thinking. Perhaps it’s all a well-thought-out social game, invented long ago by someone tired of ordinary croquet. To wander in the charming beauty is the only possible activity in this place. Only those determined enough to unwaveringly stick to the captain’s path can make progress—straight and sharp like a crow’s edge, the street leads down to Lyckans Slip and a cemetery resting neatly groomed and still. Beneath the well-combed gravel, the deceased lie in their finest “going out” clothes with clasped hands. Perhaps one of them hides a gleaming herring in the dark curve of their hands—a silvery memory of a time when fish swarmed uninterrupted.

In pale blue-gray, solidly built like a ship and finely tuned like a floor clock from a Shaker home, Saltarvet lies a bit further away. Surrounded by the flowers it has taken its name from, on a meadow without conspiring clusters of houses, the art hall stands—a vessel half in dream on the border between land and water. Here, the ground seems to be teasing in its early spring brown attire. An outstretched coat, a damp shadow? Perhaps it serves as a bridge, perhaps not. When Saltarvet unfolds in a pale red, a place is marked for those who long for concentrated light, piercing welding sparks, and unfinished tales.

In the entrance of the art hall stands a small sales booth reminiscent of a hull long lost at sea and now about to split. The sides slide apart, drifting away.

The hub of the building is a large room with an accommodating opening in the ceiling, which both takes in and gives off the changing light of the seasons. In the hall, a permanent art exhibition has now landed.

Everything is waiting, for that is how it’s meant to be. Even peace must take a break.

TEXT: EVA RUNEFELT

Havets Hus (House of the Sea)

The sea and its marine life inspire admiration and wonder in many people. Some animals have beautiful colors, others change their gender, and some have teeth in their stomachs. At Havets Hus, you’ll find over 100 fascinating species, from spotted dogfish to a dead man’s hand —all native to or visiting the waters of the West Coast. The aquarium offers many exciting experiences. The journey begins at the beach area and continues through various marine environments, all the way down to the deep seabeds. You can touch sea stars and hermit crabs in touch tanks, playfully learn at Havets Hus beach school, get inspired by a guided tour, watch divers feed the animals, and participate in various themed days. The range of activities varies throughout the year.

Havets Hus houses a total of 40 aquariums. From the largest, a tunnel aquarium containing 140,000 liters of saltwater, to the smallest ones holding 70 liters. In the tunnel aquarium, you can walk through, surrounded by water, among spiny dogfish, cod, conger eels, and more.

You can sit in the theater in front of the cylindrical tank and be captivated by the marine life displayed through the large acrylic glass window. The theater becomes a cinema several times a day when short marine biology films are screened.