Awards:
In 2019 the Arvika town park was awarded "Park of the Year" in the national Elmia Park Inspira.
In 2015 it was appointed to "Tourist Attraction of the Year", in the category Parks & Gardens by the travel site turistmal.se.
The town park lies like a green oasis in the heart of Arvika and invites to strolls and different activities, in summer as well as wintertime. The area holds a large play ground, outdoor gym, a stage and a bird pond where ducks are fed in winter.
The park is dominated by a large number of trees - more than 70 different species. Several of them were planted when the park was created after the Arvika exhibition of 1911. The garden design was laid out by Carl Henrik Granqvist. (A more detailed story behind the park is presented at arvika.se, although in Swedish.) Its final shape was established in 1913. The park is known for its unique pergola, the artwork and not least for the abundance of flowers in summer.
The unique pergola is divided in two segments, covered by wild grapevine and 82 metres long, making it is the longest one in northern Europe. It represents a gardening ideal originating in the Italian renaissance gardens of the 17th century, which was popular by the former centennial with winding park alleys and trees of exotic shapes and colours, like the weeping ash, purple birch, and columnar Norway maple. Thanks to the protected location by Lake Glafsfjorden here are also other exotic species like common buckthorn, butternut, and the Himalayan birches, especially striking in winter with their chalk-white trunks. For the parks' centennial a saucer magnolia was planted. If you wish to see find the locations of the trees, feel free to download this map (names in Swedish and Latin).
At the heart of the park, Christian Eriksson´s sculpture "Sommardopp" is taking a bath. More sculptures are to be found, among them “Hind with fawn” by Arvid Knöppel. There´s also a fun playground for the kids at the eastern end of the park.
The flower selection of the park is new each year, often in connection to different themes. Every fall thousands of bulbs are planted and together with pansies and the spring-flowering trees like magnolia, cherries and purple-leaved crabapples the park is painted in bright colours to the joy of locals and visitors. In June the the spring display is followed by a profusion of summer flowers that are cultivated in the municipality greenhouses. The park also has other pergolas and perennial planting beds of different characters.
All year round.
