Art and gastronomy in Borgvik

Just outside Grums you will find the small community of Borgvik, which has one of Värmland's best-preserved mill environments. The mill has long since closed and today Borgvik can instead boast top-class food and art. The area even has two restaurants, Kungskvarnen, which also has a small hotel, and Sliperiet with gastronomy and an art centre.

Art centres Slipery was started in 2010 by Oscar Magnusson, son of musician Sven-Erik Magnusson, and is open during the summer months. Since its inception, a number of recognised artists and photographers such as fashion photographer Rodney Smith and nature photographer Tim Flach have had exhibitions here. The gallery has a slight preponderance of photographers, which suits me fine as I appreciate photography more than other art. However, most of the visual arts and also other art are represented. The exhibitions vary from year to year so there is always something new to experience.

This year's exhibition is Faketruth created by British photographer Alison Jackson. The exhibition consists of photos of famous people's doppelgangers in odd situations. It's all pretty accurate though, and you almost wonder if it could be real. Could it be, for example, that Princess Diana once felt a strong urge to give a photographer the middle finger? And how does Donald Trump get his yellowish skin colour? Some of the photos were what you might call rather colourful, but it was undeniably an interesting and sometimes humorous exhibition, well worth seeing.

Sliperiet Gastronomi has been recognised in the "Good Class" category of the White Guide for several years now and the food is of a very high standard. The environment is exciting in the rustic wooden slipery with an open kitchen and a view of the art gallery. The portions are generous, so no one risks leaving the table hungry. After a three-course dinner where a fantastic crème brûlée was the crowning glory, it felt quite nice to shake off the food with a walk around Borgvik.

On Grums municipality's website they write that Borgvik is the cradle of Värmland. The first Värmlanders settled by the Borgvik River, which was then called Värma. The settlers were then consequently called "värmar" which has come to be today's Värmlanders and Värmland is thus the land of Värmar. Exciting! The large ironworks was active for about 300 years from the early 1600s until its closure in 1924 and, among other things, some iron was delivered to Paris for the great construction of the Eiffel Tower. The area is incredibly scenic by the water and the old buildings are surrounded by lush greenery. In addition to the restaurants and art centre, there are small shops selling antiques, flea markets, crafts and interior design. For those who quickly tire of just strolling around, you can also rent kayaks, go water skiing, hiking or why not take a dramatised tour of Borgvik. So there is plenty to see and do here. Here there are additional tips for those who want to read more.

We had a lovely afternoon in Borgvik with nice experiences of all kinds. We took the car here but you can also take a boat bus from Karlstad, which can be cosy on a beautiful summer day. Borgvik is a given excursion destination for us every year. Glad you hung out with Kartmans and thanks for the nice photos Gunnar!