Abundant nature, well-maintained streets and squares, water canals and waterfalls and locks and bridges, art works in public places, a church of Gothic Revival architecture are some of the attractions of Trollhättan. The town is well-connected by roadways and train and waterways, and it has an air of welcoming nature for visitors.
Trollhättan is a small town of about 60,000 residents. It has been a popular tourist attraction since 19th century especially for Germans and British. In 21st century, the biggest attraction for the town are not only the seasonal tourists but the fee-paying students from Asian countries.
KARL JOHANS TORG:
The dearest spot for the residents of Trollhättan is public square named Karl Johans Torg and its patch of garden (Tårtan plantering). The plants planted in the square has become a tradition to celebrate an anniversary, a jubilee, and an historic occasion of one or the other aspects of the society in Trollhättan and Sweden. The striking thing in the square is a sculpture named Den Heliga Lågan or The Sacred Flame.
THE SACRED FLAME: Den Heliga Lågan
The Sacred Flame is sculpted by Axel Ebbe but the funding for the sculpture came from one Caroline Setterberg. Caroline Setterberg, in 1930 instructed the local government of Trollhättan how the money should be used for an artwork – a natural female image that symbolizes the truth. Caroline’s wish was accomplished by Axel Ebbe the sculptor. Axel Ebbe (1868-1941), born into a family in Hököpinge, but went out of Sweden to master his art (poetry, illustration, sculpture) Germany, Austria, England and France, and also studied painting and sculpting from the accomplished Danes and Norwegians of his times. Apart from Ebbe’s The Sacred Flame in Trollhättan, his sculpture in Malmö – a nude female figure in the King’s Park or Kungsparken, stands to this year in the 21st century. According to a report, he sculpted the nude figures allegedly modelled Birgit Holmquist the grandmother of Uma Thurman.
UNIVERSISTY WEST: HÖGSKOLAN VÄST I TROLLHÄTTAN
In the second decade of 21st century, the biggest attraction for Trollhättan in southwestern Sweden is its university called University West. The university has 26 undergraduate programs and 16 programs at advanced level and 200 courses with a student population of 15,000. Vinod Selpol, a student of post-graduation in Production Engineering said the institutions has high levels of academic standards and focuses on the content of the course that reflects the needs of the industry. He graduated from Acharya Institutes in Bengaluru, India.
In the canals of the town, one can see the boats and yachts in summer coming as far as from France and Germany.
One of the town’s striking architectural marvel is a cylindrical building soaring into the skyline of the town – an apartment!