About us
Since 2009, Gestgifveriet has been run by the Norwegian Fyrvik family, who welcome all guests with great warmth and personal service.
Feel free to ask the family about the centuries-old history of Gestgifveriet and why it creaks in the house, even though no one is visible…
350 years of history
Tanums Gestgifveri is probably Sweden’s oldest guest poison factory in continuous service. What is certain is that it is our country’s largest inn – it has been in continuous operation since its foundation in 1663. It was then that Björn i Hee received permission to build what is still Tanum’s Gestgfiveri today on the highest point in the village, next to the road to Strömstad. The structure was declared a cultural monument in 1983.
In the past, there were only two ways to move around on land: on foot or on horseback. There were no places to eat or sleep. A traveler usually had to beg for nightly lodging, generally at a farmer’s house, or at worst sleep outdoors. Fancier people stayed with the priests.
In 1615, all shire chiefs were ordered to provide inns along all highways at 1 1/2 mile intervals that would provide horses, food, drink and hay. At that time, the innkeeper had laws and rules to follow, including one floor for the nobility, one for other honest people and one for commoners.
Tanums Gestgifveri’s rules for rooms and dining rooms in 1665
- See that the knife, fork and spoon do not have the slightest residue of food from previous meals on themWhen the napkin is prepared, it should be clean.
- Do not cut the bread slices thicker than 1/4 inch
- Do not offer travellers rancid butter or bad eggs
- Remove all cigar butts from the flower pots
- Chairs, tables, and beds should have many legs so that they do not need to be supported by the walls
- Keep the rooms warm when cold weather occurs, even if there are no travelers in them at the moment
Tanums Gestgifveri price list 1782
Historic landscape
The area around Tanum’s Gestgifveri is a historical treasure, including Tanum’s World Heritage Site, one of only 14 in Sweden. In the immediate area you will find 3,500-year-old petroglyphs, burial grounds with Iron Age monuments, a Bronze Age village, a petroglyph museum, churches from the 12th century, a courthouse, a parish storehouse, fishing villages, nature reserves, and much more.
Vitlycke Museum
People travel from all over the world to Vitlycke Museum to admire hundreds of rock carvings that have been carved during the Bronze Age, a period stretching from 1700 to 500 BC. There is also a large museum and a Bronze Age village with activities for the whole family.
Bronze Age farm
At Vitlycke Museum’s Bronze Age farm, there are reconstructions of two longhouses from the Early and Late Bronze Age. There is also a workshop where, during the summer season, crafts such as plant dyeing and bronze casting. Sheep roam freely around the houses and behind the farm is the pig pen. In summer, activities such as “Archaeology School”, archery and craft demonstrations take place here.
Greby burial ground
Greby burial ground with its 200 graves and about 40 gravestones, or so-called menhirs, dates from the Iron Age, about 400-500 AD. During an investigation of eleven graves in 1873 by Oscar Montelius, clay pots with burnt bones and belongings such as comb fragments, sashes and beads were found. Some of the findings suggest that the site had links to Norway, England and Germany. According to local legend, those buried are Scottish warriors.
Hornbore courthouse
As early as 1137, “Hornborgsund” is mentioned in Haraldsönsernas saga. Hornbore tingsplats is located where it was when the area was known as Ranrike. A Viking market and a theater play are held here every year.
