Ritamäki, nature reserve in Värmland, Sweden
Ritamäki is a nature reserve near Torsby covering about 15 hectares, featuring a preserved farm with traditional buildings surrounded by open fields and forest. The reserve includes old farmhouses, marked trails, parking areas, and rest spots for visitors to explore the landscape.
The farm operated in traditional ways until 1964, when the last residents moved to a care home in Torsby. The reserve was officially established in 1993 to protect both the natural landscape and the area's farming heritage, and it became part of the European Natura 2000 network.
This farm demonstrates how a traditional Finnish farming family lived and worked on the land for generations. The buildings and fields show daily life and agricultural practices that continued here until the 1960s, making it the last inhabited finngård farm of its kind in Sweden.
The walk from the parking area by Lake Lomsen is about 1.5 kilometers uphill with some steep sections, so sturdy shoes and reasonable fitness help. The site has clear signage, marked trails, a simple toilet, and rest areas where you can sit and enjoy the surroundings.
This is one of Sweden's best preserved finngaard farms and the last of its kind to have been continuously inhabited and farmed in the traditional way. Local volunteers perform annual scythe cutting to maintain wildflowers such as field gentian that depend on this traditional land management.
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