The history of Kinna Sanden - from then to now

Kinna Sanden dates back to the 16th century, when it was a salvation farm owned by the famous noble family of Brahe. The farm was donated in the 17th century to Count Fredrik Stenbock, who was born at Torpa Stenhus. In 1695 the farm was assigned to the cavalry after the reduction of Charles XI, which meant that the nobility's holdings were reduced and the army was strengthened. Kinna Sanden was later owned by Captain Jon Björnberg during the 18th century before the farm eventually passed into private ownership.

The publisher's farm Kinna Sanden, a manor house in its present form, was built in 1840 by Sven Andersson. In 1860, he reportedly also had the smaller house called Lilla Sanden built, which is today located at Strömskolan, and in 1895 the so-called New Villa was built next to the "old" main building Sanden. Nya Villan was a grand house that burned down in an arson attack in 1973. Of the old buildings on the farm, only the main building, Kinna Sanden, remains today, the current Kinna Bed & Breakfast AB.

With Sven Andersson, Sanden's, and also Kinna's, heyday begins. Sweden's publishing business reaches a magnificent scale. Sven Andersson was by far the largest publisher in the years 1840-1860 and had up to 2,000 weavers associated with his business. One of Sven's daughters, Carolina, married Claes Håkansson in 1872 and moved into Lilla Sanden, then part of the Kinna Sanden manor house. In 1873, Claes Håkansson and Carolina started the community's first industrial company, AB Claes Håkansson, later Kinnasand Mechanical Weaving Mill.

After the death of his father-in-law, the couple moved into the manor house Stora Sanden and sold Lilla Sanden in 1888 (Interesting curiosity, to one of Håkansson's clerks, Ludvig Svensson, who also became a publisher and founder of the now world-wide company Ludvig Svensson AB). In time, one of Svensson's other daughters, Albertina, husband Edvard Engdahl's descendants came to own the farm and run the nearby factory that today lives next door to the McDonald's hamburger chain.

Kinnasand came to belong to the exclusive group of classic Swedish textile companies. Kinnasand became known throughout the world for its high quality design, one of its most famous collaborations being with the artist and designer Ulrika Hydman.

Times for the textile industry deteriorated and in 1987 Kinnasand was sold to Prolarator and Stikkan Anderson. Known as the music maker who achieved great success with the music group Abba and Ted Gärdestad.

Today, the Kinnasand brand is still alive, but the weaving and curtain production, which was no longer profitable, has been closed down. However, the wallpaper production is still alive and Kinnalin Wallpaper and Logistics was established as a pure wallpaper manufacturer and today supplies linen wallpaper under the name Novalin.

What is a publisher's farm?

The houses built for publishers in Mark are typical of the area. They were built for wealthy gentlemen who were successful and lived prosperously from their publishing business. This meant that they bought cotton and yarn, which they then commissioned to weavers around the village. They worked and wove in their homes and then delivered beautiful fabrics to the publisher who sold the fabric on. A publisher could keep hundreds of weavers to a few thousand, resulting in large fortunes.

The publisher's farm, a house of impressive size similar to manor houses, differed from other buildings in Mark as the landscape often consisted of wooded areas. Manor houses had never been seen before in the settlement and the publisher's farm thus showed high status and prosperity. Characteristic features of a publisher's manor were usually white wood panelling, detailed windows and ornate door frames. Often placed high and free.

Today we can enjoy the beautiful farms, many of which have been preserved. They are a characteristic feature of Mark and are almost like a white pearl of farms, winding along the road between Kinna and Fritsla.