Solgaardsparken in Stroeby Egede

Solgårdsparken and its surroundings with beach and meadows invite you to a wide range of activities. You can go for a walk, walk the dog, take the kids to the playground, hunt for Pokemons, fish, enjoy the flora and fauna, go on a picnic, sleep in a shelter or jump into the blue water from the beach. Welcome!

Solgårdsparken´s colorful history

Try to imagine it is 1911. You are walking along a small country road in the north of Stevns. You feel the cool breeze from Køge bay and see the beautiful Tryggevælde Å. Scattered across the meadows are small, unsightly homesteads, but also a beach hotel with cheerful bathers from Køge and Copenhagen. Two minutes later, you are standing in front of a magnificent, chalk-white beach road villa, Solgården. Music and laughter can be heard from the open windows. On the tower terrace, with 4 distinctive eagle sculptures, a couple of gentlemen discuss the world situation and ladies in elegant dresses stroll in the garden.

Since playwright Karen Bramson had Solgården built at the beginning of 1904, there have been many changes in ownership and changes to the house and garden. In 1917, the place became a summer house for shipowner Marius Nielsen´s family. He bought another 20 acres of land from Gjorslev Gods and had a large romantic landscaped garden laid out with avenues, lawns, canals, lakes, temples, sculptures, bridges, gazebos, fountains and a jetty. The Municipality of Copenhagen bought the site in 1946 and turned it into a treatment home for women affected by tuberculosis, convalescent patients and then nervous patients. The large lounge for the tuberculosis patients has been preserved and is now an ideal setting for picnics and events.

In 1985, the Red Cross moved in and converted Solgården into a refugee center.

In 1986 Vallø Municipality bought the site. Solgården was dilapidated and was demolished. The municipality did not maintain the park and it grew wild. In the year 1992, the municipality took the initiative for a care plan, which local citizens wanted to have an influence on, and they set up the Solgårdsparken Support Association. Since then, the municipality and the support association have jointly developed and run Solgårdsparken.

Every Wednesday, a group of volunteers meet and look after Solgårdsparken for the enjoyment of all of us. They remove weeds, they plant, paint, mow, dig and have fun with each other. In 2006, the volunteers created a botanical garden with over 600 different plant species.

There is thus a strong local ownership of the park, which is also shown by the fact that benches are sponsored by local citizens and businesses, trees and stones are set in memory of valued volunteers and where a long-standing chairman of the support association has had the main avenue named after him.

The park is in continuous development. In 2021, Stevns Municipality built three rainwater basins and a large insect hotel. Both measures contribute to more biodiversity and the basins for climate protection.