Judarskogen nature reserve in Bromma - nature in the city centre

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Judarskogen Nature Reserve in Bromma is located within the city limits of Stockholm. It is fascinating that you can find such beautiful and wild nature in our capital city! In the Judarskogen Nature Reserve, you'll find a fairy-tale forest with winding paths around Lake Judarn, as well as Åkeshof Castle.

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Judarskogens nature reserve in Bromma

Judarskogen Nature Reserve is one of the most central nature reserves in Stockholm, but still offers wild and beautiful nature around a beautiful lake. In the neighbourhood there are also another nature reserve, Kyrksjölöten nature reserve, which we will write about another day.

We visited the Judarskogen nature reserve by bike, but it is also easy to get here by car or metro. Judarskogen is located in Bromma, about 20 minutes by metro from T-centralen.

Åkeshof Castle

One of the entrances to the Judarskogen nature reserve is via Åkeshof Castle (which can also be called Åkeshovs gård or Åkeshovs slott), and this is also where you come if you take the metro to Åkeshov metro station.

The estate dates back to the 15th century and the castle was built by Baron Åke Axelsson Natt och Dag around 1650. The castle was later owned by the Stenbock family and was rebuilt in the 18th century by Chancellor of Justice Gabriel Stierncrona.

During the 19th century, the castle was bought by the firm Olsson & Rosenlund, and the castle gradually fell into disrepair. During the 20th century, the building served as a hospital (Margaretahemmet), an asylum for the insane, a home for Baltic refugees, a temporary school and a pastoral expedition. Today, Åkeshof Castle is run as a conference hotel.

Walking or cycling in the Judas Forest Nature Reserve?

We went to the Judarskogen nature reserve with our electric bikes. You can't always cycle in nature reserves so we were prepared to leave the bikes at the entrance, but it's also a bit impractical to do so as we don't want to leave the theft-prone (and heavy!) batteries.

We saw several signs with cycle paths and therefore chose to take our bikes into the nature reserve. The rules of the reserve state that you are not allowed to use motorised vehicles, so we assume that you have to cycle "mechanically". You also have to follow the signs about where you can and cannot cycle, but that is sometimes easier said than done.

We followed a sign into the forest with clear instructions for cycling and assumed that we would follow a reasonably comfortable cycle path. Instead, it was an exciting "forest cycling" (!) in hilly terrain. It was a fun adventure, but we are in retrospect not completely sure if we ended up on a path for bikes... Our tip is to check the signs carefully!

Salamanders and frogs

There are plenty of wetlands around Lake Judarn and all kinds of amphibians thrive here. In fact, Stockholm's all amphibians are represented here.

For example, there are both great and lesser crested newts here. The great crested newt is a particularly valuable species for the nature reserve and is the reason why the area is protected as a Natura 2000 site. We looked down into the water for a long time, and eventually we actually spotted some filurs down there!

Jewish forest

The forest around the lake is hilly and magical like a fairytale forest, with mosses, swamps and thick roots. We heard birds everywhere and apparently there are also several special plants here, such as the protected orchid knotweed.

There are plenty of information signs in the forest and some of them deal with how the landscape has changed in the wake of the ice age. For example, you can read about the De Geer moraine, the elongated ridges created by the melting of the ice.

Cycling here was a bit of a challenge, especially with Peter's wide tricycle. We can say that the bikes have had an adventure!

Lake Judar

We end with a picture of Lake Judar, which is located in the middle of the Judarskogen nature reserve and has a depth of 3.6 metres. You can fish here if you have a fishing licence. Or you can have a picnic with great views.

We can say that the Judarskogen nature reserve is a really nice nature area close to the city. Have you been here? Do you have any other tips for nature reserves close to the city?

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