Response to interpellation 2023/24:740 on the future of the cultural heritage Sätra Brunn
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
M emphasizes that cultural environments are an invaluable resource for knowledge and education 1 2 and that the government has strengthened cultural heritage conservation with 30 million kronor per year 1 2 3. M argues that the authorities have a mandate to protect national interests 3 and expresses confidence that ownership authorities can make necessary prioritizations 4. M questions whether additional state funds are a long-term solution 5. S argues that the government lacks a plan to preserve unique cultural environments 6 7. S advocates for a new management model for Sätra Brunn with a focus on preserving living cultural environments 7.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Mr. Speaker! Åsa Eriksson has asked me what initiatives I intend to take to ensure the preservation of the unique cultural heritage of Sätra Brunn.
I would like to start by thanking Åsa Eriksson for the opportunity to speak about Sweden's valuable cultural environments. The shared cultural heritage and the shared cultural environments are an invaluable resource for knowledge and education. It is of great importance for people's ability to understand historical development and actually also, by that, themselves.
For me as Minister for Culture, it is important that there are conditions in place to be able to preserve, use and develop a diversity of cultural environments. The granting of subsidies within the area is a part of this. In order to strengthen the work on cultural environments, it was decided, in accordance with the proposals in the budget bill for 2024, on a reinforcement of 30 million kronor per year for subsidies for cultural environment conservation during 2024-2026.
There is also legislation that, among other things, aims to preserve cultural environments. One such example is Chapter 3 of the Environmental Code, which enables the designation of national interests. Sätra Brunn has, due to its many cultural-historical values, been designated as a national interest for cultural environment conservation. This means that the resort environment has a special protection.
Furthermore, there is other protection in the legislation that the state can decide on, for example, a declaration as a historic building according to the Cultural Environment Act (1988:450) or a declaration as a cultural reserve according to the Environmental Code. But such matters are handled by the county administrative boards.
I have full confidence in the authorities' work within the cultural heritage area.
Åsa Eriksson (S)
Mr. Speaker! The Minister for Culture highlights in his answer how important cultural-historical environments are, that they are part of our common cultural heritage and "an invaluable resource for knowledge and education." That is good. I agree with the Minister on that point. I would like to take this opportunity to tell a little about just this unique living cultural heritage.
Mr. Speaker! Sätra Brunn is a spa in Sala in Västmanland with a 300-year history. Initially, people came there to drink from the well, which was trendy in the 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s. The medical science at that time assumed that one became ill if the four bodily fluids fell out of balance, and one way to bring the fluids into balance was to drink water – large amounts of water and preferably mineral-rich water.
Västmanland's current provincial physician came to the spring at Sätra in the year 1700 and found there that the water was of such good quality that he decided to establish a health spring there.
Mr. Speaker! He also purchased the land around the spring. He established well houses, a bathhouse, a church, a hospital, lodgings, and so on. The reputation of Sätra Brunn and the water's healing properties spread rapidly. To ensure they truly got a place at Sätra Brunn, many high-ranking persons also had a summer house built in connection with the spring. That is why there are today approximately 80 buildings in this area, many named by those who have erected them.
But it was not only the society that came to Sätra Brunn. The rules were such: Early in the morning, the spring was open for the poorest. A little later came the common people, and at six o'clock in the morning, it was time for the society to visit the spring. The guests were ordered to drink several liters of water a day. Between the glasses, one would stroll around in the park during light conversation. It sounds quite pleasant.
Mr. Speaker! This is, of course, a description of a bygone time, but it is also part of our common cultural heritage. It says a great deal about our shared history.
Today, the estate consists, as mentioned, of about eighty buildings. The core activity in the living operation is conferences and spa stays but also weddings and other festivities, which makes Sätra Brunn a highly living cultural heritage.
Mr. Speaker! As everyone understands, the 80 buildings must constantly be maintained and renovated so that they do not fall into decay. The operations with the spa and parties are self-sustaining. But the building maintenance is not. It only costs money. It is managed largely by the volunteer owners in the economic association, and they have struggled for a long time to keep the well together. They do not want it to be partitioned and sold off; instead, they want the cultural heritage to be preserved. Sätra Brunn is out for sale, and has been for a long time, because the owners today are very elderly. They simply do not have the strength to maintain the buildings any longer.
There are stakeholders, but they are not interested in buying the whole. They are interested in buying subdivided parts.
For me, this feels like an important cultural-historical environment to preserve both for Västmanland and for the country Sweden. There are surely many more environments around Sweden that have similar challenges.
I want to ask the Minister for Culture how she intends for Sätra Brunn and other unique cultural environments to be able to survive into the future.
Eleonore Lundkvist (M)
Mr. Speaker! It is wonderful to have the opportunity to say a few words about the Västmanland cultural heritage in the Swedish Parliament. Thank you, Member of Parliament Eriksson, for highlighting this fantastic facility, Sätra Brunn. It feels extra pertinent to talk about water balance on a day like this.
We Moderates had the honor of welcoming the Minister for Culture's cabinet colleague, EU Minister Jessika Roswall, to one of our meetings at Sätra Brunn just a couple of weeks ago.
Sätra Brunn is located in the historic Sala municipality and dates back to the 1700s, as we heard. The operations were bequeathed during the 1700s to Uppsala Academy, but in 1998 it was declared bankrupt by Uppsala University. Three years later, the same thing happened with the new owner, Stiftelsen Sätra Brunn. This is, therefore, far from the first time that Sätra Brunn has faced economic troubles.
The current owner has carried out a number of renovations, hosted popular summer pubs, Midsummer celebrations and so on, which have been incredibly appreciated and created great added value for both residents in the surrounding areas and residents in the entire county.
One can read that there have been plans for various business activities, to build villas on parts of the forest properties and so on. Preserving the cultural heritage environment under commercial forms has been somewhat of a mantra.
But of course it is tough, and it is for many similar facilities both in Västmanland and in all of Sweden. It is a problem that maintenance of old buildings is expensive, difficult and quite bureaucratic. On top of that, we have the pandemic and all its effects, which have caused many similar facilities to have had and still have very tough years.
Our common tax resources are unfortunately not infinite, and priorities need to be made. We need to facilitate for the tourism industry so that more facilities can stand on their own. The question is whether additional state funds are a long-term solution.
If one is to be convinced, one must also ask the question: If the Social Democrats consider this to be a priority – what have the Social Democrats actually done for Sätra Brunn nationally during their many years in government? I ask this given that Sätra Brunn's economic problems have actually existed for several decades.
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Mr. Speaker! I would like to take the opportunity to thank Member Eriksson for the fine historical tour and the story about Sätra Brunn that we received from the rostrum a short while ago.
Our country's valuable cultural environments are precisely this. They are a source of knowledge, of education, and of experiences. By caring for, preserving, and developing the cultural environment, we also create a bridge and a continuity between what has been, what is, and what is to come in the future. I believe that is something which in turn contributes to increasing people's understanding of the historical development that has occurred in a local community but also seen in a larger perspective.
An important part of the work is, of course, the grant allocation that the Swedish National Heritage Board and the county administrative boards are responsible for. The cultural heritage conservation grant contributes to efforts to preserve a diversity of cultural environments for the future and for future generations. The grant allocation also contributes to efforts so that cultural environments can be made accessible in different ways, for example by increasing access for people with disabilities.
To create better conditions both for care and for the development of cultural environments, it was decided, in accordance with the proposals in the budget bill for 2024, on a reinforcement of 30 million kronor per year for grants specifically for cultural environment care during the period 2024-2026. With this reinforcement of the appropriation, the conditions to be able to care for and preserve a diversity of cultural environments for the future are also increased.
Åsa Eriksson (S)
Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Minister for Culture, for the answer! But honestly, I do not think that anyone who owns a cultural heritage became particularly much wiser regarding what the government intends to do.
We are painfully aware that money is not an infinite resource, as Member Lundkvist pointed out. I am also well aware that politics is about prioritizing the allocation of resources. But isn't it strange that a right-conservative government, which should well have the preservation of our common history and its cultural environments quite high on the agenda, does not seem to have any plan for how Sätra Brunn and other important cultural-historical environments should be preserved?
Mr. Speaker! If the current owner of the well would only think about the money, they could subdivide the property into several parts and sell them. It is no problem; as mentioned, there are interested parties ready to buy parts. The well itself could be sold to some company that makes carbonated drinks. They could auction off the historic buildings to Stockholmers in search of summer cottages. The old church in the middle of the area could perhaps become a lovely yoga studio, for example. A number of old so-called bathhouses from previous centuries could probably be rented out per day to wealthy Chinese, and the old Societetshuset could perhaps become a school for some venture capitalist who sees an opportunity to make a fortune. But is that what the government wants to happen with our cultural heritage?
Mr. Speaker! When it is profit that rules, that which we call Sweden disappears. To preserve this unique cultural heritage and others, which the Minister in his first speech said is "an invaluable resource for knowledge and education," a strategy is required. That requires initiative and resources from the state. As far as I know, the government means that it still rules the country, even though we have seen that it has obvious problems ruling the largest party of the government base, Sverigedemokraterna.
Does the government have any plan for the preservation of our cultural heritage? Can the owners of Sätra Brunn hope for any initiative from the government? Or shall we all watch while this and other unique environments are transformed into summer cottage areas in large numbers?
Eleonore Lundkvist (M)
Mr. Speaker! Member Eriksson came closer to the truth than she perhaps was aware of, as the S-led government in Sala municipality has announced that there are plans to merge the schools in Kila and Hedden and place a new school in just Sätra Brunn. School plans in Sätra Brunn are therefore obviously already on the Social Democrats' radar.
We could also as recently as last week read in the local newspaper Sala Allehanda that Sätra Brunn had applied to the municipality for funds. One then had to note with great disappointment that the S-led government had only granted a tenth of the municipal funds they had requested and that it would now result in a major financial blow for Sätra Brunn.
Mr. Speaker! We need once again to ask ourselves: If the S-led Sala municipality does not consider financial support to Sätra Brunn to be a priority issue - how can one then convince anyone that this should be a financial priority for the entire Swedish people?
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Mr. Speaker! The responsibility for valuable cultural environments is undeniably a collective commitment. The preamble of the Cultural Environment Act states that it is a national concern to protect and care for the cultural environment. The responsibility is shared by everyone, which means that both individuals and authorities must show consideration for and care for the cultural environment.
The Swedish National Heritage Board and the county administrative boards have a special responsibility. The state authorities perform important work, including proposing and deciding on the protection of cultural environments, carrying out supervision, and distributing grants. In that case, Mr. Speaker, it matters which government is in power. This government has decided on an increase in the grant for the maintenance of cultural environments. It matters.
The authorities also have the mandate to decide on legal protection for cultural environments that they consider to be particularly valuable. They can designate national interests according to the Environmental Code and also propose decisions on new state-designated heritage buildings.
When it comes to Sätra Brunn, it has a special, unique cultural environment due to its many cultural-historical values. It is precisely for that reason that the National Heritage Board has designated Sätra Brunn as a national interest for cultural heritage management.
The area is, due to its special conditions, a national interest and can be designated as a national interest by responsible authorities. The municipalities shall, in their comprehensive plans, describe how they intend to accommodate the national interests after dialogue with the County Administrative Board.
It is really about all parties having to decide how to work together to take care of our common heritage and our common cultural environment. But it is not my role as Minister for Culture to decide the support for individual cultural environments, and I believe we are all glad about that. Therefore, I shall say again that I have full confidence in the authorities within the cultural environment area that handle precisely these issues and, not least, the granting of grants regarding cultural environment conservation.
Åsa Eriksson (S)
Mr. Speaker! Neither flowery words nor a modest increase in the state grant will save Sätra Brunn or any other unique cultural environment. There are solutions, but then the government needs to show initiative and produce a plan.
The current owners of Sätra Brunn see great opportunities for an economically sustainable operation while the environment is preserved and kept together. They propose a combination of community ownership and private entrepreneurs who understand how to preserve and develop the site. Just as Member Lundkvist pointed out, there is already a preschool on the site. It works very well. Sala municipality plans to build a new school, and it will work very well if it is done with respect for the unique environment.
Mr. Speaker! The Minister receives from the owners of Sätra Brunn the proposal to create a new management model. It would be a management model where the preservation of living cultural environments is in focus and where the mix is public, entrepreneurial, and private ownership. Just as the Minister himself said, all forces need to come together and work towards a common goal. That is exactly what needs to be done. There is potential in the model for a community-owned site where different activities can cooperate and be operated in different regimes, a combination of state operation, private, and association operation.
Mr. Speaker! Is the Minister interested in taking such an initiative of community ownership with several different forms of operation carrying out the activities to preserve the cultural heritage Sätra Brunn and other unique environments in Sweden?
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Mr. Speaker! I thank Åsa Eriksson for the opportunity to speak about our country's valuable cultural environments and the important work being carried out within the framework of voluntary forces and authorities.
The cultural environment is a significant carrier of historical traces and of the many stories contained within the framework of our cultural heritage and our cultural environments. Local, regional, national and global stories can increase our understanding of the past and broaden the picture of what it is to be human today.
The important cultural heritage work carried out by the Swedish National Heritage Board, the county administrative boards, local and regional museums, voluntary forces, municipalities, regions and many others gives us the opportunity to share the stories of today, tomorrow and hopefully for a long time to come.
I have full confidence that the authorities within the cultural heritage area that have ownership over the issues can also make the necessary prioritizations that the work requires.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.