Allemansrätt

• Category: mentality, traditions, words
• Tags: nature, wildlife

Allemansrätten, The Right of Public Access, is a unique and quite unusual right that everyone in Sweden, resident or tourist, can enjoy. It provides the possibility for everyone to enjoy and explore the Swedish nature freely. It allows you to visit somebody else’s land, to take a bath in or travel by boat on somebody else’s waters, and to pick wild flowers, mushrooms or berries.

If you are to enjoy this freedom it is your personal responsibility to know what you can do and what is prohibited.

You have the right:
• to take a walk, a bicycle ride, go horse riding, or to go skiing on all land not cultivated, and on such land that can not be damaged by your visit, this provided You do not cause any damage to crops, forest plantations and fences.
However, You are not entitled to cross or stay on a private plot without permission. The plot, which is not always hedged or fenced in, is the area closest to a dwelling house.
• to take a walk, a bicycle, go horse riding, or to go skiing on private roads. Motor vehicles may be used if the owner has not forbidden such traffic.
• to pick wild flowers (excluding those protected by law), berries, mushrooms, fallen cones, acorns and beechnuts on land that is not a building site, a garden or a plantation, to bathe or go by boat on most natural watercourses.
• to take water from lakes and springs.
• to put up a tent, or park your caravan, or trailer, for twenty-four hours. For a longer stay You have to have the permission of the owner.
• You may make a fire, as long as You do not cause any damage, however there are restrictions during periods of drought when there is immediate liability for a forest fire. You may use fallen branches and or twigs as fire wood. Never light a fire on bare rocks as they will crack and split, resulting in ugly irreparable scars.
• to bring Your dog and let it loose as long as You have full control. Restrictions are listed in local statutes and regulations.
You are prohibited:
• to cause damage to, and/or pollute the land.
• to ride on a motor vehicle on private property, so that damage may be caused, or on a private road, when the owner has forbidden such a state. Restricted areas are also gardens, cultivated sites, or, constructions made by the owner.
• to breach branches and twigs, to take the birch, bark, leaves, bass, acorns, nuts or resin from growing trees and bushes.
• to pick wild flowers protected by law.
• to park a caravan or trailer in such a place where the land could be damaged.
• to make fire so that the environment could be damaged or endangered.
• to let dogs run freely on private hunting-grounds.