Ljungsbro, Östergötland – Exploring Sweden

Do you like chocolate? Well, if you do then there are only a few places in Sweden which you need to visit in order to fulfill your needs. If you travel to Ljungsbro you will find one of the most classic factories in Sweden when it comes to producing both chocolate and other sweets. Does that sound interesting?

Ljungsbro is a locality with around 6.600 inhabitants and it is only a 15 minutes drive away from the city of Linköping.

A Short History of Ljungsbro

The town we write about now is small, keep that in mind. It doesn’t seem like it was important before one of Sweden’s largest building projects – Göta Kanal – occurred between the years 1810 and 1832. This canal goes straight through what is present-day Ljungsbro.

Three brothers named Cloëtta from Switzerland established their chocolate manufacturing in Copenhagen in 1862. They expanded in 1873 to Malmö in Sweden. Ljungsbro came into their minds in the late 19th century and they moved their Malmö factory to the area in 1901. This was the starting point for the locality which was built around the new factory.

The town is a typical Swedish town. It might be worth a quick stop if you are in the area. Or if you love chocolate!

Three Things to Do In Ljungsbro

Cloetta Factory

There is one thing that Ljungsbro is famous for and that most Swedes have heard about or even craved for. That one thing is chocolate. Here you will find Cloetta’s chocolate factory and also a small store selling their products. It makes a perfect stop if you have a need to fill up the sweets storage. How about some Plopp, Center, Kexchocklad, Polly or Tupla?

This is the only place in Sweden where we have found Tupla. It is otherwise only sold in Finland, the Baltics and Russia. Tupla is one of the most popular chocolate bars in Finland and it consists of milk chocolate with a nougat-flavored filling, coated with bits of almond. In other words, this is where you will find Susann whenever she gets homesick.

Göta Kanal

The canal going through Sweden also passes through Ljungsbro. It makes a perfect day activity to just walk along the canal and enjoy the atmosphere. How about finding a viaduct at the same time? You might drive under the canal when entering the locality. A fact that you will probably not notice until you walk across the viaduct following the canal.

Berg

The locality of Berg is just a few minutes drive from Ljungsbro. Here you will find both Bergs slussar, the locks connecting Göta Kanal with lake Roxen. Sweden’s first nunnery – Vreta Abbey – is also to be found here. So it is possible to combine the small localities in the area for a day trip.

Going to Ljungsbro?

Do you want to travel to Ljungsbro? Here are a few means of going there:

• Car: Ljungsbro is only a short drive from Linköping. To Linköping, you will find the E4 heading both south and north
• Bus: There are local buses connecting Ljungsbro with localities and cities in the area, for example to Linköping.
• Train: Easiest is to take the train to Linköping and then continue with local buses to your destination.
• Flights: There are a few flights to Linköping. As with trains, the easiest is to continue by bus.

The driving distance to Ljungsbro from 5 major Swedish cities, according to Google Maps:

• Stockholm – 212 kilometers (2 h 1 min)
• Gothenburg – 277 kilometers (2 h 37 min)
• Malmö – 419 kilometers (3 h 48 min)
• Luleå – 1109 kilometers (10 h 45 min)
• Linköping – 17 kilometers (16 min)

Explore More of Östergötland and Sweden