ABBA’s ‘songwriting cottage’ is up for sale
The summer cottage where Benny and Björn worked on hits such as Fernando and Dancing Queen has been put up for sale.
The cottage has played a rich part in ABBA’s cultural heritage. It has been featured in TV specials, many pictures and even ABBA The Movie.
The fact that it has been so pivotal in the ABBA story is borne out by the inclusion of a faithful recreation of the cottage’s interior in the ABBAWORLD touring exhibition.
The ‘songwriters hut’ belongs to a larger property on the island of Viggsö in Stockholm’s archipelago. It is this property, for sale at SEK 7,000,000 and the property next door that are now for sale.
It is believed that Björn and Lena currently own both properties. Maybe they just didn’t get over there much this Summer?!
Related link
The property is referenced with the number 104 (the house next door is 108) on the Swedish property agency site Hemnet.se
You can see various pictures of ABBA on Viggsö at ABBA Annual’s page dedicated to the island.
Wow ! Now that’s an opportunity for someone, and quite honestly the price is not so incredibly outrageous ! Somthing to think about 🙂
According to an article in a Swedish newspaper. Björn and Lena bought the neighbouring property from Stig Andersson’s son in 1985. You can see both properties in different pictures and videos and of course the final scene in Abba the movie. It is indeed a piece of music history which is now being sold!
7 million Swedish Krona = £638 242.77
This is bad news surely , would the new owners be under any obligation to keep it the way it is, it could be destroyed.
I see I got the dates wrong about the next door property! The property was renovated and modernized 1985. Björn and Lena bought the property from Stig Andersson´s son in 2005 and they intended to have it so they could go there with their family when they grew older. So why are they selling?
The property with the songwriting cottage was built in 1969 and according to Björn he and Agnetha bought it in 1971. Comparing the photos on the website with old Abba documentaries also this propert has been renovated and modernized.
The Swedish Government should buy it and have it as a Tourism Museum. They would soon recoup their outlay.
Maybe Sweden should make it a historical site and preserve it for its history?
It should be considered a piece of Swedish cultural history.
As the ABBA museum is heading for Stockholm, why use a mock up when they have the real thing?
How much for just the cottage? 😉
I agree. I think they should preserve it, give guided tours, and charge a little extra to actually go in the cottage. Of course I don’t know how many tourists you could squeeze in there. But, it’s definitely part of Sweden’s and ABBA’s history and should be preserved. Let’s have ABBA fans from all over pitch in and buy it. 🙂
Sweden’s government guaranteed large loans to help save Saab (automobile) and pushed for (local) assurances in Volvo’s Geely sale….
But no interest in preserving a smaller but significant relic of another Swedish icon? (I.e., at least the songwriting cottage – and access to it.)
I realize it is private property but cultural objects – even recent ones – are regularly preserved elsewhere.
One wonders if Sweden will ever appreciate successful ABBA and its popular music. Much of the rest of the world clearly does….
Just as some museums around the world have satellite museums elsewhere (like New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has ‘The Cloisters’ up in Northern Manhattan), wouldn’t it be great if Skansen decided to buy this marvelous piece of history as a satellite. Anyone know who to send such hint to? 😉
Certainly, life must go on, and the final buyer will have a nice property to own, but ‘twould be lovely if it was bought to save for the public’s pleasure.
Que Sera, Sera.
Cheers from Oz 🙂
This site should be sold on privately and preserved for posterity. There may be bodies in Sweden involved in such things.
How sad this is being sold off ..thankfully, they recreated it for ABBAWORLD..It was one of my very fav parts of the exhibition..brought a tear to my eye..So the studio’s a gym now and this is going too..ohh for a developer to preserve it for us all to visit..that is my wish!!! ;-))
What are the exact geographical coordinates of the cottage? By Google Earth there is only a viewing possibility from above and I cannot find out which house it can be.
Anyway, have you managed to sell the house, is there a new owner already? I hope they will retain the house as it is because it belongs to cultural heritage of all music-loving people.