Helliden Slott

Sweden, Sweden

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Helliden Slott, located in Tidaholm Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden, began as a manor house built in 1858 by Baron Hans Henrik von Essen on the western slope of Hellidsberget, offering panoramic views and tied to Tidaholm's industrial growth through his ironworks and match factory developments.

His son Alfred von Essen expanded it into a full castle around the 1890s with architect Helgo Zettervall, but financial ruin from the Kreuger crash led to Alfred's death and the property's decline under his widow Ella Dickson von Essen until her passing in 1950.

Purchased in 1951 by the Blåbandsrörelsen temperance movement for 80,000 kr to establish a folk high school, the renovated 19th-century structure now serves as student housing, offices, a restaurant, conference venue, and hostel with preserved historic features amid 80 hectares of grounds.