Konstverk Astrad & Götrad

Götrad erected this monument in memory of Astrad, his father, the most distinguished of the kinsmen and freeholders who once lived in Finnveden.” That’s the inscription on the Replösa Stone, a thousand-year-old runestone located just outside Ljungby. We don’t know much more about Astrad and Götrad, but this brief text forms the basis for one of the larger artworks in central Ljungby.

The artist John Lundqvist was commissioned by Ljungby municipality to depict the inscription on the Replösa Stone, and in 1952, the Astrad and Götrad Cultivator Monument was completed. The style is national romantic, portraying a father and son gazing out over the promised land.

Originally, the statue stood in the inner part of the square. Shortly after its placement, Ljungby center was devastated by a fire. The statue was stored in a warehouse for a long time and was eventually relocated to its current position at Stora Torget (the Great Square) in Ljungby.