Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Sweden Finspång NO Site of Doverstorp Refugee Camp
AO Edited

Site of Doverstorp Refugee Camp

A few crumbling buildings and the occasional pipe sticking out of the ground are all that remains of the largest refugee camp in Sweden during World War II.

Finspång NO, Sweden

Added By
Henrik Johansson
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Doverstorp Refugee Camp   hrnick / Atlas Obscura User
Doverstorp Refugee Camp   hrnick / Atlas Obscura User
Doverstorp Refugee Camp   hrnick / Atlas Obscura User
Doverstorp Refugee Camp   hrnick / Atlas Obscura User
Doverstorp Refugee Camp   hrnick / Atlas Obscura User
Original Two-Horse Stable, maintained   Roger R / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

This quiet forest was once the home of thousands of refugees at the time of the Second World War. Originally it was intended as a shelter for inhabitants of the nearby city of Norrköping but grew into a temporary refugee camp the size of a small city. But just a few years later it would be gone, almost without a trace.

The Doverstorp camp was placed outside of the city of Norrköping because its harbor increased the risk of the city being bombed, potentially dragging Sweden into the war. Sweden, which remained officially neutral throughout the war, managed to stay out of the fighting. So instead of serving as an evacuation site, Doverstorp was used for refugees. The first wave of refugees was made up of Estonian Swedes fleeing from the Red Army’s advance in the Baltic States.

Later on, as the so-called “white buses” began to arrive from Europe with people who had been held in concentration camps and ghettos, the population shifted. By the end of 1945, Polish women formed the majority of the population at Doverstorp. Many were emaciated and ill after experiencing the horrors of life in Nazi concentration camps. Sadly, the freed prisoners found themselves behind barbed wire fences in Doverstorp, which had been turned into a quarantine camp to prevent any further spread of disease. Emergency hospitals were set up in Norrköping to manage the treatment of tuberculosis, typhoid, and other health issues.

After the war, most people who stayed in Doverstorp returned to their homelands but some, especially among the Polish women, decided to settle in the nearby town of Finspång.

The camp was dismantled starting in 1946. Very few traces are left of what once was Sweden's largest refugee camp. Over 8,000 people once lived here, but only a few foundations, water faucets, and shelters remain today to remind us of history.

Related Tags

Refugees World War Ii Forests

Know Before You Go

Doverstorp Refugee Camp can be found outside of Finspång in Sweden. The easiest way to get there is by car.

Community Contributors

Added By

hrnick

Edited By

Roger R

  • Roger R

Published

June 30, 2020

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://travelblogeurope.com/8000-escaped-second-world-war-ended-small-swedish-village/
  • http://k-arv.se/posts/492
Site of Doverstorp Refugee Camp
6 Mo Sundshagen
Finspång NO, 612 93
Sweden
58.642161, 15.855761
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Cirkulation II

Linköping, Sweden

miles away

The First Pirate Bay Server

Linköping, Sweden

miles away

'The Swedish Melancholy'

Linköping, Sweden

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Sweden

Sweden

Europe

Places 381
Stories 42

Nearby Places

Cirkulation II

Linköping, Sweden

miles away

The First Pirate Bay Server

Linköping, Sweden

miles away

'The Swedish Melancholy'

Linköping, Sweden

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Sweden

Sweden

Europe

Places 381
Stories 42

Related Places

  • Rotterdam, Netherlands

    Quarantainestation Heijplaat (Heijplaat Quarantine Center)

    A 20th-century naval quarantine center is now a local park.

  • Inside the fortress.

    Tarakaniv, Ukraine

    Fort Tarakanivskyy

    This hidden fortress has been coined the "City of Ghosts."

  • The air raid shelter corridor.

    Mġarr, Malta

    Il-Barri Air Raid Shelter

    Hidden beneath a restaurant, underground tunnels tell the story of Malta’s tragic role in World War II.

  • The museum in 2012.

    Shanghai, China

    Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum

    A wall within the institution displays the names of 13,000 Jews who took refuge in the city during World War II.

  • An overgrown sunken road/green way in Symondsbury, Dorset.

    Dorset, England

    Holloways of Dorset

    These ancient sunken lanes were naturally tunneled into the soft ground by countless footsteps.

  • A Douglas B-23 Dragon Bomber.

    McCall, Idaho

    B-23 'Dragon Bomber' Wreckage

    The secluded site of a 1943 plane crash and amazing rescue is only accessible by hiking through the woods.

  • Path at Camp Coxcomb.

    Chiriaco Summit, California

    Desert Training Center

    Traces of General Patton’s Mojave Desert training camps for the North Africa campaign.

  • Honningsvåg Bamse Statue

    Nordkapp, Norway

    Honningsvåg Bamse Statue

    This beloved wartime mascot has been honored with not just one, but two statues.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.