Framnäs strandpark

A meeting place on the shores of Lake Vänern

Framnäs strandpark is a new part of Lidköping’s promenade along Lake Vänern and an important step for the city to reconnect with the historical connection to the water. The major investment in developing public space, an investment of just over 200 million without financing from commercial building rights, is unique for a medium-sized municipality. The park forms the backbone of the future development of the Framnäs area, which includes, among other things, a large number of new homes and a new public bathhouse. After the opening of the final stage in June 2025, the park has become very popular, both among Lidköping residents and long-distance visitors. It is proof that with a strong long-term vision and a clear focus on quality, landscape architecture can be used as a powerful accelerator for community development and to strengthen a city’s attractiveness.

Room for many functions

The project activates a previously unused part of the city and provides the city with a new type of public space that complements the traditional fine parks. With a contemporary and nature-inspired design as a frame, the project provides space for a number of different functions with the experience of the water and the view towards the horizon as the central theme. The raised, walled promenade forms an effective arch over the former lake bay, the inner part of which has been transformed into a water park with trellises and seating areas embedded in the reeds and the undulating shoreline. With recreated beach meadows, open sandbars and areas protected from visitors, the project has strengthened the area’s biodiversity. The water park also provides the opportunity for local delay of stormwater for surrounding future construction. A weather shelter with a reed roof – a technique with a long tradition in the landscapes around the great lakes – secretly nestles in the reeds and functions both as a barbecue area and as an outdoor classroom for the nearby Vänern Museum.

On the lakeside, a new, artificial sandy beach has been created, which together with a large, accessible wooden deck and a new long pier provides many different types of bathing opportunities. The long pier houses changing cabins and wind shelters and has been inspired in its shape by lighthouses and seamarks around Lake Vänern. The marina’s piers have been rebuilt to improve the port functions, and at the tip of the outermost pier, the artwork “Hold” by Eva Hild has been placed to serve as a landmark from both the land and sea sides. Along the promenade out to the work, there are, among other things, seating and barbecue areas with views over Lake Vänern and an outdoor gym.

The project’s central square, Kinneviksplatsen, is an area designed to be used for various events and functions in the best evening sun position. It houses a very popular pop-up restaurant with food and drinks from local producers while waiting for a permanent restaurant building.