A Medieval-Style Swedish Town Built in the 1990s

Walking the cobblestone streets of the medieval-looking town of Jakriborg, you can almost hear the clopping of horse hoofs, the creaking of carriages, and the sounds from blacksmiths working. Only—the entire town was built in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Jakriborg was founded by two brothers, Jan and Krister Berggren, and got its name from a combination of the first letters in their names. The houses are built in Hanseatic style resembling medieval towns in Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands, rather than Scandinavia. The colors, the steep roofs, and the winding streets are all characteristic of the era, but have also been critizised by architects for being a pastiche of a medieval town.