Dönsby

I opened Dönsby Bed and Breakfast year 2009 after graduating from university, wanting to try something new. The year before I had moved with my husband back to the village where I was born. Our house is next to my grandparent house. It had been empty for two years which I thought was very sad. I decided to rent it from my mother and aunts, and bring some life back into it! As it turned out, running a B&B was really a dream come true for me and now I can’t imagine having any other job! 

History of Dönsby

Karis was mentioned already the year 1326. The beautiful stone church of Saint Catherine, located on the opposite side of the lake Kyrksjön, was built 1470. During the middle ages the area was an important merchandise area and a transport route. The village Dönsby is one of the oldest villages in Karis, mentioned in historical documents already in the year 1347  The nearby lake gave good circumstances for farming and fishing.The river Svartå was a lot broader back then.

The family Lindqvist bought the farm in 1850. Before that Dönsby was a part of the mansion Billnäs property. There is a legend concerning the selling of Dönsby: the young owner of Billnäs mansion was a gambler and spent some time at the Monte Carlo casino in Monaco. One evening his luck ran out with the consequence that he sent a telegram home to Billnäs with the words "Sell Dönsby!" The Lindqvist family, only poor tenant farmers at that time, bought the farm and so became independent.

The farm has stayed with the same family since. The last permanent inhabitants were Hugo and Dagny Lindqvist. The house is now run as B&B by their granddaughter Nora. The farm covers a area of 62 ha, most of it being forest. During the time of Hugo and Dagny the farm had 17 cows, 1 horse and about 100 hens. The most common cereal was wheat. Barley, oat, turnip mustard, potato and sugar beet were also grown. Nowadays the fields are rented out to local farmers. The garden is still full of lovely apple trees and berry bushes.

In 2020 I decided because of safety reasons to skip the Breakfast part of B&B, calling it Villa Dönsby instead. I also studied to be a practical nurse and now I work at the loveliest of kindergardens during low season.