Toarp became Säteri in 1640 (under the Queen Kristina) and dates back to the 1400s. Here are names like Wrangel, De la Gardie, Stenbock, Lillie, Sparre and Björnberg. They were all nobles or senior military. Södra Sjuhäradsbygden, where Toarp is located, dates back to the Middle Ages near Denmark’s border. Consequently, the area was subjected to border battles, which among other things the many fortifications in the area testify. The expression “säteri” means that the Estate was previously inhabited by nobility families who held “freedom of “säte”, ie tax exemption. Rich peasants were freed from the king if they where prepared to stand in his service with man and horse in full armor.
