Whenever I picture Sweden in my head, I think about vibrant cities, beautiful nature, and historical sites. However, hidden in a forest in the southern part of the country, you will find a spot that defies the logical and the ordinary. This is where you will find the Ängelholm UFO Memorial.
You may be skeptical like me or believe in aliens, but there is one thing we can all agree on: this strange landmark gives us a look into the mind of one of Sweden’s strangest businessmen. It’s a fascinating story that connects local history with folklore.
But, before I share this with you, I have to tell you how I ended up in this weird little memorial next to Ängelholm.
As I was organizing the phases and stops of my bike trip from Copenhagen to Oslo in the summer of 2025, I looked into whether there would be any noteworthy sites along the way. For this first day riding my bike, I spotted some interesting things next to the beach, but nothing felt like it was worth a change in route. Until I discovered the Ängelholm UFO Memorial.
I think I rode for 90 km or so when my GPS tracker told me that the UFO memorial was close by. I stepped into the forest and tried to spot it. After a few wrong paths and turns, I saw a clearing in the woods, and there it was: a concrete model of a flying saucer in the middle of nowhere. I was in the right place.
Gösta Carlsson and The Legend of the Pollen King
Now, let me try to tell you what I learned about the person behind the Ängelholm UFO Memorial. Gösta Carlsson (1918–2003) is remembered today as a successful businessman and founder of the herbal medicine brand Cernelle. But his journey to becoming the “Pollen King” is an origin story that we don’t hear much everyday.
It was May 1946 when Gösta Carlsson was walking home through the Kronoskogen forest when he spotted a glowing object near a clearing in the woods. This object was shaped like a disc and was resting on a keel with retractable legs, surrounded by a crew of beings dressed in tight-fitting flight suits. He couldn’t get close to them since they had a device to keep Gösta Carlsson at a distance.
After the encounter came to an end, the crew of the flying saucer managed to keep in touch with Gösta Carlsson. He maintained the story that, throughout the following years, he experienced recurring dreams where the crew communicated ideas to him. How did this work? I have no idea, but he attributed his later success in life to these moments.
Gosta Carlsson thought that the dreams and ideas that these visitors in the middle of the Kronoskogen forest gave him led to his work with bee pollen extract and even the funding of a local ice hockey team, the Rögle BK. And who am I to question this?
Exploring the Ängelholm UFO Memorial
Back in 1972, a few decades after the initial UFO sighting, Gösta Carlsson erected a monument to commemorate the event that was so important to him. The site was designed based on his sketches, and it’s quite an odd stop in the middle of the Swedish woods.
In the middle of it all, you will spot a flying saucer model built to a one-eighth scale in concrete. There is a fin on its rear and a periscope-like device on the top, and it sits on top of a concrete pedestal. Around it, on the forest floor, you will see the spots where Gösta Carlsson said that the landing gear was.
There are also historical plaques mounted on pillars at the edge of the monument, telling the story of how Gösta Carlsson witnessed the event, and that is it.
The Truth About the UFO Memorial
At first, when I read about the Ängelholm UFO Memorial, I thought that Gösta Carlsson had seen some lights in the sky and thought they were aliens or something. Which could be easy to justify since there was a lot of military activity in the area after the Second World War. But the encounter that he had in the woods feels more meaningful than that.
Nevertheless, even though the Ängelholm UFO Memorial is a historical heritage site in Sweden, there was never much evidence to support Gösta Carlsson’s claims.
Researchers, journalists, and even UFO experts have visited and investigated the area over the years. They never found any evidence of an alien craft, and the artifacts that Gösta Carlsson could have spotted in the woods were mundane.
Still, it seems like the researchers never doubted the sincerity of Gösta Carlsson around the experience he had. He believed the story to be true, and it had a real effect on his life and career. And that can be enough.
How to Visit the Ängelholm UFO Memorial
If you are traveling through Skåne in southern Sweden, this could be a great spot to stop and check out the area around Ängelholm.
Getting there is easy since it’s just a few kilometers away from the center of Ängelholm. There is a bus that stops close by, or you can do like I did and just cycle there.
And don’t forget to explore the beach area as well. I read that there are bunkers leading to the forest, and that could be a surreal addition to the UFO memorial.
Explore the Kronoskogen forest at your leisure if you happen to be in southern Sweden. You probably won’t meet any aliens, but you will find a cute piece of Swedish history that will always remind you of how deeply one man’s imagination can change the landscape.
The Ängelholm UFO Memorial: Everything You Need to Know Before You Go
262 53 Ängelholm, Sweden
