Stensjö by is a hamlet located approximately 10 kilometers north of Oskarshamn in Kalmar County, Sweden. It is recognized as one of the best-preserved examples of a complete 18th- and 19th-century farming village with its associated cultural landscape in Sweden.
Ownership and preservation: The hamlet has been owned by the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities (Kungl. Vitterhetsakademien) since 1960. The preservation goal is to maintain the hamlet and its lands in their state from the early 1900s. Stensjö by is designated as a cultural reserve (kulturreservat) — the first such reserve in Kalmar County. The restoration of the village, carried out over more than thirty years, is considered the most extensive restoration of a cultural landscape ever undertaken in Sweden.
Landscape and features: The hamlet consists of a cluster of traditional red-painted wooden buildings, including dwelling houses and barns, arranged as a clustered village (klungby) as was common in Småland before the 19th-century land reform (laga skifte). The surrounding landscape features pastures enclosed by roundpole fences (gärdesgårdar) and stone walls, with livestock — cows, sheep, and pigs — still grazing the land. The area includes pollarded trees and species-rich grasslands, contributing to a rich biological cultural heritage. Farming is conducted as ecologically as possible, following old traditions but using modern machinery.
Cultural significance: Stensjö by served as a filming location for several scenes in the filmed version of Astrid Lindgren's The Six Bullerby Children (Barnen i Bullerbyn), as well as in the film Emil i Lönneberga.
