A Silent Weekend in a Swedish Forest Cabin: My Unexpected Lessons

A Unique Tourism Campaign in Skåne, Sweden

In October, Skåne in Sweden introduced an unconventional tourism campaign that captured the attention of nature lovers around the world. The southern county was seeking travelers interested in spending a few days in a cabin nestled deep in the woods. The catch? Participants had to maintain a level of quietness, as any loud noises could result in an early departure.

Johanna Holm, originally from the south of Germany and currently studying to become a teacher, was one of the participants in the ‘Stay Quiet’ challenge. Here’s what she discovered during her hushed weekend in a cabin in the woods.

A Response to Noise Pollution

Visit Skåne launched its Stay Quiet campaign in response to noise pollution, which project manager Josefine Nordgren describes as one of the most underestimated environmental issues of our time. “Studies show that constant exposure to noise increases stress, disturbs sleep, and affects both physical and mental health,” she explains.

On the other hand, nature has proven restorative effects. It lowers the heart rate, improves focus, and helps the body recover from stress. The team wanted to give people the opportunity to experience what happens when everyday noise disappears.

Embracing Stillness

The initiative became a kind of living experiment to see how participants would feel after spending a few days surrounded by nature, without screens, distractions, or noise. Visit Skåne also aimed to demonstrate that modern travel doesn’t have to mean doing more.

“Sweden, and Skåne in particular, offers something increasingly rare in the world: access to true stillness,” says Nordgren. “We wanted to highlight that silence is not emptiness but a resource, one that supports both human wellbeing and sustainable tourism.”

She also notes that in Sweden, nature is easily accessible thanks to ‘Allemansrätten’, a public right that allows people to roam freely (and respectfully) in nature, including on private land.

A Global Call for Quiet

“Who wouldn’t love to spend time in a little cabin in the woods?” Visit Skåne launched an international open call in October and received over 200 applications from 30 countries. Three pairs of applicants were selected to take part, from Denmark, Germany, and the UK.

Holm applied with her sister. “Everyday life can be really fast and loud, so I thought this challenge could bring us back more to ourselves and to nature,” she says. The two spent childhood holidays at campsites and continue to explore Europe with vans and tents, so Stay Quiet was exactly the kind of challenge they wanted to level up their leisure time.

A Cabin with the Noise Levels of a Library

The only real rule for the cabin stay was to keep sounds below 45 decibels—roughly the noise level of a library or quiet office. Holm says sticking to that limit wasn’t too hard, other than occasional communication difficulties with her sister because they had to talk in whispers.

“For us, staying quiet in this peaceful part of nature just felt like the only right thing to do,” she says. The only really loud noise she wanted to make was when she was “so fulfilled with pure happiness that I could have screamed that out to show the whole world.”

Activities Without Noise or Screens

Holm says there was plenty to keep the sisters occupied without noise and without screens. They built fires to cook over, gazed at autumn foliage, and spent time reflecting. There were creative activities provided in the cabin, including writing a letter to your future self.

“It was full of new adventures and experiences, like going deep into the forest in the middle of the night without lights, cooking our food over the fire, feeling so connected with the nature around us, and becoming so calm and rested within ourselves, because of the silence,” she says.

“Staying silent as well made me feel so imbalanced and calm, which I haven’t felt like in a while.”

The Power of Silence

Holm’s stay was a success for both her and for Visit Skåne. As Nordgren explains, “The idea was never about strict silence but about awareness, helping guests understand how their own sounds interact with nature’s, and how stillness feels when it’s real.”

Holm says she wants to replicate the joy and tranquillity she felt in the cabin in her day-to-day life. “I’ve felt so incredibly calm, happy, empowered and fulfilled during those days in the cabin, that I now want to find a place like this for myself and my friends and family as well.”

“And above all, I want to stay silent more often, because it empowers you to hear your inner voice even more.”