Oland Attractions
Post code: S-38...
Telephone code 0485
Öland, lying off the southeast coast of Sweden, is the country's second largest island, now linked with the mainland by Europe's longest bridge, which spans the Kalmarsund in a bold arch.
Telephone code 0485
Öland, lying off the southeast coast of Sweden, is the country's second largest island, now linked with the mainland by Europe's longest bridge, which spans the Kalmarsund in a bold arch.
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Färjestaden - Öland Bridge
On the west coast of Öland, opposite Kalmar, lies the little port of Färjestaden. From Möllstorp, to the north of the town, the Öland Bridge (6,070m/6,600yd long, with 153 piers), built in 1972, spans the sound to Kalmar. 500m/550yd from the end of the bridge can be found Öland Djurpark (Zoo).
Karlevisten
4km/2.5mi south of Färjestaden (signposted "Runsten") is the oldest runic stone on Öland, the Karlevisten, with a long inscription recording that it was set up at the end of the year 1000 by Sibbe the Wise, a Danish sea-king (who probably owned no land).
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Stora Alvar
The Stora Alvar is an area of steppe country that comes to life in the spring when the heather and other vegetation blooms.
Windmills
The windmills of Öland, some 400 in number, have become the very symbol of the island. They are mainly post-mills, built to serve the needs of individual farms. All of them are now statutory protected ancient monuments.
Borgholm - Egby Church
12km/7.5mi east of Borgholm is Egby church, the smallest on the island Öland. In spite of alterations carried out in 1818, when the tower was built, the church has preserved its original Romanesque character. It has a fine font and a stone altar of the 12th century. The Baroque pulpit and reredos date from about 1750.
Borgholm - Gärdslösa Church
15km/9mi southeast of Borgholm stands the Romanesque church of Gärdslösa (12th C.), Öland's best-preserved medieval church. The Gothic choir, with wall paintings on Old Testament themes, dates from the end of the 13th century. There are also fragments of 14th century frescoes. The pulpit (1666) is richly painted and there is a beautiful Roccoco altar (1764).
Borgholm - Himmelsberga Open-Air Museum
23km/14mi southeast of Borgholm is Himmelsberga open-air museum: typical local farms, with old furniture and furnishings; handsome old half-timbering, mostly of oak. Norrgården (1842) has more the air of a manor house, while Karls-Olsgården (late 18th C.) is a modest turf-roofed cottage (wall paintings in parlor).
Borgholm - Ismantorpsborg
27km/17mi south of Borgholm is Ismantorpsborg, the most striking of the refuge forts on Öland, probably dating from the period of the great migrations. It has a diameter of some 125m/400ft, and within its well-preserved ramparts are 88 hut bases. Unusually, it has no fewer than nine entrances, suggesting that it was primarily a cult site.
Borgholm - Karums Alvar
17km/10mi south of Borgholm is Karums Alvar, a large Iron Age cemetery area, with a stone-setting in the shape of a ship, 30m/100ft long, known as Noah's Ark. Nearby are two limestone hills to which Odin is said to have tethered his horse Sleipnir.
Borgholm - Lerkaka
25km/15.5mi southeast of Borgholm is Lerkaka, with five well-preserved windmills. Nearby can be seen a large runic stone.
Degerhamn - Gettlinge Cemetery
At the south end of the island of Öland, on the west coast, is the little port of Degerhamn, 3km/2mi north of which is the Gettlinge Gravfält, a large Iron Age cemetery area with two limestone mounds marking the graves of chieftains. Nearby are a ship-setting, a judgment ring and a number of burials of different types.
Färjestaden - Gråborg
8km/5mi northeast of Färjestaden is the Gråborg, the largest refuge fort on the island, which was probably constructed during the great migrations and remained in use into the Middle Ages. Its ramparts, up to 6m/20ft high, enclose an elliptical area 220m/240yd long by 165m/180yd across. There are remains of an impressive vaulted gateway. Near the Gråborg are the ruins of St Knut's Chapel (13th C.).
Lighthouse and Bird-watching Station
On the promontory at the southern tip of Öland stands the lighthouse known as Långe Jan, the tallest in Sweden (42m/140ft), built in 1785. Nearby are a bird-watching station and an ornithological museum.
Mysinge Hög
5km/3mi east of Mörbylånga is Mysinge Hög, a Bronze Age burial mound from which there is a magnificent view of the Stora Alvar. In this area are a number of Neolithic tombs, the only ones of their kind in eastern Sweden. The remains of some 30 people were found in these 4,000-year-old tombs, each constructed of nine large blocks of granite.
Mörbylånga - Resmo Church
6km/4mi northeast of the little port of Mörbylånga stands the Romanesque church of Resmo (c. 1150), with 12th century frescoes in the choir. The upper part of the east tower was pulled down in 1826, but the south wall has been preserved.
Seby Cemetery
9km/5.5mi east of Degerhamn is the Seby Gravfält, an Iron Age cemetery area, with the remains of limestone mounds which are still prominent features of the landscape. 1km/0.75mi away, by the roadside, is a large runic stone with the inscription "Ingjald and Näf and Sven set up this stone in honor of their father Rodmar".
