Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Sweden - Pages ...
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
natural coast-frontier formed by the Baltic, the Sound, and the
Kattegat.
From Kalmar we may cross to the Island of Öland, which, though
rarely visited hy tourists, presents some features of geological interest.
It is 150 Kil. (90 Engl. 31.) long and 3-15 Kil. (2-9 31.) in breadth. Owing
tip its considerable size (about 533 Engl. sq. 31.), it is dignified, like
Gotland, with the termination ‘Land’. The old name was Wulfstans
Eya-land. It contains 38,000 inhab., whose pursuits are chiefly agricultural,
and it once boasted of a famous breed of horses, now nearly extinct.
The dwelling-houses (manbygnader) are usually constructed of wood,
and the farm-buildings (uthus) of stone. The roofs are adorned with
snakes’ and horses’ heads carved in wood. The fields are separated by
massive stcne walls. Among the other resources of the island are large
quarries of limestone and a quarry of alum-slate near Möckleby.
Öland does not present the usual Swedish geological features of. granite
and gneiss, covered with lakes and forests, but like Gotland consists
mainly of a limestone plateau of the Silurian formation, and is wooded
in a few places only. The plateau, originally formed under the sea, rises
abruptly from the water in the southern half of the island, hut slopes
gently down to the sandy E. coast. Between the clifis (landtborgar) and
the sea extends a plain" covered for the most part by arable land and
woods. In the centre of the island rises a bleak and arid tract of reddish
limestone soil, called the Allvar, scored here and there with deep furrows,
and somewhat resembling the deserts of Africa. The scanty vegetation
here consists of a hard kind of grass (festuca), on which the sheep graze,
while the rich plains, with their groves of oaks, limes, and birches, are
enlivened with the song of the nightingale (kledra). The villages with
their interesting churches (among which that of Alböke in the Xorra Motet
deserves mention) are generally situated either in the plain or between it
and the ‘landtborgar’, while "the latter are crowned with windmills,
twenty of which may sometimes be counted in a row. In the northern
half of the island there -are no ‘landtborgar’, hut the coast is covered
with sandy downs, particularly at Grankulla in the parish of Böda. A
large round stone at Folkslunda. called the Rvnstenskvrka, marks the centre
of the island. Geologists should notice the numerous rock-formations
resembling ships, with prow, stern, masts, and benches for rowers. The
finest of these Skepps/ormar is ‘Noah’s Ark’ at Högsrum, near Stora Bör (Inn).
Other curious formations, resembling ruined castles, are called Borgruiner,
the finest of which are the Ismansforp and the Vipetorp, also near Stora
Kör. Countless tumuli form another object of interest.
The capital of the island is Borgholm (Victoria; Stads - Hotellet), a
small town and watering-place with 900 inhab., whence steamers ply daily
to Kalmar. It owes its sole interest to its imposing ruined Castle,
mentioned in historv for the first time in 12S0, after which it underwent
repeated sieges. About 20 Engl. 31. to the S. of Borgholm lies Färjestaden
(Inn), directly opposite Kalmar, to which a ferry plies frequently. The
width of the’ strait here is about 4 Engl. 31. — Near Möckleby, at the S.
end of the island, considerable quantities of alum are found.
The classical authority regarding Öland is Linnéfs ‘Öländska och
Gothländska Resa’ (1741; Stockholm, 1745). Marryat’s ’One Year in
Sweden’ (London, 1862) is also an interesting work.
From Oskarshamn to Nässjö.
Travellers who do not wish to return from Kalmar toVexiö and
Alfvesta may proceed hy steamer to Oskarshamn (5 hrs., 2-3 times
weekly), whence a railway runs to Nässjö.
Oskarshamn (Hotel Oscar; Stads-Hotellet; Jernvägs-Hotellet;
English vice-consul), a town with 5G00 inhab., was formerly called
Doderhultsvik, hut received its present name and its municipal
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
