Blomsholm in Skee parish in

Bohuslän Bohuslän () is a Provinces of Sweden, Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the ...

, Sweden, is an area north of

Strömstad Strömstad is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Strömstad Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 6,288 inhabitants in 2010. For historical reasons, Strömstad is called a Stad (Sweden), ''city'' despite its small popu ...

where there are many ancient monuments from the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Among other things, there are some of Sweden's largest

stone circles A stone circle is a ring of megalithic standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially Stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being bu ...

and stone ships in the area. Unlike most other stone circles, the stone circle consists of an even number (10) of boulders around the centre stone. The diameter is 38 meters. The stone ship, meanwhile, is 41 meters long, 9 meters wide and consists of 49 stones. These have different heights, the stones amidships are one meter while the stones in the bow and stern are 4 meters high. Also 7

burial grounds A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

from the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

and the large mound Grönehög can be found here.

Blomsholms Manor

Blomsholms manor, which was founded in 1625 by the North German nobleman Anders Blume, was first sold in 1628 and already in 1644, General Sven Ranck became the manor's fifth owner. A memorial stone from the 1660s over Sven Ranck and his wife Anna Bergengren is in the middle of the stone ship, even though they are not buried there. At the beginning of the 18th century, the manor burned down and was replaced in 1710 by the buildings that still exist on the site. During

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

's war against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

in 1718, the manor functioned as a field hospital because it was located on Galärvägen, the transport route that Charles XII used with the help of 800 soldiers to transport twelve ships (

galleys A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for warfare, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during antiquity and continued to exist ...

) over land and via the lakes Strömsvattnet and Färingen to Ise Fjord. A local legend states that soldiers who died during the war are said to be buried in the stone ship. Statarlängan, built in 1899, is today a restaurant and museum where one of the four apartments is decorated in the same way as it was when the last

statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

lived here in 1938. Blomsholm's estate has now been owned by GLG-fastigheter AB since 2012.

Gallery

File:Stone ship at Blomsholm, Sweden.jpg, A

stone ship The stone ship or ship setting was an early burial custom in Scandinavia, Northern Germany, and the Baltic states. The grave or cremation burial was surrounded by slabs or stones in the shape of a boat or ship. The ships vary in size and were ...

tomb at Blomsholm.

Literature

* Jan Ottander: ''Blomsholm. 2000 år av händelser''. Länsstyrelsen i Västra Götalands län, Göteborg 1999, (''Länsstyrelsen Västra Götaland'' 20, ). * Jan Ottander: ''Blomsholm. 2000 years of settlement''. (''Länsstyrelsen Västra Götaland'' publication 1999:20, ). Manor houses in Sweden Buildings and structures in Västra Götaland County Strömstad Municipality {{Sweden-struct-stub