Blå Jungfrun, also known as "Blåkulla", in English sometimes rendered literally as The Blue Maiden is a Swedish island in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and fr ...

. It is situated in the Kalmar Strait, between the mainland province of

Småland Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized ...

and the island province of

Öland Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Øland'' in other Scandinavian languages, and often ''Oland'' internationally; la, Oelandia) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area ...

. Administratively, the uninhabited island is part of the municipality of

Oskarshamn Oskarshamn is a coastal city and the seat of Oskarshamn Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 17,258 inhabitants in 2010. History Etymology Döderhultsvik was the original name before a town charter was granted in 1856. The name was then ch ...

and covers an area of approximately with a mean height above sea level of . Home to

black guillemot The black guillemot or tystie (''Cepphus grylle'') is a medium-sized seabird of the Alcidae family, native throughout northern Atlantic coasts and eastern North American coasts. It is resident in much of its range, but large populations from the ...

s and a Swedish National Park since 1926,

freedom to roam The freedom to roam, or "everyman's right", is the general public's right to access certain public or privately owned land, lakes, and rivers for recreation and exercise. The right is sometimes called the right of public access to the wilderness ...

at Blå Jungfrun is limited with visitors prohibited from staying overnight on the island or making fires. The island consists partly of bare rock with the remainder covered in dense hardwood forest. There are several caves and an ancient stone

labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

from which it is forbidden to remove stones. Geologically the island is an ancient

inselberg An inselberg or monadnock () is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, a ...

rising from the

Sub-Cambrian peneplain The sub-Cambrian peneplain is an ancient, extremely flat, erosion surface (peneplain) that has been exhumed and exposed by erosion from under Cambrian strata over large swathes of Fennoscandia. Eastward, where this peneplain dips below Cambrian an ...

. After its formation in the

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of th ...

, Blå Jungfrun was buried in sandstone, which protected it from any further erosion, until it was finally freed from its sandstone cover in geologically recent times. In 2014 the island became object of archeological interest when a group of researchers discovered a cultural layer after probating the soil. At the time the authorities had given them the permission to only operate in a small area and could not take samples; three years later they were able to recover shards made out of

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical ...

, which date to the Stone Age and had been probably produced by a settlement of hunter-gatherers. The exact age of the site remains uncertain, but it is estimated to have existed around 8500BC, about 10.000 years ago.

Legends

The island plays an important role in Swedish

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, r ...

, where it is viewed as an evil and magical place. The name Blå Jungfrun was originally used by sailors to avoid provoking the evil spirits who dwelt on the island. According to a widespread belief, related already by

Olaus Magnus Olaus Magnus (October 1490 – 1 August 1557) was a Swedish writer, cartographer, and Catholic ecclesiastic. Biography Olaus Magnus (a Latin translation of his birth name Olof Månsson) was born in Linköping in October 1490. Like his elder b ...

in 1555,

witches Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...

meet there each

Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday (also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, among other names) is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the ...

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...

, who visited the island in 1741, was sceptical: ''Women and fairy-tales ... generally say that all witches will go here (truly a rather difficult journey) each Maundy Thursday; but those who have visited the place once are not likely to return, and should find out the reason for the fable: If any place in the world looks hideous, this is surely one of the most cruel.''

Modern traditions

In Sweden and Swedish-speaking parts of Finland, to commemorate the travel of witches to the legendary Blåkulla (synonymous in some traditions with Blå Jungfrun), children dress as witches, old women, and old men on Easter and go door-to-door for treats similar to the

trick-or-treat Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". The ...

ing tradition of

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. ...

. The children sometimes present hand-made cards and other greetings.

Park establishment and tourism

Between 1904 and 1925 the red

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies und ...

of Blå Jungfrun was extracted in three

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their environ ...

on the south of the island. It was exported chiefly to Germany as decorative stone. The destruction led to efforts to protect the island. A donation from the Swedish entrepreneur

Torsten Kreuger Torsten Kreuger (17 June 1884 – 12 October 1973) was a Swedish engineer, industrialist, newspaper owner and banker. Personal life Kreuger was born in Kalmar, a son of , and a brother of Ivar Kreuger. He was married three times, first to Elsa A ...

made it possible to acquire the island and stop the quarrying. The national park was established on February5, 1926 by the Government of Sweden. In summer, the island can be visited by tour boats from

or from Byxelkrok.Solkustturer Boat to Blå Jungfrun
/ref> Regular trips began in the 1950s. A park guide on Blå Jungfrun informs the visitors about the national park and its regulations. A visit to the island lasts for around 3,5 hours.

References

External links

Sweden's National Parks: Blå Jungfrun National Park
from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
Blå Jungfrun (National Park)
- Booking and timetable information for visiting Blå Jungfrun. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bla Jungfrun Oskarshamn Swedish islands in the Baltic National parks of Sweden Uninhabited islands of Sweden Swedish folklore Witchcraft in folklore and mythology Protected areas established in 1926 1926 establishments in Sweden Islands of Kalmar County Tourist attractions in Kalmar County Inselbergs of Europe Witchcraft in Sweden

Legends

Modern traditions

Park establishment and tourism

See also

References

External links