Fardhem () is a populated area, a ''

socken Socken ( or ) is the name used for a part of a counties of Sweden, county in Sweden. In Denmark, similar areas are known as , in Norway or and in Finland or . A is a rural area formed around a church, typically in the Middle Ages. A socken ...

'' (not to be confused with

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

), on the Swedish island of

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

. It comprises the same area as the administrative Fardhem District, established on 1January 2016. The area is rural with farms, tourism and small companies as the main sources of income. It is home to

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club

Fardhem IF Fardhem IF is a Swedish football club located in Fardhem on the island of Gotland. Background Fardhem IF currently plays in Division 3, the fifth tier of Swedish football, after winning the 2011 Division 4 Gotland division and thus earning prom ...

Geography

Fardhem is the name of the socken as well as the district. It is also the name of the small village surrounding the medieval Fardhem Church, sometimes referred to as ''Fardhem kyrkby''. It is situated on southern Gotland about northwest of

Hemse Hemse is a locality situated on the Swedish island of Gotland with 1,700 inhabitants in 2014. It is the second largest locality (after Visby) on the island. Hemse is the main center of population in the southern part of the island, and it is know ...

. Most of the socken consists of farmed plains on land reclaimed from the drained

Mästermyr Mästermyr is a, now mostly drained, mire west of Hemse on the island of Gotland, Sweden. The Mästermyr chest was found here in 1936. Geography The area of the mire was originally , of which consisted of small lakes. It was a significant ha ...

to the south. Many of the farmed fields still have the same boundaries as in the 18th century. In the middle of Fardhem is the ''Sandarve kulle''

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

. Situated on a hill it covers at an elevation of about . It was established in 1984. , Fardhem Church belongs to Fardhem

in Fardhems

pastorat The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest Lu ...

History

The locality is mentioned as ''Farþhaim'' in the 14th century

Gutasaga Gutasaga (''Gutasagan'') is a saga regarding the history of Gotland before its Christianization. It was recorded in the 13th century and survives in only a single manuscript, the Codex Holm. B 64, dating to , kept at the National Library of Sweden ...

. The last part of the name ''hem'' means "dwelling" or "farm" and the first part ''fardh'' means "trail" or "a place where you can travel", it may refer to the Ancylus wall, a remaining bank of the

Ancylus Lake Ancylus Lake is a name given by geologists to a large freshwater lake that existed in northern Europe approximately from 8,750 to 7,850 years Before Christ, BC, being in effect one of various predecessors to the modern Baltic Sea. Origin, evoluti ...

that made a good "road" to travel on. The area has been populated since the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. There are grave fields, house foundations, groove stones and two

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

s 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 ...

. One

runestone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic alphabet, runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition of erecting runestones as a memorial to dead men began in the 4th centur ...

and a silver treasure from the

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

have also been found in Fardhem. The locality has a wool mill and weapons repair shop.

References

External links

Objects from Fardhem at the Digital Museum
by

Nordic Museum The Nordic Museum () is a museum located on Djurgården, an island in central Stockholm, Sweden, dedicated to the cultural history and ethnography of Sweden from the early modern period (in Swedish history, it is said to begin in 1520) to the ...

{{Authority control Populated places in Gotland County Tourism in Sweden Agriculture in Sweden Nature reserves in Sweden